Buddha

"It depicts the life of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism."

1961 2h 37m JA

🤯

10.0

MASTERPIECE

★10.0TMDB · 1

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha (Cojoin Hong) turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly and holy rituals include human sacrifices. During his meditations, he is tempted by erotic dancing women, demons, and the evil machinations of his criminal cousin. Devastate to attain the spiritual perfection and become the Buddha. He travels to convert followers by his kindness and wisdom, gaining a multitude of believers when he stops an elephant from crushing a local priest. Buddha of course goes on to become one of the great religious leaders of the world.

“It depicts the life of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.”

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Cast

Raizō Ichikawa
Kunala
Shintarō Katsu
Devadatta
Kōjirō Hongō
Siddhartha
Hiroshi Kawaguchi
Ajashartu
Keizō Kawasaki
Upali
Katsuhiko Kobayashi
Ananda
Hajime Mitamura
Shariputra
Matasaburô Niwa
Sanna

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kenji Misumi
Writers: Fuji Yahiro
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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 157 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kenji Misumi, shot by Hiroshi Imai. 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 Akira Ifukube. 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 Kanji Suganuma 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

Raizō Ichikawa and Shintarō Katsu and Kōjirō Hongō carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It depicts the life of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054706 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kenji Misumi directs. Hiroshi Imai behind the camera. Akira Ifukube scores. Kanji Suganuma cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 157 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
265 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Kenji Misumi, shot by Hiroshi Imai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Akira Ifukube. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kanji Suganuma shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Raizō Ichikawa and Shintarō Katsu and Kōjirō Hongō carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "It depicts the life of Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.".
8IMDB entry: tt0054706 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.