Tora-san Plays Cupid

Tora-san Plays Cupid
Theatrical poster
Directed byYoji Yamada
Written byYoji Yamada
Yoshitaka Asama
StarringKiyoshi Atsumi
Shiho Fujimura
CinematographyTetsuo Takaba
Edited byIwao Ishii
Music byNaozumi Yamamoto
Distributed byShochiku
Release date
  • December 29, 1977 (1977-12-29)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Tora-san Plays Cupid (男はつらいよ 寅次郎頑張れ!, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajirō Gambare!) aka Tora-san, Hold Out![1] is a 1977 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Shiho Fujimura as his love interest or "Madonna".[2] Tora-san Plays Cupid is the twentieth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Synopsis

Tora-san plays at matchmaker, trying to arrange a romance between Ryōsuke and Sachiko. His advice proves disastrous and Tora-san instead falls in love with Ryōsuke's sister.[3][4][5]

Cast

Critical appraisal

Kiyoshi Atsumi was nominated for Best Actor at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony for his performances in Tora-san Plays Cupid, Tora-san Meets His Lordship and Yatsuhaka-mura (all 1977). Chieko Baisho was also nominated for Best Actress and Shinobu Otake for Best Supporting Actress at the same ceremony.[7] Stuart Galbraith IV judges the film to be another good entry in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, funny and with a strong supporting cast.[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san Plays Cupid three and a half out of five stars.[8]

Availability

Tora-san Plays Cupid was released theatrically on December 29, 1977.[9] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1996, and in DVD format in 1998, 2002, and 2008.[10]

References

  1. ^ "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -TORAJIRO GANBARE". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  2. ^ "男はつらいよ 寅次郎頑張れ! (Madonna)" (in Japanese). www.tora-san.jp. Retrieved 2010-01-18. (official site)
  3. ^ 男はつらいよ 寅次郎頑張れ! (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  4. ^ a b Galbraith IV, Stuart (2006-03-08). "Tora-san 20: Tora-san Plays Cupid (Region 3)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  5. ^ "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO TORAJIRO GANBARE (1977)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  6. ^ 男はつらいよ 寅次郎頑張れ! (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  7. ^ "Awards for Otoko wa tsurai yo: Torajiro gambare! (1977)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  8. ^ "Tora-San Plays Cupid" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  9. ^ "男はつらいよ 寅次郎頑張れ!". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
  10. ^ 男はつらいよ 寅次郎頑張れ！(1977) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-18.

Bibliography

English

German

Japanese