IMDb > Narayama-bushi kô (1983)

Narayama-bushi kô (1983) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   2,126 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Shohei Imamura

Writers:

Shohei Imamura (screenplay)
Shichirô Fukazawa (novel)

Contact:

View company contact information for Ballad of Narayama on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

29 April 1983 (Japan) more

Genre:

Drama more

Tagline:

Only time could change the cruelty of tradition ... only their Love could survive it ... more

Plot:

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die... more | add synopsis

Awards:

9 wins & 8 nominations more

User Comments:

One of my five favorite movies ever - What is uniquely human more (21 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Ken Ogata ... Tatsuhei
Sumiko Sakamoto ... Orin
Tonpei Hidari ... Risuke
Aki Takejo ... Tamayan (as Aki Takejô)
Shoichi Ozawa ... Katsuzô (as Shôichi Ozawa)
Fujio Tokita ... Jinsaku
Sanshô Shinsui ... Zeniya no Tadayan
Seiji Kurasaki ... Kesakichi
Junko Takada ... Matsuyan
Mitsuko Baisho ... Oei (as Mitsuko Baishô)
Taiji Tonoyama ... Teruyan
Casey Takamine ... Arayashiki (as Kêshi Takamine)
Nenji Kobayashi ... Tsune
Nijiko Kiyokawa ... Okane
Akio Yokoyama ... Amaya
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Ballad of Narayama (International: English title)
more

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Itoigawa, Niigata, Japan more

Company:

Toei Company more


Fun Stuff

Movie Connections:

Remake of Narayama bushiko (1958) more

Soundtrack:

Oya wo nemurasu komori uta more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
24 out of 29 people found the following comment useful.
One of my five favorite movies ever - What is uniquely human, 22 October 2000
10/10
Author: maple-2 from United States

With beautiful photography and sensitive, elegant acting, this is perhaps the best exploration of what it means to be human. As usual, Shohei Imamura draws direct parallels between the basic drives & instincts (hunger, greed, lust, anger, envy) of people and other animals. I have friends who have walked out of this movie because they found these comparisons so depressing when shown in the desperately poor rural Japan during the late 19th century. What they missed was the core intelligence, caring, self sacrifice, clear thinking and love that enabled that community, and by extension the human race, to survive such difficult times.

This sympathetic portrayal of a family in a rural village is the best of ten films I have seen from Imamura, with an epic scale of Akira Kurosawa and all of the subtlety of Ozu.

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Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
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