Akahige (Red Beard) poster & wallpaper

Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki

In a charity hospital, a hard-bitten but honorable older doctor, Dr. Niide, takes a young intern under his guidance through the course of a number of difficult cases.

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6,668 ratings

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11 critics

Unrated, 3 hrs. 5 min.

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Release Date: April 3, 1965

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DVD Release Date: July 16, 2002

Stats: 368 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (368)

  • her69eyes
    July 30, 2009
    her69eyes
    1969's "Red Beard" doesn't necessarily exemplify what a casual film lover would expect out of Akira Kurosawa, but it's no less a hero film than any of his samurai epics.

    The film marked a huge turning point in the legendary director's career. Not only was it his last film shot ...( read more)in black and white, but it was his last collaboration with Toshiro Mifune (whom he had worked with on sixteen occasions, including "Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon"). It also began a slump in his popular appeal, which would lead him to struggles with funding in many of his later films. That being said, however, "Red Beard", nor many of the films that followed it, suffered in quality.

    Noburo Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama) is a cocky young doctor who has been trained in advanced medical care at Dutch medical schools in Nagasaki. As the film begins, he's paying a visit to the Koishikawa Public Clinic, which is run by a deceptive man known as Kyoji Niide (Toshiro Mifune), or Red Beard. Yasumoto's guide shares horror stories of the public clinic, and claims that Red Beard is a dictator. Yasumoto, naturally, feels he's above such a primitive hospital.

    Yasumoto soon learns that he must intern at the hospital. He meets the news immaturely, refusing to eat his first meal and displaying an unwillingness to wear his uniform in hopes of being expelled. Niide, however, remains patient and is able to set Yasumoto in his place after having him witness the death of an old patient, as well the brutal surgery of another.

    There's a parallel story that develops with one of the patients, Otoyo (Terumi Niki), a 12-year-old prostitute who had been rescued. She, like Yasumoto, must eventually blossom into a more full and trusting individual. The film is very much about the human journey and a spiritual enlightenment, and it's shown through all of the main characters in the film - Niide, Yasumoto, and Otoyo.

    At almost three hours in length, the film moves along at a leisurely place and cherishes all of the details. While some might feel it's too slow, it's the beautiful cinematography and touching performances that make it an engrossing picture. The film establishes it's pace so methodically that, unbeknowned to you, you invest so fully into this world that it's hard to leave once it's over.

    "Red Beard" is not my favorite of Kurosawa's work, but lesser Kurosawa is far better than the best work of the majority of the world's directors. This is a wonderfully paced and optimistic portrait of the goodness in man, and it's a satisfying conclusion to the wonderful collaborations of Kurosawa and Mifune.
  • garyX
    April 3, 2008
    garyX
    An ambitious and arrogant young intern finds himself in a rural clinic for the poor against his wishes, but soon finds there is more to life than wealth and status under the tutelage of a severe but kind-hearted doctor. Red Beard is almost Dickensian. in it's melding of period dr...( read more)ama and social commentary, all told with a decidedly left wing slant. The Siu clinic is a fledgling "welfare state", where treatment is free to the needy, and Kurosawa takes great pains to illustrate that a man's worth is not the sum of his material possessions. The film is structured into a series of short stories centering around different patients, each with a tragic event in their past. The finest example is the final story of Ting, a young girl suffering abuse at the hands of a brothel's madam who slowly learns that there are good people in the world, after being rescued in a great scene in which Red Beard ably hands out the injuries he later heals! It's VERY long and rather short on action compared to his samurai films, but it's also a genuinely touching, heartwarming and good natured tale that is Kurosawa at his most human.
  • jplong39
    March 20, 2008
    jplong39
    The last of Kurosawa's films from his "great" period - one of his finest cinematic efforts, albeit marred by the calculated sentimentality that marred most of his later films
  • sanjurosamurai
    February 4, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    "hes a great doctor. no, hes a great man." that quote from this film really wraps it up. this movie is flawless, perfect in every way. easily kurosawas best directing job, and mifunes acting performance is one of the greatest in film history. every line of diologue, every ca...( read more)mera shot, everything was perfect. one of the 10 greatest films i have ever seen, absolutely brilliant in every way. the young doctor, the little boy towards the end, all of the acting was great and this story is stunning and beautiful. dont believe that kurosawa can only make samurai films, this one is even better than seven samurai.
  • drago25
    December 1, 2006
    drago25
    A tremendous film by the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. He binds together a highly engaging and wonderful set of characters and their stories based in Feudal Japan. This is simply an impeccable film, it is beautifully made and heart wrenching at times, and the acting...( read more) is fabulous. An essential film.
  • smootysveen
    November 14, 2009
    smootysveen
    The content is average, the form peerless.
  • InfamousHugo
    November 3, 2009
    InfamousHugo
    RED BEARD (1965)
    dir. Akira Kurosawa
    cast. Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki

    Red Beard is definitely one of Akira Kurosawa's best films. As usual, it builds itself very slowly and you have to be patient to explore the themes cause it never gets excitin

    ...( read more)g but it does get poignant many times.

    This is his final collaboration with the great Toshiro Mifune. It tells the story of a very generous doctor who takes a younger one under his wing and we slowly witness what his job is and it aint always easy. We witness the horror caused by poverty and criminals.

    Red Beard is an extremely committed film to its social comments, showing with careful details everything it wants to criticize cause that is actually Kurosawa's trademark. All his films have social comments and here it is no exception.

    A film that is very inspiring and touching, its heartbreaking and definitely well-made. Good performances by the leads and as usual, Kurosawa is in total control of his direction.
  • ElCochran90
    September 11, 2009
    ElCochran90
    Review coming someday...

    100/100
  • jasonsteele99
    August 17, 2009
    jasonsteele99
    Another classic Kurosawa/Mifune team up. I have watched this last week and I'm proud to say that this is one of my favorite movies of all time. Yuzo Kayama's flawless acting added ore life to the film. If you are planning to buy a copy please get THE CRITERION COLLECTION of this...( read more) movie.
  • kurosawian
    June 19, 2009
    kurosawian
    If you can get past the long running time and occasional overt sentimentality, this is one of the most rewarding films in Kurosawa's canon. This marked the end of an era for him; his final film with Toho company, his last collaboration with the great Mifune, his final black-and-w...( read more)hite film (his second last film in cinemascope) and most importantly, his swan song to optimism. After this remarkably hopeful story, Kurosawa's world view would turn much darker. Financial failure, Hollywood blacklisting, extreme illness and attempted suicide would follow. With that in mind, Red Beard remains an extremely emotional experience for me. The sheer humility and supreme goodness of this film is so utterly inspiring. It's an honourable movie, with many memorable characters, photographed in a way that makes every mis-en-scene look like a painting. Clearly, Kurosawa was in his prime and no other film in his body of work holds melancholy and hope in such equal measure.

View All Akahige (Red Beard) Reviews

Critic Reviews

October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard is assembled with the complexity and depth of a good l9th-century novel, and it is a pleasure, in a time of stylishly fragmented films, to watch a director taking the time t... full review

View more Akahige (Red Beard) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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