Tale of Army Brutality

1963 1h 38m JA

🤯

9.5

MASTERPIECE

★9.5TMDB · 2

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Director Jun'ya Satô's debut film focuses on the inhuman training of recruits, the brutal drill system that reigned in the Japanese army during World War II, where in the first two years of training, ordinary people were turned into inhuman killers. For his first film, the director was awarded the Blue Ribbon Awards in the Debutant of the Year nomination.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Rentaro Mikuni
Yahichi Inumaru
Katsuo Nakamura
Naokichi Suzuki
Shinjirō Ehara
Tadayoshi Yazaki
Kō Nishimura
Kameoka, Zenji
Mitsuo Andō
Kaneko Iwasaki
Ume, Yahichi's wife
Yoshi Katō
Seikichi, Yahichi's father
Michirō Minami
Oshikawa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Junya Satō
Writers: Gorō Tanada
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

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Junya Satō, shot by Hanjirō Nakazawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

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#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Rentaro Mikuni and Katsuo Nakamura and Shinjirō Ehara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0328333 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Junya Satō directs. Hanjirō Nakazawa behind the camera. Masaru Satō scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

163 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Junya Satō, shot by Hanjirō Nakazawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Masaru Satō. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Rentaro Mikuni and Katsuo Nakamura and Shinjirō Ehara carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0328333 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.