The Ballad of Narayama

"Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…"

1983 2h 10m JA

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 212

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.

“Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

ARROWSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Amazon VideoBuy

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Cast

Ken Ogata
Tatsuhei
Sumiko Sakamoto
Orin
Tonpei Hidari
Risuke
Aki Takejo
Tamayan
Shoichi Ozawa
Katsuzô
Fujio Tokita
Jinsaku
Sanshō Shinsui
Zeniya Tadayan
Seiji Kurasaki
Kesakichi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shōhei Imamura
Writers: Shōhei Imamura
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

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Shōhei Imamura, shot by Masao Tochizawa. 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 Shinichiro Ikebe. 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 Hajime Okayasu 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

Ken Ogata and Sumiko Sakamoto and Tonpei Hidari carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0084390 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shōhei Imamura directs. Masao Tochizawa behind the camera. Shinichiro Ikebe scores. Hajime Okayasu cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

143 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Shōhei Imamura, shot by Masao Tochizawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Shinichiro Ikebe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Hajime Okayasu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ken Ogata and Sumiko Sakamoto and Tonpei Hidari carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…".
7IMDB entry: tt0084390 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Masao Tochizawa
Original score: Shinichiro Ikebe
Editing: Hajime Okayasu
Production design: Gorô Kusakabe
Costume design: Kyoto Isho
Makeup / hair: Tomoe Ookawa
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

Awards

Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
Palme d'Or
Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Shōhei Imamura

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

badelf2023-11-24
★ 10/10
The short review is "life's a bitch, then you die" LOL, that doesn't do this absolutely brilliant film any justice, though. Imamura has crafted a rather sardonic, brutally honest mirror of humans. Like humans, it is both hard to watch, and simultaneously invokes emapthy. Few directors every achieve this level of mastery of the audience's emotions. It holds a well-deserved Palme d'Or. The legend upon which the movie is based is called Ubasute (姥捨て) in Japanese, or "abandoning an old woman". There is no evidence of it ever being a common practice, though it's a persistent myth in Japan. One of the very plain statements of the director, is that Ubasute reflects the way contemporary Western culture treats it's elderly. In the USA, at least, nursing homes substitute for Narayama mountain.

Production companies