Scandal (1950 film)
Encyclopedia
is a 1950 film
written and directed by Akira Kurosawa
. The film stars Toshirō Mifune
, Takashi Shimura
and Shirley Yamaguchi
.
for the tabloid magazine Amour, who track the two down. As Saijo refuses to grant the photographers an interview they plot their revenge by taking a picture of the couple having breakfast and print it under the headline 'The Love Story of Miyako Saijo'.
Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine. During the subsequent media circus, Aoye is approached by a down-and-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's anger with the press. Aoye takes him for his attorney but Hiruta, desperate for money to cure his daughter with terminal tuberculosis
, Masako (Yôko Katsuragi), accepts a bribe from the editor of the magazine to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs. Struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards his Masako, and Masako's own disgust at the way he is handling the case, Hiruta becomes ridden with guilt. As the trial draws to an end, Masako dies, convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win the case. On the final day of the trial Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses all and, though he is disbarred, his reputation is saved and Amour loses the case.
It perhaps isn't coincidental that Mifune's character in the film is a painter. Kurosawa had toyed with the idea of becoming a painter before becoming a director, and always retained a passion for painting; he often painted the storyboards for his films.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
. The film stars Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
, Takashi Shimura
Takashi Shimura
was a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....
and Shirley Yamaguchi
Yoshiko Otaka
, is a China-born Japanese actress and singer who made a career in China, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United States. By the 1940s, she became one of the Seven great singing stars...
.
Plot
Ichiro Aoye (Toshirō Mifune), an artist, meets a famous young classical singer, Miyako Saijo (Shirley Yamaguchi) whilst working on his paintings in the mountains. After discovering they are both heading for the same location he offers to give her a motorcycle ride to where they are staying. On the way, they are spotted by paparazziPaparazzi
Paparazzi is an Italian term used to refer to photojournalists who specialize in candid photography of celebrities, politicians, and other prominent people...
for the tabloid magazine Amour, who track the two down. As Saijo refuses to grant the photographers an interview they plot their revenge by taking a picture of the couple having breakfast and print it under the headline 'The Love Story of Miyako Saijo'.
Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine. During the subsequent media circus, Aoye is approached by a down-and-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's anger with the press. Aoye takes him for his attorney but Hiruta, desperate for money to cure his daughter with terminal tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, Masako (Yôko Katsuragi), accepts a bribe from the editor of the magazine to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs. Struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards his Masako, and Masako's own disgust at the way he is handling the case, Hiruta becomes ridden with guilt. As the trial draws to an end, Masako dies, convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win the case. On the final day of the trial Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses all and, though he is disbarred, his reputation is saved and Amour loses the case.
Commentary
Scandal was described by Kurosawa himself as a protest film about "the rise of the press in Japan and its habitual confusion of freedom with license."It perhaps isn't coincidental that Mifune's character in the film is a painter. Kurosawa had toyed with the idea of becoming a painter before becoming a director, and always retained a passion for painting; he often painted the storyboards for his films.
External links
- Scandal at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Scandal at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...