is a 1971

1971 in film

The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...

 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada

Yoji Yamada

is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ....

. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi

Kiyoshi Atsumi

Kiyoshi Atsumi , born Yasuo Tadokoro , was a Japanese film actor....

 as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Rumi Sakakibara as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san, the Good Samaritan is the seventh entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo

Otoko wa Tsurai yo

Otoko wa tsurai yo is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" , a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans...

series.

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi
  Kiyoshi Atsumi
  Kiyoshi Atsumi , born Yasuo Tadokoro , was a Japanese film actor....
  
   as Torajirō
• Chieko Baishō
  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 . In addition, she has acted in most films directed by Yōji Yamada since the 1960s...
  
   as Sakura
• Rumi Sakakibara as Hanako Ōta
• Sachiko Mitsumoto as Fuyuko
• Chōchō Miyako as Kiku
• Kunie Tanaka
  Kunie Tanaka
  is a Japanese actor who has appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro and The Bad Sleep Well and Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan.He has been nominated for five Japanese Academy Awards, winning the Best Supporting Actor statuette for Gakko in 1993.-Selected filmography:*Minna no Ie aka...
  
   as Prof. Fukui
• Hiroshi Ōtsuka as Policeman
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Chieko Misaki as Torajiro's aunt
• Hisao Dazai as Tarō Ume

Critical appraisal

For his work on Tora-san, the Good Samaritan, the previous entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, Tora-san's Shattered Romance

Tora-san's Shattered Romance

aka Tora-san in Love is a 1971 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma , and Ayako Wakao as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Shattered Romance is the sixth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.-Synopsis:A girl who...

, and the following entry, Tora-san's Love Call

Tora-san's Love Call

aka Tora-san's Love Song is a 1971 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma , and Junko Ikeuchi as his love interest or "Madonna". Tora-san's Love Call is the eighth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.-Synopsis:Hoping to find...

(all 1971), Yoji Yamada

Yoji Yamada

is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films and his Samurai Trilogy ....

 tied for Best Director at the Mainichi Film Awards with Masahiro Shinoda

Masahiro Shinoda

is a Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s.-Career:...

. The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san, the Good Samaritan three and a half out of five stars.

Availability

Tora-san, the Good Samaritan was released theatrically on April 28, 1971. In Japan, the film has been released on videotape in 1983 and 1995, and in DVD format in 1998 and 2008.

External links

• Tora-san, the Good Samaritan at www.tora-san.jp (Official site)