Red Beard

"What is the key to life - power, prestige or peace?"

1965 3h 5m JA

🙌

8.2

BANGER

🍅

73%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

8.3

IMDB

★8.2TMDB · 431🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes●90Metacritic★8.3IMDB · 22,731

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

“What is the key to life - power, prestige or peace?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Toshirō Mifune
Dr. Kyojio Niide ("Red Beard")
Yūzō Kayama
Dr. Noboru Yasumoto
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Sahachi
Reiko Dan
Osugi
Miyuki Kuwano
Onaka
Kyōko Kagawa
Madwoman ("The Mantis")
Tatsuyoshi Ehara
Genzô Tsugawa
Terumi Niki
Otoyo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Masato Ide
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

At 185 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

61 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Akira Kurosawa, shot by Asakazu Nakai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Toshirō Mifune and Yūzō Kayama and Tsutomu Yamazaki carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What is the key to life - power, prestige or peace?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Akira Kurosawa directs. Asakazu Nakai behind the camera. Masaru Satō scores. Akira Kurosawa cuts. A long sit — settle in. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 185 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Shot for just $0.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
361 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Akira Kurosawa, shot by Asakazu Nakai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Masaru Satō. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Akira Kurosawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Toshirō Mifune and Yūzō Kayama and Tsutomu Yamazaki carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "What is the key to life - power, prestige or peace?".
9IMDB entry: tt0058888 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 14 themes, including "uniform", "career", "small town", "japan".
11Released under 20 different titles around the world.