The Choice of Hercules

2002 2h 10m JA

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 8

DramaActionCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Koji Yakusho
Atsuyuki Sassa
Ryudo Uzaki
Shinichi Udagawa
Masatô Ibu
Chief Constable Noma
Yuki Amami
Sachiko Sassa
Kazuyoshi Kushida
Osamu Shigematu
Eisuke Sasai
Hyodo
Kazuhiro Yamaji

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Masato Harada
Writers: Masato Harada
Languages: 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 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Masato Harada, shot by Yoshitaka Sakamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Koji Yakusho and Ryudo Uzaki and Masatô Ibu carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0324296 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Masato Harada directs. Yoshitaka Sakamoto behind the camera. Takatsugu Muramatsu scores. Soichi Ueno cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 24 years ago.
2Directed by Masato Harada, shot by Yoshitaka Sakamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Takatsugu Muramatsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Soichi Ueno shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Koji Yakusho and Ryudo Uzaki and Masatô Ibu carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0324296 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 8 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.