Product Description

A testament to the goodness of humankind, Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard (Akahige) chronicles the tumultuous relationship between an arrogant young doctor and a compassionate clinic director. Toshiro Mifune, in his last role for Kurosawa, gives a powerhouse performance as the dignified yet empathic director who guides his pupil to maturity, teaching the embittered intern to appreciate the lives of his destitute patients. Perfectly capturing the look and feel of 19th-century Japan, Kurosawa weaves a fascinating tapestry of time, place, and emotion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40757 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 2002-07-16
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Black & White, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 185 minutes

Amazon.com
Featuring the final collaboration between esteemed director Akira Kurosawa (Kagemusha, The Seven Samurai) and actor Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo, Hell in the Pacific), this 1965 film explores the complex and tumultuous relationship between a doctor and his protégé, and the meaning of compassion and responsibility. Mifune plays the title character, a revered but stern and unbendable physician ministering to the poor in a clinic, driven by a sense of calling to the profession of medicine and to mankind. He is assigned a young brash intern whose rebellious and arrogant attitude threaten to disrupt the hospital and destroy his burgeoning career. Under the intense tutelage of the relentlessly stern doctor, however, the young doctor in training goes from a spoiled wunderkind insulted at having to work at a clinic he thinks is beneath him, to one who appreciates the compassionate nature of a doctor's calling. A long, intimate, and engrossing film, it displays some of Mifune's finest work as a man whose profound sense of higher purpose touches all around him. An earnest exploration of duty and honor, Red Beard is an unlikely but worthy addition to the enduring legacy of Akira Kurosawa. --Robert Lane

Customer Reviews

A Masterpiece
While the film is long, as many other reviewers have pointed out, it is not too long. It holds up, better than many contemporary American films with the same running time. This film wonderfully displays the silent grace and dignity Mifune plays so well. To see just how good he actually is, watch this, then watch Seven Samurai. His range is incredible. Every one of his characters is so different, all the way down to their walk. But, back to Red Beard. Like all Kurosawa films, there are some very memorable shots stylistically, and the acting is top-notch. There are many stories within the main plot, and they are all tied together very well. It isn't like a vignette piece. Each of the characters is related in one way or another. This is definitely an emotional tale, and made me feel for the characters and cheer for the compassion one human being can show to another. There isn't much humor here, like some of his other films, but it really isn't called for. If you come across the DVD from Mei-ah, do not buy it. The subtitles are horribly translated.

The nature of individual goodness
You often hear "They don't make movies like this anymore," and in this case I believe it's true. With "Red Beard," Kurosawa has tackled a subject which in past eras was coated with schmaltz, and in the current state of cinema, is avoided altogether: the nature of individual goodness in the face of want, inequality and privilege. Modern-day film makers in the West seem fearful of any emotions other than romantic desire, violent retribution or a "hip" self-referencing irony/ennui. Here, Mifune portrays a man who distains admiration for his own sacrifices while adhering to his own high standards of individual behavior. He's not above wheedling and even a bit of suggestive blackmail to raise funds for his clinic. In typical Mifune fashion, he manages to make a nearly saintly doctor an anti-hero who rubs almost everyone the wrong way.

The film is shot in black-and-white, and features many haunting images. Of special note is the scene in which Mifune attempts to break through the protective shell of an abandoned young girl. A young doctor has been trying to give her a spoonful of medicine; he quits after she slaps his hand away three times. Mifune takes over, and the girl continues to slap the proffered medicine away-- once, twice, trice; Mifune expresses an array of emotions in the simple act of trying once again. Finally, on the seventh attempt, the girl accepts the medicine. The quiet authenticity of this moment is rare in film.

the last collaboration between Kurosawa and Mifune
This 1965 film is the story of a young doctor under the tutelage a compassionate but strict country doctor. It was Kurosawa's last black & white film and also, sadly, the last film he did with Toshiro Mifune, who plays the title character, the man who runs a clinic for the poor. Yasumoto, the arrogant and self-absorbed young doctor, resents being sent to this backward place, but as the action unfolds he learns more about the people wo need help and more about what it means to be a doctor. Exactly halfway through the film Yatsumo dons the robes of a clinic doctor, having decided that Red Beard is a worthy mentor. We also learn the stories of several patients in depth, and these are heartbreaking.

Mifune is charismatic and subdued (though Kurosawa unleashes him in a fight scene at a brothel, which is a pleasure to behold), playing a quiet man with as much intensity as he plays his usual samurai roles..

As expected, the direction and cinematography are beautiful, and your enjoyment of this will be enhanced by Stephen Prince's insightful commentary. The film's trailer is also included. Dialogue is Japanese with English subtitles.

Highly recommended.