Story of a Prostitute [Criterion Collection]

Director: Seijun Suzuki Seijun Suzuki

Overview

Seijun Suzuki directed this hard-hitting account of a woman who volunteers to serve as a "comfort woman" (prostitute to the Japanese army) at the Manchurian front in 1937. Harumi (Yukimo Nogawa) is desperate to get out of Japan to escape the memory of a doomed romance. She offers to serve the Army in Manchuria, where the sadistic Lieutenant Narita (Isao Tamagawa) uses her violently and wants her as his private servant. However, Harumi has become infatuated with Mikami (Tamio Kawachi), Narita's subordinate, and they embark on an affair that would mean certain punishment for both of them if it were ever to be discovered. Diary Of A Prostitute was based on a novel by Taijiro Tamura, which was previously filmed (in bowdlerized form) in 1950 as Escape At Dawn.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/26/2005
UPC:	0037429177822
Original Release:	1965
Source:	Criterion Collection
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:36:00
Sales rank:	23,046

Special Features

New, restored high-definition digital transfer; Exclusive new video interviews with director Seijun Suzuki, production designer Takeo Kimura, and film critic Tadao Sato; Original theatrical trailer; New and improved English subtitle translation; Plus: a new essay by film critic David Chute

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tamio Kawachi	Mikami
Yumiko Nogawa	Harumi
Sokoto Kasai	Actor
Shoichi Ozawa	Akiyama
Isao Tamagawa	Narita

Technical Credits

Hajime Takaiwa

Seijun Suzuki	Director
Kaneo Iwai	Producer
Hajime Takaiwa	Screenwriter

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Prostitute, Harlot, Strumpet [3:31]
2. Road to Airoson [4:24]
3. Soldier's Washing Place [6:59]
4. Comfort Women [3:26]
5. Adjutant's Girl [2:26]
6. Adjutant's Orderly [2:44]
7. Call to Arms [1:21]
8. Harumi's Conquest [7:36]
9. Uno [4:16]
10. Mikami's Duty [3:49]
11. Deserter [5:16]
12. Sachiko's Luck [2:56]
13. Troops Return [6:19]
14. Surprise Attack [7:21]
15. "Are You Still Japanese?" [8:35]
16. Another Chance [2:49]
17. Regrets [3:01]
18. Harumi's Plea [2:19]
19. Code of Honor [1:49]
20. Mikami's Request [5:16]
21. Daigen [2:25]
22. "Long Live the Emperor!" [3:52]
23. Honor Preserved [3:30]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Chapters: Color Bars
   Interviews
      Play
      Index
         B Movie Director
         Suzuki, Kimura, and Taniguchi
         Japan for China
         Wartime Experience
         Visuals and Codes
         "Something I Never Imagined"
   Trailer
   Subtitles
      Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off