Archive of films Hoodlum Soldier / Heitai yakuza
Japan
1965, 103 min
Section:
Tribute to Yasuzô Masumura
Year: 2023
Synopsis
Vehement anti-militarism was a recurrent theme in Masumura’s work, and Hoodlum Soldier is his most disparaging take on the subject – a sardonic attack on Japan’s imperialism and the classist, hierarchical military system. This buddy comedy centers on the unlikely friendship that develops between Kisaburo, a hell-raising ex-yakuza gangster unwillingly turned into a military soldier (Shintarô Katsu, star of the Zatoichi series) and Arita (Takahiro Tamura), a meek pacifist intellectual, as they venture to find a way out of the army. Shot with a vivid realism uncommon in Masumura’s films, Hoodlum Soldier is a precursor to Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H: an uproariously funny, immensely entertaining war picture that champions survival and individualism over hollow patriotism.
Joseph Fahim
Contacts
Kadokawa Corporation
2-13-12 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, 102-8552, Tokyo
Japan
Tel: +81 807 233 6972
E-mail: [email protected]
About the film
Black & white, DCP
Section: | Tribute to Yasuzô Masumura |
---|---|
Director: | Yasuzô Masumura |
Screenplay: | Ryuzo Kikushima |
Dir. of Photography: | Setsuo Kobayashi |
Music: | Naozumi Yamamoto |
Sound: | Kisao Tobita |
Editor: | Tatsuji Nakasizu |
Art Director: | Tomoo Shimogawara |
Producer: | Masaichi Nagata |
Production: | DAIEI studio, Kadokawa Corporation |
Cast: | Shintarô Katsu, Takahiro Tamura, Keiko Awaji |
Sales: | Kadokawa Corporation |