Tora no O o Fumu Otokachi
They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail
1945

directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Made shortly before the collapse of Japan in WWII, there was hardly any money for this movie;
Kurosawa was "ordered" to use not more than one set. So he did a lot of location shooting — and liked it.
(And then, it was only released in 1952 after all.)



The movie is based on a Kabuki and a Noh play, I really don't even know the difference. It shows. A lot of it is totally incomprehensible to me, and I liked it for that reason alone. Teaches you a little humility. But mainly, it goes to show there's a lot in Kurosawa's other movies that we'd never comprehend, even if you learn the language. And with that handicap, his work still comes across as about the best stuff ever made.








Produced by Toho Co. Ltd.
Japan 1945

58 minutes, B/W, Academy screen

Credits:		Cast:
producer screenplay after the Kabuki photographed art director music by	Motohiko Ito Akira Kurosawa Kajincho Takeo Ito Kazuo Kubo Tadashi Hattori	Benkei Togashi Kamei Kataoka Ise Suruga Hidachibo Yoshitsune Porter	Dejiro Okuchi Susuma Fujita Masayuki Mori Takashi Shimura Aritake Kono Yoshio Kosugi Dekao Yoko Hanshiro Iwai Kenichi Enomoto

The Men Who Tread On The Tiger's Tail

Based on a popular Kabuki play, this early film from director Akira Kurosawa follows a fugitive clan lord and his six loyal aides as they flee through medieval Japan to escape the wrath of the lord's brother, a vengeful shogun. Hanshiro Iwai, Denjiro Okochi, Susumu Fujita star.

VHS In Japanese with English subtitles.

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