SUGATA SANSHIRŌ (SANSHIRO SUGATA) © 1943 TOHO CO., LTD.
Restoration of Kurosawa’s first film, Sugata Sanshirō (Sanshiro Sugata): Interview with Thierry Frémaux
Judo black belt and author of Judoka (Stock), the Festival General Delegate pays tribute to Akira Kurosawa’s Sugata Sanshirō (Sanshiro Sugata), a restored version of which will be presented at Cannes Classics. Long overlooked, the Japanese filmmaker’s directorial debut can now finally be seen in the high-definition quality it deserves.
Why is this film particularly close to your heart?
I used to be a judoka, a competitor, and a teacher. I first saw this film having had that background, and I always showed it to people at any opportunity I could get. Alongside Gérald Duchaussoy, who is in charge of Cannes Classics, we successfully had it restored. And now it’s being released in theaters — all the judokas, including young judokas, will get a chance to see it.
What exactly is it about?
Sugata Sanshirō, which is the original title, follows the journey of a pupil taught by the man who later went on to invent judo, Jigoro Kano. It’s set in the late 19th century, around the same time as the birth of cinema incidentally. In the film, the character is called Yano, but his real name is Kano. The story is about the victory of judo over jujitsu, the combat discipline of the samurai. But more importantly, it shows what Kano wanted to develop: not just a combat sport, but also a school of the mind. I wrote in my book that judo calms those who are impatient and brings shy people out of their shell. This is the exact same message in the film. And it also says that when you’re strong, you don’t need to show it — being strong also means being non-violent.
It’s also Kurosawa’s first film, and it has quite an unusual backstory.
Kurosawa chose this subject matter because his father knew the author of the adapted novel. The studio, Tōhō, said the film wasn’t Japanese enough and it was too American. This criticism would follow Kurosawa his whole life. Ozu came to his defense, though, saying, “This film tells the story of our country.”Sugata Sanshirō (Sanshiro Sugata) was released during the war and was well-received, then largely forgotten because Kurosawa went on to do so many films afterward that people only talked about those. And there’s another story I enjoy sharing: in 1961, Kurosawa made Yojimbo, which Sergio Leone was very much inspired by Per un pugno di dollari (A Fistful of Dollars). Kurosawa complained about the similarity, but eventually accepted it, and in 1965, he produced a new version of Sugata Sanshirō (Sanshiro Sugata), with Toshirō Mifune as Jigoro Kano. The music bore a strange resemblance to that of Ennio Morricone. I’m not sure this was a conscious choice. But that’s how I like to tell it.
