Scandal (1950 film)

Scandal
File:Shubun poster.jpg Original Japanese poster
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Produced by	Takashi Koide
Written by	Akira Kurosawa Ryuzo Kikushima
Starring	Toshirō Mifune Takashi Shimura Shirley Yamaguchi Noriko Sengoku
Music by	Fumio Hayasaka
Production company	Shochiku Co. Ltd.
Distributed by	Shochiku Co. Ltd.
Release dates	April 30, 1950
Running time	104 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Scandal (醜聞(スキャンダル), Sukyandaru, aka Shūbun) is a 1950 film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura and Shirley Yamaguchi.

Plot

Ichiro Aoye (Toshirō Mifune), an artist, meets a famous young classical singer, Miyako Saijo (Shirley Yamaguchi) whilst working on his paintings in the mountains. After discovering they are both heading for the same location he offers to give her a motorcycle ride to where they are staying. On the way, they are spotted by paparazzi for the tabloid magazine Amour, who track the two down. As Saijo refuses to grant the photographers an interview, they plot their revenge by taking a picture of the couple having breakfast on a balcony and print it under the headline 'The Love Story of Miyako Saijo'.

Aoye is outraged by this false scandal and plans to sue the magazine. During the subsequent media circus, Aoye is approached by a down-and-out lawyer, Hiruta (Takashi Shimura), who claims to share Aoye's anger with the press. Aoye takes him for his attorney, but Hiruta, desperate for money to cure his daughter with terminal tuberculosis, Masako (Yôko Katsuragi), accepts a bribe from the editor of the magazine to throw the trial. The trial proceeds badly for the plaintiffs. Struck by the kindness of Aoye and Saijo towards his Masako, and Masako's own disgust at the way he is handling the case, Hiruta becomes ridden with guilt. As the trial draws to an end, Masako dies, convinced that Aoye and Saijo will win the case. On the final day of the trial Hiruta, prodded by his conscience, confesses all and Amour loses the case.

Cast

• Toshiro Mifune - Ichirō Aoye
• Takashi Shimura - Attorney Hiruta
• Shirley Yamaguchi - Miyako Saijo
• Noriko Sengoku - Sumie
• Yoko Katsuragi - Masako Hiruta
• Eitaro Ozawa - Hori
• Shinichi Himori - Editor Asai
• Ichiro Shimizu - Arai
• Fumiko Okamura - Miyako's mother
• Masao Shimizu - Judge
• Kokuten Kōdō - Old Man
• Bokuzen Hidari - Drunk

Commentary

Scandal was described by Kurosawa himself as a protest film about "the rise of the press in Japan and its habitual confusion of freedom with license. Personal privacy is never respected and the scandal sheets are the worst offenders."

It perhaps isn't coincidental that Mifune's character in the film is a painter. Kurosawa had toyed with the idea of becoming a painter before becoming a director, and always retained a passion for painting; he often painted the storyboards for his films.

External links

• Scandal at IMDb
• Scandal at AllMovie
• Scandal at Rotten Tomatoes
• Scandal (Japanese) at the Japanese Movie Database