Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Genres - Drama, Action, Adventure, Thriller |
Sub-Genres - Adventure Drama, Costume Adventure, Samurai Film |
Run Time - 59 min. |
Countries - Japan |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Akira Kurosawa's Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail was put together at the last minute when Kurosawa's plan to direct a costume picture called Doko Kono Yari fell through (the producer couldn't get any horses!) Utilizing the costumes, sets and actors already commissioned, Kurosawa spent one long evening writing a screenplay based on the old Kabuki piece Kanjincho. The central character, a dimwitted porter who almost causes the film's plot to go awry, was played by Enoken, a stage actor and longtime personal favorite of Kurosawa's. Originally titled Tora no o o fumu Otokotachi, Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail was impressive enough for English-filmmaker Michael Powell to request permission to remake it on a larger scale (he never did). Completed in 1945, the film was not generally released until 1952.
Characteristics
Themes
Keywords
class [social], government, oppression, against-all-odds, behind-enemy-lines, brother, captive, captor, class-consciousness, control, escape, friendship, on-the-run, one-against-odds, power, prison, rival, servant, shogun, sibling, smuggling, struggle
