The Sea and Poison (film)
| The Sea and Poison | |
|---|---|
DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Kei Kumai |
| Written by | Kei Kumai |
| Based on | The Sea and Poison by Shūsaku Endō |
| Produced by | Shūsaku Endō Kei Kumai Takayoshi Miyagawa Kazu Otsuka Keiichiro Takishima |
| Starring | Eiji Okuda Ken Watanabe Takahiro Tamura Kyōko Kishida Mikio Narita |
| Cinematography | Masao Tochizawa |
| Edited by | Osamu Inoue |
| Music by | Teizo Matsumura |
Production companies | The Sea and Poison Production Committee |
| Distributed by | Kadokawa |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 123 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Sea and Poison (Japanese: 海と毒薬, Hepburn: Umi to Dokuyaku) is a 1986 Japanese black and white drama film written and directed by Kei Kumai and based on a novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō.[1] It tells the true story of downed American pilots in World War II who are vivisected by Japanese surgeons in the Kyushu Imperial University.
The film has never been released on home video outside of Japan with an English translation.[2] Unofficial translations exist online[3] and can be legally watched with an original Japanese DVD using computer software that allows custom subtitles.
Cast
- Eiji Okuda as Suguro
- Ken Watanabe as Toda
- Takahiro Tamura as Professor Hashimoto
- Kyōko Kishida as Ohba, Head Nurse
- Mikio Narita as Shibata
- Shigeru Kōyama as Gondo
- Toshie Negishi as Ueda, Nurse
- Ken Nishida as Asai
- Masumi Okada as Hattori
- Noriko Sengoku as Old woman
- Kazunaga Tsuji as Murai
- Masane Tsukayama as Miyasaka
Production
Planning
Director and screenwriter Kei Kumai submitted his film proposal to Nikkatsu after his 1970 film Apart from Life. However, Nikkatsu was on the brink of bankruptcy at the time, and so he approached various companies, but they shunned him, citing the film as "dark, heavy, and difficult – all three of the major elements that make a film unsuccessful." After more than a decade, a businessman offered to fund the production, and 17 years later, the film was finally produced.[4] Kumai stated, "I was shocked when I read the original novel in 1958, and every time I reread it, the impact is renewed. I fear that the current social climate is reverting to the past, and I want to warn against this with this film."[5]
Cinematography
Most of the filming took place at the former Tokyo Industrial Laboratory in Hatsudai, which has served as a location for numerous films and TV shows, including MISHIMA and Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girls' Blood is Roaring.[5]
Awards and nominations
60th Kinema Junpo Best Ten Awards[6]
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Japanese Film Director
37th Berlin International Film Festival[7]
- Won: Jury Grand Prix
- Won: Best Film
References
- ^ "映画監督の熊井啓氏が死去". Fuji Sankei Shinbun. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ "YESASIA: Umi to Dokuyaku (Japan Version) DVD - Negishi Kie, Tamura Takahiro, Geneon Universal Entertainment - Japan Movies & Videos - Free Shipping - North America Site".
- ^ "The Sea and Poison subtitles English". OpenSubtitles. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "ベストライフ・オンライン ■大人生活支援オンラインマガジン■". www.bestlife.ne.jp. 13 August 2003. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
- ^ a b Masaaki, Nomura (January 1986). "Key Wave 27: Serial: Visiting Filming Locations for 'The Sea and Poison'". City Road. p. 18.
- ^ キネマ旬報社 (2022). キネマ旬報ベスト・テン 95回全史: 1924-2021 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpōsha. pp. 452–460. ISBN 978-4-87376-873-1.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1987 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Japan-movie" 41 1986年 (in Japanese). japan-movie.net. Retrieved 15 December 2010.