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Seven Nights in Japan
Seven Nights in Japan
	Original British Quad poster
Directed by	Lewis Gilbert
Written by	Christopher Wood
Produced by	Lewis Gilbert
Starring	Michael York; Hidemi Aoki; Peter Jones; Charles Gray
Cinematography	Henri Decaë
Edited by	John Glen
Music by	David Hentschel
Production; company	EMI Films
Distributed by	EMI (UK); Paramount Pictures (USA)
Release date	September 1976 (UK);
Running time	104 mins.
Countries	France; United Kingdom
Language	English

Seven Nights in Japan is a 1976 Anglo-French drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Michael York, Charles Gray, and Hidemi Aoki. Gilbert called the film "a bit daft really... pretty flimsy... a very minor piece of work."^[1]

Story

The film is about seven days in the life of Prince George, who is travelling in Japan for the first time. While there he meets and falls for a local girl, Sumi, who is a bus tour guide. They spend a few days and nights together at her isolated childhood home. When Sumi discovers his true identity she admonishes him for avoiding his duties as the future king (he had absconded from his planned itinerary of factory visits to be with her; he later justifies his absence to the ambassador by asserting that he was simply taking his allotted naval shore leave).

Problems also happen as he is hunted by an unknown Japanese Sect who want him dead, as he left one of their nightclubs without paying (having inadvertently run up a huge bill).

Cast

Prince George - Michael York
Sumi - Hidemi Aoki
Finn - James Villiers
Captain Balcon - Peter Jones
Hollander - Charles Gray
Jane Hollander - Anne Lonnberg
Mrs Hollander - Eléonore Hirt
American tourist - Lionel Murton
American wife - Yolande Donlan

Production

When Lewis Gilbert was making The Adventurers (1970) for Paramount, he said Charles Bludhorn, whose company owned the studio, wanted the director to make a musical remake of Roman Holiday with songs by the Sherman Brothers. Gilbert agreed but said Paramount then got "cold feet" and the film was cancelled.^[2])

Gilbert revisted the idea in the mid 1970s. He wanted to go back to Japan, where he had enjoyed making You Only Live Twice and came up with the idea of a twist on Roman Holiday with the roles reversed, i.e. a romance between a royal man and commoner woman.^[1] The lead male was inspired by Prince Charles, who was serving in the Royal Navy at the time, and was known for his romantic involvements as well as his need for a suitable wife. In the film 'Prince George' is said to be engaged to a member of the Swedish royal family.^[3] "There are echos of Roman Holiday," said York.^[4]

In July 1975 Nat Cohen announced the movie would be part of a slate of eleven movies from EMI Films worth £6 million. Others included Aces High, Evil Under the Sun (not made until years later), Sergeant Steiner (later Cross of Iron), To the Devil a Daughter, The Sweeney, The Likely Lads, a remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets with Dick Emery and The Nat King Cole Story (both never made), Spanish Fly and All Things Bright and Beautiful (later titled It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet). Filming started in September 1975 with a cast headed by Michael York and Hidemi Asaki.^[5]^[6] Gilbert says they had to teach Asaki English.^[1]^[7]

Reception

Conservative MP John Stokes called the film "a deliberate attempt to make fun of and discredit Prince Charles", accusing it of being based on the prince's 1970 visit to Japan. This was denied by EMI Films.^[8]

Michael York wrote in his memoirs that Prince Charles "while not confessing the same irresponsible wish-fulfillment as George, confided that our portrayal of the rigors that face a modern prince was, in some respects, accurate. It was certainly not my intention to reflect unflatteringly on a man I admired."^[9]

Critical

The Evening Standard called it "a very old fashioned film."^[10]

Box office

Gilbert said the film "didn't do anything" commercially and was "hated" in Japan in part because he showed traditional Japan. "We didn't know they hated the idea of Japanese girls going off with foreigners," said Gilbert.^[1]

According to York, however, the film was a big success in Burma, leading to York being mobbed when he visited.^[11]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Interview with Lewis Gilbert Side 14". British Entertainment History Project. 1996.
^ "Interview with Lewis Gilbert Side 13". British Entertainment History Project. 1996.
^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Michael York Heads for Future CALL SHEET Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug 1975: b6.
^ Rising son WHYMANT, ROBERT. The Guardian 29 Nov 1975: 11.
^ Owen, Michael (8 July 1975). "Another Agatha Christie Thriller". Evening Standard. p. 10.
^ Shamoon, Stella (9 July 1975). "EMI putting £6 million into films in next 12 months". The Daily Telegraph. p. 20.
^ York, Michael (1991). Accidentally on purpose : an autobiography. Simon & Schuster. pp. 304–305.
^ "Prince film is attacked by MP". The Birmingham Post. 11 February 1976. p. 28.
^ York p 305
^ "The Prince and Madam Butterfly". Evening Standard. 16 September 1976. p. 28.
^ MICHAEL YORK Tired of playing 'sensitive young men,' he's off to Broadway and Bent Godfrey, Stephen. The Globe and Mail, 10 May 1980: E.1.