Madadayo

Madadayo (まあだだよ, Mādadayo, "Not Yet") is a 1993 Japanese comedy-drama film. It is the thirtieth and final film to be completed by Akira Kurosawa. It was screened out of competition at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.[2] The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[3][4]

Madadayo
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Produced by	Hisao Kurosawa
Screenplay by	Akira Kurosawa Ishiro Honda[1]
Based on	Literary works by Hyakken Uchida
Starring	Tatsuo Matsumura Kyoko Kagawa Hisashi Igawa George Tokoro
Music by	Shinichiro Ikebe[1]
Cinematography	Takao Saito Masaharu Ueda[1]
Production companies	Daiei Dentsu, Inc. Kurosawa Production[1]
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	17 April 1993 (1993-04-17) (Japan)
Running time	134 minutes[1]
Country	Japan

Plot

The main story of the film is based on the life of a Japanese academic and author Hyakken Uchida (1889–1971). The film opens with him resigning as professor of German, in the period immediately before the Second World War. The plot is centered on his relationship with his former students, who care for him in his old age.

Cast

• Tatsuo Matsumura – Professor Hyakken Uchida
• Kyōko Kagawa – Professor's Wife
• Hisashi Igawa – Takayama
• George Tokoro – Amaki
• Masayuki Yui – Kiriyama
• Akira Terao – Sawamura
• Takeshi Kusaka – Dr. Kobayashi
• Asei Kobayashi – Rev. Kameyama
• Hidetaka Yoshioka – Takayama's son
• Yoshitaka Zushi – Neighbor
• Mitsuru Hirata – Tada
• Nobuto Okamoto – Ōta
• Tetsu Watanabe
• Norio Matsui
• Noriko Honma – Old lady holding a cat

Release

Madadayo was distributed theatrically in Japan by Toho on 17 April 1993.[1] The film was exhibited at various American film festivals beginning on March 20, 1998.[1] It did not initially receive a wide theatrical release and was released directly to television by WinStar Cinema and first broadcast on Turner Classic Movies in September 1999.[1] It was reissued theatrically in September 1, 2000.[1]

English-subtitled DVDs have been released by Winstar and the Criterion Collection in the U.S., Madman in Australia, Yume Pictures in the UK, and Mei Ah in Hong Kong. A Blu-ray edition, without English subtitles, is available in Japan as part of a box set with Rashomon, Ran, and The Quiet Duel.[5]

Reception

In Japan, the film won the awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Lighting at the Japanese Academy Awards.[1] All these awards were given to their respective crews for their work on both Madadayo and Rainbow Bridge.[1]

Madadayo received generally positive reviews from critics, maintaining an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[6]

See also

• List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

References

1. Galbraith IV 2008, p. 382.
2. "Festival de Cannes: Madadayo". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
3. Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
4. Frook, John Evan (30 November 1993). "Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
5. "YESASIA: Kurosawa Akira Blu-ray Box (Blu-ray) (First Press Limited Edition) (Japan Version) Blu-ray - Nakadai Tatsuya, , Kadokawa Pictures - Japan Movies & Videos - Free Shipping - North America Site". www.yesasia.com. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
6. "Madadayo (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 26, 2017.

Bibliography

• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 1461673747.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Madadayo on IMDb
• Madadayo (in Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database