is a 1986 Japanese film directed by

Kei Kumai was a Japanese film director from Azumino, Nagano prefecture. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he began work as a director's assistant. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his first film, '' Nihon r ...

and based on a novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo. It tells the true story of downed American pilots in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who are vivisected by Japanese surgeons in medical experiments at Unit 731. The film has never been released on home video outside of Japan and has never been released with an English translation. Unofficial translations exist online and can be legally watched with an original Japanese DVD using computer software that allows custom subtitles.

Cast

Eiji Okuda is a Japanese actor and film director. Born in Kasugai, Aichi, he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1990 Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in '' Sen no Rikyu''. He won the award for best actor at the 37th Blue Ribbon Awar ...

as Suguro *

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...

as Toda *

Takahiro Tamura was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1954 and 2005. He and his younger brothers Masakazu and Ryō were known as the three Tamura brothers. They were sons of actor Tsumasaburo Bando. Biography Tamura graduated from Dosh ...

as Professor Hashimoto *

Kyōko Kishida was a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books. Career Kishida became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima production of the 1960 film '' Salome''. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds ...

as Ohba, Head Nurse * Mikio Narita as Shibata * Shigeru Kōyama as Gondo *

Toshie Negishi is a Japanese film and television actress. Filmography Film * ''Kaerazaru hibi'' (1978) * '' Toki o Kakeru Shōjo'' (1983) - Tachibana * '' Lonely Heart'' (1985) - Makoto's mother * ''The Sea and Poison'' (1986) - Ueda * '' Sada'' (1998) - Yosh ...

as Ueda, Nurse *

Ken Nishida is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is noted for his roles in ''Return of Ultraman'',西田健
at JMDB (Retrieved on May ...

as Asai * Masumi Okada as Hattori *

Noriko Sengoku , known by her stage name , was a Japanese film and television actress active primarily in the 1950s and 1960s. She made her film debut in 1947 and starred in several of Akira Kurosawa's early films such as ''Drunken Angel'' (1948), '' The Quiet ...

as Old woman * as Murai * Masane Tsukayama as Miyasaka

Awards

37th Berlin International Film Festival The 37th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February to 3 March 1987. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet Union film ''Tema'' directed by Gleb Panfilov. The retrospective was in honour of Armenian-American film and ...

* Jury Grand Prix 41st Mainichi Film Award *

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

References

External links

* 1986 films 1986 drama films 1980s Japanese-language films Japanese black-and-white films Films based on Japanese novels Films based on works by Shūsaku Endō Pacific War films Japanese war drama films Films about war crimes Films directed by Kei Kumai Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize winners Japanese World War II films 1980s Japanese films {{1980s-Japan-film-stub