Tora-san, the Intellectual
1975 Japanese film
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Tora-san, the Intellectual (男はつらいよ 葛飾立志篇, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Katsushika Risshihen) aka Tora-san Meets a Lady Scholar[1] is a 1975 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Fumie Kashiyama as his love interest or "Madonna".[2] Tora-san, the Intellectual is the sixteenth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.
Yoshitaka Asama
Fumie Kashiyama
| Tora-san, the Intellectual | |
|---|---|
Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Yoji Yamada |
| Written by | Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama |
| Starring | Kiyoshi Atsumi Fumie Kashiyama |
| Cinematography | Tetsuo Takaba |
| Edited by | Iwao Ishii |
| Music by | Naozumi Yamamoto |
| Distributed by | Shochiku |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Synopsis
Tora-san returns to his family's shop in Shibamata, Tokyo to find himself accused of being the father of a 17-year-old girl. It turns out that Tora-san had only given help to the girl's mother after her husband had left her. Tora-san becomes infatuated with the female archeology student who is staying with his family, and attempts to take up intellectual pursuits to get near her.[3][4]
Cast
- Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō[5]
- Chieko Baisho as Sakura
- Fumie Kashiyama as Reiko
- Junko Sakurada as Junko Mogami
- Keiju Kobayashi as Professor Tadokoro
- Masami Shimojō as Tatsuzō Kuruma (Torajiro's uncle)
- Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
- Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
- Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
- Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
- Gajirō Satō as Genkō
- Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
Critical appraisal
A 1977 review in The New York Times judged Tora-san, the Intellectual to be "genuinely warm and charming". The review commented that Yoji Yamada's script was "convoluted" and the directing "uneven", but that "Mr. Yamada is decidedly professional in shaping a colorful and briskly moving story," and that the film as a whole "project[s] contemporary Japanese family life and ties realistically and affectionately."[3] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san, the Intellectual three and a half out of five stars.[6]
Availability
Tora-san, the Intellectual was released theatrically on December 27, 1975.[7] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.[8] The film played for two days in New York in 1977 during which time it received a review in The New York Times.[3]