Akira Kurosawa’s first film showcasing the filmmaker’s emerging style (that would be prevalent in his later films) and a wonderful inclusion to the “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa”.
Image courtesy of © 1943 Toho Co., Ltd. © 2010 All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Sanshiro Sugata (as part of the Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa)
DURATION: 79 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural, Japanese with English subtitles
COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: August 3, 2010
Based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita
Written and Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Produced by Keiji Matsuzaki
Music by Seiichi Suzuki
Cinematography by Akira Mimura
Edited by Toshio Goto, Akira Kurosawa
Art Direction: Masao Tozuka
Starring:
Denjiro Okochi as Shogoro Yano
Susumu Fujita as Sanshiro Sugata
Yukiko Todoroki as Sayo Murai
Ryunosuke Tsukigata as Gennosuke Higaki
Takashi Shimura as Hansuke Mirai, Sayo’s Father
Ranko Hanai as Osumi Kodana
Sugisaku Aoyama as Tsunetami Iimura
Years before Akira Kurosawa changed the face of cinema with such iconic works as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo, he made his start in the Japanese film industry with four popular and exceptional works, created as World War II raged. All gripping dramas, those rare first films—Sanshiro Sugata; The Most Beautiful; Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two; and The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail—are collected here and include a two-part martial arts saga, a portrait of female volunteers helping the war effort, and a kabuki-derived tale of deception. These captivating films are a glorious introduction to a peerless career.
Sanshiro Sugata – Kurosawa’s effortless debut is a thrilling martial arts action tale, but it’s also a moving story of moral education that’s quintessential Kurosawa.
Akira Kurosawa, one of the most highly revered filmmakers of all time.
A career which began in the 1930’s up to his final directorial work in 1993, The Criterion Collection is known for celebrating Kurosawa’s oeuvre through multiple DVD releases including the most recent collection titled “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa”. But if there was one collection that many have clamored for many years, it was his earlier films.
And now the Criterion Collection has presented us with another Kurosawa Eclipse Series set titled “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa” which includes his first four films: “Sanshiro Sugata” (1943), “The Most Beautiful” (1944), “Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two” (1945) and “The Men Who Tread On the Tiger’s Tail” (1945).
All four films were previously featured in the “AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa” DVD set but for those who have been collecting the Akira Kurosawa DVD’s via the Criterion Collection individually and those who previously purchased the “Postwar Kurosawa” Eclipse Series #7 set, this latest DVD Eclipse Series set is a welcomed addition to the Eclipse Series and a must-have for your Akira Kurosawa Criterion collection.
Akira Kurosawa’s filmmaking debut begins with the martial arts film “Sanshiro Sugata” (Judo Saga). A film that was released in Japan by Toho films back in March 1943 but because it was during wartime, the Japanese government removed 17 minutes from the film and that cut footage has never been found since. In fact, for the 1955 release of the film, the following was shown at the beginning of the film:
“This film has been modified from the original version of Akira Kurosawa’s debut film, which opened in 1943, without consulting the director or the production staff. 1,845 feet of footage was cut in 1944 to comply with the government’s wartime entertainment policies.”
Nevertheless, the film without those 17 minutes still manages to be an enjoyable film and giving us a glimpse of Kurosawa’s filmmaking and also his selection of shots especially of the sky and the countryside which would become prevalent in his later and most revered films.
“Sanshiro Sugata” (姿三四郎) is a film that was adapted from a novel by Tomita Tsuneo and focuses on a stubborn young man named Sanshiro. One day, Sanshiro joins a group of men who practice Jujitsu (a martial art that evolved from the samurai of feudal Japan to defeat armed or unarmed opponents without weapons). Wanting to learn, instead he hears that the men are upset with a martial arts teacher named Shogoro Yano. Mainly because he has been teaching a martial art called Judo (a Japanese martial art in which one can use defense to throw an opponent to the ground or immobilize them through grappling maneuvers).
The group of men are not too thrilled that this teacher is practicing judo which they feel is a disgrace to Jujitsu and thus they want to get their revenge by beating him with Jujitsu.
So, as the men begin their attack on Yano, Sanshiro watches and is amazed that the Judo teacher has easily beaten all the Jujitsu members. Immediately, Sanshiro Sugata begs Yano to take him in as a student and Yano allows him to join his school.
But the problem is that Sanshiro is a wild child who follows the beat of his own drum and this may cause problems with his relationship with his own teacher. Can Sanshiro be a changed man and prove to his teacher that he is a worthy student? And what happens when the mysterious Gennosuke Higaki comes to the school and challenges him to a duel?
VIDEO:
“Sanshiro Sugata” is presented in black and white (1:33:1 Aspect Ratio) and despite having gone through cuts by the censor, the film quality differs in different scenes. Mostly at the beginning where the Jujitsu students take on Yano. The scenes are supposed to take place in the evening and it shows as the scene is quite black. You barely can make out any faces but dark figures fighting. But this happens only during this instance. Not sure if it was intentional, if there were budget constraints or what but that is the only scene where it is a little hard to see because of the darkness.   It is known that during World War II, resources by the film industry in Japan were a bit scarce and filmmakers had to work with less resources around that time. But throughout the film, there is adequate lighting indoors and during the daytime.
But there are beautiful shots courtesy of Akira Mimura. From changes in camera speed, the use of wipes and the use of weather (especially during the final battle) and various cuts of nature were evident in Kurosawa’s first film and would become a major focus in his later films.
But considering the film is nearly 70-years-old, the film doesn’t sport hardly any negative damage and the scratches and dust were not at all distracting.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“Sanshiro Sugata” is presented in Japanese monaural with English subtitles. Dialogue is clear and heard no significant clicks, pops or humming through the entire film.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Eclipse Series releases do not come with special features but included in the insert is a background on Kurosawa and the information about the film and why Japanese censors trimmed 17 minutes from the film.
For any Kurosawa fan, just the opportunity to watch his earlier work is an amazing treat. And even though his debut film “Sanshiro Sugata” was unfortunately cut by the censors during wartime (as it was deemed as British/American in sensibility), the film still manages to be entertaining and enjoyable in its own right.
The film would spotlight on the unruly Sanshiro Sugata played by Susumu Fujita and Fujita does a tremendous job of playing a man that is conflicted in his emotions of wanting to fight but also knowing his responsibility to obey his elders.  The expressions on his face, may it be during a match against a Jujitsu student to his battle with Hansuke Murai speaks volumes. This is a man who loves to fight but at the same time, he values life but ends up in predicaments where he must fight a battle to the death.
In today’s modern world, we have seen plenty of Asian cinema that showcase various martial art styles colliding. Especially in Hong Kong and Chinese films but it is really a treat to see the battle between Judo vs. Jujitsu coming into play throughout the film and to see how the tournaments are executed.
Kurosawa’s vision in conjunction with Akira Mimura’s cinematography work in tandem and both are able to create a sense of intrigue and suspense but also managing to capture beauty. May it be the lotus blooming in the water or the storm clouds rolling in and seeing Sanshiro battle his rival Gennosuke Higaki (played by Ryunosuke Tsukigata) is well-done. It is quite interesting as everyone in the film are in Japanese traditional clothing while the opponent and Sugata’s rival Higaki is dressed in Western/English style of clothing.
In many ways, this is a story of an underdog with a good heart. If trained well, Sanshiro Sugata can accomplish big things but because of his brash personality (albeit having a big heart), realistically Sanshiro Sugata is like a child who had no direction growing up and thus, his special relation to his teacher Yano who has shown him guidance.
Yano knows that Sanshiro can be a difficult student but he knows that he needs to give his new student some tough love in order to have him learn why he is learning judo and that he has a purpose in life.
I hope that one of these days, especially within my lifetime, as many silent film footage is being discovered, Kurosawa’s “Sanshiro Sugata” and its missing 17-minutes of film will somehow be found. Those 17 minutes almost similar to “Metropolis” in which missing footage has to be told by intertitles but you feel those cut scenes could have added more depth towards the film.
Overall, “Sanshiro Sugata” is an enjoyable film and a wonderful inclusion in the “Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa”.  A wonderful film that gives us insight to Akira Kuroswa and what he would later bring to his future endeavors. I definitely look forward to watching the sequel and the remaining two films also included in this DVD set.