The Last Embrace

1953 1h 27m JA

🤯

10.0

MASTERPIECE

★10.0TMDB · 1

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Yukiko Nogami is rescued during a mountain blizzard by handsome forester Shinkichi, and the two subsequently fall in love. But when Shinkichi dies in an avalanche, Yukiko leaves the mountains in despair and takes a job in a bar where she becomes deeply involved in the personal lives of several of the patrons. One day she thinks she sees Shinkichi alive, but it turns out to be a gangster named Hayakawa, a man on the run who bears an astonishing resemblance to Yukiko's lost love. Against her better judgment, she is drawn to help Hayakawa, though clearly danger follows him.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Yoshiko Yamaguchi
Yukiko Nogami
Toshirō Mifune
Shinkichi / Hayakawa
Takashi Shimura
Watanabe (Nabesan)
Akihiko Hirata
Yamaoka (Sandaime)
Hiroshi Koizumi
Yoshikawa (Sampei)
Sachio Sakai
Uchimura (Saboten)
Katsumi Tezuka
Gangster
Seiji Miyaguchi
Gangster

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Masahiro Makino
Writers: Haruo Umeda, Motosada Nishikame, Toshio Yasumi
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

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Yoshiko Yamaguchi and Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0045727 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Masahiro Makino directs. Yasushi Akutagawa scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
273 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Original score by Yasushi Akutagawa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Yoshiko Yamaguchi and Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0045727 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.