The Face of Another

"It’s always lonely being free."

1966 2h 2m JA

🙌

7.8

BANGER

🍅

86%

FRESH

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.8TMDB · 299🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes★7.9IMDB · 11,273

DramaScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.

“It’s always lonely being free.”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai
Mr. Okuyama
Mikijiro Hira
Dr. Hori
Machiko Kyō
Mrs. Okuyama
Kyôko Kishida
Nurse
Eiji Okada
The Boss
Miki Irie
Scarred Girl
Kakuya Saeki
Elder Brother of Scarred Girl
Minoru Chiaki
Apartment Superintendent

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Writers: Kōbō Abe
Languages: German, Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, shot by Hiroshi Segawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Tōru Takemitsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yoshi Sugihara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tatsuya Nakadai and Mikijiro Hira and Machiko Kyō carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It’s always lonely being free.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0061065 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hiroshi Teshigahara directs. Hiroshi Segawa behind the camera. Tōru Takemitsu scores. Yoshi Sugihara cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in German, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

160 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: German, Japanese.
3Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, shot by Hiroshi Segawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Tōru Takemitsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Yoshi Sugihara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Tatsuya Nakadai and Mikijiro Hira and Machiko Kyō carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It’s always lonely being free.".
8IMDB entry: tt0061065 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "mask", "japan", "dual identity", "based on novel or book".
10Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hiroshi Segawa
Original score: Tōru Takemitsu
Editing: Yoshi Sugihara
Production design: Masao Yamazaki
Costume design: Tamiko Moriya
Sound: Shigenosuke Okuyama
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Face of Another (1966)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 11,273 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

2 wins total

Also by

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2024-01-13
★ 7/10
This is difficult because I expected to like this movie much more than I did. There is a lot of creativity in it, starting with the premise itself. The photography and sometimes other-wordly sets also impressed me. What disappointed me was the absence of a communicated clear vision. At the end, I didn't know what I had seen or how I felt about it. I wasn't sure if the story was about mask & identity, or about cultural monster labels and prejudice, or about the aftermath of Nagasaki/Hiroshima bombing, or about love and the lack of it.

Production companies