''aka'' ''Tora-san's Stage-Struck''
is a 1978 Japanese comedy film directed by
Yoji Yamada
is a Japanese film director best known for his ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy (''The Twilight Samurai'', ''The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor'').
Biography
He was born in Osaka, but due to his father's job ...
. It stars
Kiyoshi Atsumi
Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美 清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所 康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...
as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and
Nana Kinomi
, born July 11, 1946, in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese actress and singer.
Selected works
* ''Kaze to Kumo to Niji to'' (1976)
* ''Daitokai Tatakai no Hibi '' (1976 episode, 25)
* ''Abunai Deka series''
* ''Otoko wa tsurai yo'': ''Stage-S ...
as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Stage-Struck Tora-san'' is the twenty-first entry in the popular, long-running ''
Otoko wa Tsurai yo
is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the ' ...
'' series.
Synopsis
Tora-san returns from his travels throughout Japan to his family's home in Tokyo to find his uncle recovering from an illness. After a family fight erupts, he returns to the road and becomes friends with Tomekichi. When the pair come to Tokyo, they both fall in love with stage dancers.
Cast
*
Kiyoshi Atsumi
Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美 清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所 康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...
as Torajirō
*
Chieko Baisho
is a Japanese actress and singer.
In Japan, she is well known for her performance as Sakura in the '' Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series from 1969 until 1995. In addition, she has acted in many films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s. She won ...
as Sakura
*
Nana Kinomi
, born July 11, 1946, in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan, is a Japanese actress and singer.
Selected works
* ''Kaze to Kumo to Niji to'' (1976)
* ''Daitokai Tatakai no Hibi '' (1976 episode, 25)
* ''Abunai Deka series''
* ''Otoko wa tsurai yo'': ''Stage-S ...
as Nanako Beni
*
Tetsuya Takeda
Tetsuya Takeda (), born April 11, 1949, is a Japanese folk singer and actor. Takeda is perhaps most known in Japan for his starring role in the Tokyo Broadcasting System's (TBS) long-running, highly rated television drama '' Sannen B Gumi Kinpa ...
as Tomekichi Gotō
*
Masami Shimojō
was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films.
Career
Hoping to become a film director, Shimojō traveled to Tokyo in 1935 but ended up joining a theater troupe, debuting on stage in 1936. He made his film debut in 194 ...
as Kuruma Tatsuzō
*
Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
*
Gin Maeda
(born February 21, 1944) is a Japanese actor. He had a regular role in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' films, beginning with the first in the series (1969), as Sakura's husband.
Filmography Film
*''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series (1969–2019), Hiroshi S ...
as Hiroshi Suwa
* Hayato Nakamura as Mitsuo Suwa
*
Hisao Dazai
Hisao (written: 央生, 久生, 久雄, 寿雄, 寿夫, 尚雄, 尚久 or 尚勇) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese voice actor
*, Japanese government official
*, Japanese baseball player
*, Japa ...
as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
*
Gajirō Satō as Genkō
*
Hiroshi Inuzuka
(born 23 March 1929, Tokyo) is a Japanese actor, comedian and bassist. Inuzuka is one of the members of the Crazy Cats.
His first starring role in the film was in ''Suteki na Konban wa'' directed by Yoshitarō Nomura and played the leading rol ...
*
Raita Ryū
is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his role as Gorisan (Detective Ishizuka) in ''Taiyō ni Hoero!''. He has a son , who is a musician and guitarist.
Once, he belonged to Toshiro Mifune's production company. Selected filmography Films
*' ...
as Detective
*
Chishū Ryū
was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting 65 years, appeared in over 160 films and about 70 television productions.
Early life
Ryū was born in Tamamizu Village, Tamana County, a rural area of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu, the most southe ...
as Gozen-sama
* Shinobu Azusa as Shinobu Fuji
Critical appraisal
Kiyoshi Atsumi
Kiyoshi Atsumi (渥美 清 ''Atsumi Kiyoshi''), born Yasuo Tadokoro (田所 康雄 ''Tadokoro Yasuo'', 10 March 1928 – 4 August 1996), was a Japanese actor. He was born in Tokyo, and started his career in 1951 as a comedian at a strip-show the ...
was nominated for Best Actor at the
Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his work in ''Stage-Struck Tora-san'' and the following film in the series, ''
Talk of the Town Tora-san'' (also 1978).
Yoji Yamada
is a Japanese film director best known for his ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series of films and his Samurai Trilogy (''The Twilight Samurai'', ''The Hidden Blade'' and '' Love and Honor'').
Biography
He was born in Osaka, but due to his father's job ...
was also nominated for Best Director for these two films.
Stuart Galbraith IV
Stuart Eugene Galbraith IV (born December 29, 1965) is an American film historian, film critic, essayist, and audio commentator.
Early life and education
Raised in Livonia, Michigan, Galbraith first worked professionally as a film reviewer and ...
writes that ''Stage-Struck Tora-san'' is one of the weaker entries in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series. He notes that co-star Tetsuya Takeda, a popular comic actor in Japan at the time, comes across as hammy in western eyes. According to Galbraith, the film works best as a nostalgic look at late-1970s popular culture. The opening dream segment is a spoof of ''
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...
'' (1977), and there are references to
Pink Lady as well as glimpses into Japan's economic situation of the era.
The German-language site molodezhnaja gives ''Stage-Struck Tora-san'' three out of five stars.
Availability
''Stage-Struck Tora-san'' was released theatrically on August 5, 1978. In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 2002 and 2005.
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
English
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German
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Japanese
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External links
''Stage-Struck Tora-san''at www.tora-san.jp (official site)
{{Yoji Yamada
1978 films
Films directed by Yoji Yamada
1978 comedy films
1970s Japanese-language films
Otoko wa Tsurai yo films
Japanese sequel films
Shochiku films
Films with screenplays by Yôji Yamada
1970s Japanese films