Revenge of a Kabuki Actor
Directed by:
Kon IchikawaScreenplay:
和田夏十Cinematography:
Setsuo KobayashiComposer:
Masao YagiCast:
長谷川一夫, 山本富士子, Eiji Funakoshi, Shintarô Katsu, Ayako Wakao, Raizō Ichikawa, 中村鴈治郎, 伊達三郎, Jun HamamuraPlots(1)
Strange, sumptuous and visually stunning, this wildly melodramatic tale of a Kabuki female impersonator who exacts a long-delayed revenge on the men who drove his parents to suicide is played out against a colourful backdrop of comic rivalries between thieves in the Tokyo underworld. Kazuo Hasegawa stars, in the dual role of the actor and a thief, in a film which celebrated his 300th screen appearance. A heady cocktail of swooning romanticism and highly stylised action, with an outstanding soundtrack that ranges from traditional Japanese music to lush Hollywood strings and cocktail jazz, An Actor's Revenge is a cinematic tour de force. (British Film Institute (BFI))
(more)Reviews (1)
A good story spiced up with Japanese theater, and on top of that, the great form chosen by the legendary Kon Ichikawa. Great moments, but also excellent elements that are intertwined with action-packed samurai films, as well as with kabuki theater itself. The form slightly triumphs over the story, but it doesn't really matter that much.
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