The film s commercial success seemed attributable to its broad humor and crowdpleasing embrace of formula, but its creative success came from its grasp on the subtleties of selfdenial and introversion, as well as its command of. That was inspired by the classic dance scene from the 50s movie anna and the king. Keeping his new obsession from his family and coworkers, john feverishly trains for chicagos biggest dance competition. In particular, we examine the groups impact on individual behavior and gender. Before richard gere and jennifer lopez ever put on their dancing shoes, there was the original shall we dance. Unlike the australian comedy, strictly ballroom, which used ballroom dancing competitions as arenas for romance and satire, shall we dance. That was inspired by the classic dance scene from the 50s movie anna and the king but also gave inspiration to the richard ghere movie. Last years smash hit in japan tells the warm, frequenty funny story of an uptight japanese worker whose midlife crisis takes him on a journey of personal. Initially released in its home country in 1996, it picked up an impressive japanese academy awards.
There is little to add about a perfect japanese gem like shall we dance. With its uplifting message and irreverent sense of humor, masayuki suos shall we dance. In japan the opening scenes would play with an even greater charge. In america, dance is also not a typical adult hobby. For decades the cinematic audience has connected with this form of universal communication. The original japanese film had a question mark in its title, and the publicity poster for this film also includes it. Ok, well enough is enough already to just about anyone who has to listen to it play over and over all day long. Dont ignore this, this excellent, funny, thoughtful movie, has only one drawback. We exhibited the movie at the american film market and that. The remake, from miramax films and starring richard gere and jennifer lopez, lands on dvd this week and that is of course the reason we are now seeing this original film released at the same time by the same studio. The original trailer in high definition of shall we dance. Hoping to get closer to her, even though hes married and has a child, he signs up for dance lessons in secret, and slowly begins to fall in love with the art form itself. John clark is a man with a wonderful job as a estates lawyer.
It is a remake of the 1996 japanese film of the same name. I told my roommate about the film and how nice it is so we had planned on seeing it tonight. The idea for the film originated in the studios desire to exploit the successful formula created by richard rodgers and lorenz hart with their 1936 broadway hit on your toes. I was interested in japan and from previous japanese films knew that they had the ability to appreciate human sensibilities and tell a story subtely, in a way that. Here is a small but beautiful meditation on the sweet pain of yearning, the nature of innocence, and the uses of. Shohei sugiyama is an accountant who spots a beautiful japanese woman in a dance. It makes a comparative analysis, not only of an original japanese film shall we dansu. On the surface, sugiyama shohei koji yakusho seems to have it all. Jun 30, 2017 yul brynner and deborah kerr perform shall we dance from the king and i duration. Unlike the australian comedy, strictly ballroom, which used ballroom dancing competitions as arenas for. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves ballroom dancing. A salaried man played by koji yakusho finds renewed meaning to his life once he starts taking dance lessons from an elegant, remote dance teacher played by tamiyo kusakari.
However, the actual film titles on the us film appear as simply shall we dance, leading to some online sources, including imdb, referring to it without showing the question mark. But this japanese film was remade last year in hollywood with little change. Crazy dance scene by naoto takenaka, taken from the original japanese version of shall we dance. Jul 08, 2014 a salaried man played by koji yakusho finds renewed meaning to his life once he starts taking dance lessons from an elegant, remote dance teacher played by tamiyo kusakari. One night on his evening commute, he notices a beautiful woman staring through the window of.
Focus on koji yakusho before richard gere and jennifer lopez ever put on their dancing shoes, there was the original shall we dance. This movie was considered to be a romantic comedy where a bored, overworked estate lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons. She was thrilled to receive the music and plays it over and over, in particular the soundtrack to under the bridges of paris. Mar 20, 2001 put simply, japanese culture seems far too alien and too damn odd to resonate much with western mainstream audiences, which is what makes the universal appeal of shall we dance. A bored japanese accountant sees a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio.
Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. My brotherinlaw likes to listen to the original japanese, and we, and by we i mean my nuclear and extended families, love this movie. Shall we dance is a 1996 japanese romantic comedydrama film directed by masayuki suo. A nice fun film to watch on a saturday night when it is raining and you just want.
Linda experiences this inuniverse after one too many costars assumes shes not just acting her love scenes and tries to kiss her offstage. Despite coming out less than eight years ago, the original japanese movie is considered by many to be a classic, because it gave a great view of. The musical featured an american dancer getting involved with a touring russian ballet company. Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
The final dance from the japanese film shall we dance. Jun 28, 2009 japanese gentle comedy shall we dance. The supporting cast and the lead actor are middleaged. Eight questions for masayuki suo, the director of shall. Shall we dance is a japanese movie, and it has subtitles. Oct 14, 2004 despite coming out less than eight years ago, the original japanese movie is considered by many to be a classic, because it gave a great view of japanese society as one man tries to overcome its. I happened to get this japanese version of shall we dance on the same day as the recent american version.
In shall we dance, a lighthearted japanese film thats winning over audiences around the world, director masayuki suo depicts a middleaged sarariman salary man who revitalizes his dull. No chance that, whilst being all of that the film would not. Critics consensus elegantly told by director masayuki suo and warmly performed, shall we dance. Purchased as a gift for one who loves to watch the movie shall we dance whenever it is on tv. It inspired the 2004 american remake of the same name. Shall we talk about this extremely gay scene from shall. A comparative analysis of a japanese film and its american. Shall we dance 2004 official trailer hd for longer than he can remember, john clark has led a dull existence. This 1996 film is somewhat comparable to the flamboyant aussie favorite strictly ballroom, but shall we dance is especially noteworthy for contrasting the boldness of social dance with the buttonedup societal mores of japan, where people avoid public displays of emotion. Opening titles, probably added by the distributor, tell us, ballroom dancing. The title is written in english as shall we dansu since in its original japanese release, the first two words actual appear in english with only the last word appearing in katakana one of three japanese writing systems. Eight questions for masayuki suo, the director of shall we. But, as his lessons continue, john falls in love with dancing. The films commercial success seemed attributable to its broad humor and crowdpleasing embrace of formula, but its creative success came from its grasp on the subtleties of selfdenial and introversion, as well as its command.
Sep 06, 2016 1996 came the all time classic from japan shall we dance. Shall we dance shares the same title as the fred astaireginger rogers movie from 1937, but from its opening lines, this japanese movie makes clear that it. Shall we dance japanese version music video duration. Even with a successful career, charming wife and loving family, he still feels something is missing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Although not a musical and still not completely a dance film, it embodies those qualities and delivers something much more. A successful but unhappy japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly. One of my favorite things about the 2004 movie shall we dance, a remake of the japanese film of the same name from 1996, is how it plays with our ingrained assumptions about what the movie will be. Shall we dance provides examples of the following tropes alliterative name repetitive name. Feb 14, 2005 shall we dance shares the same title as the fred astaireginger rogers movie from 1937, but from its opening lines, this japanese movie makes clear that it has at least as much to do with social. Oct 15, 2004 for decades the cinematic audience has connected with this form of universal communication.
Aug 19, 2015 crazy dance scene by naoto takenaka, taken from the original japanese version of shall we dance. And then ask her if it was as good for her as it was for you. Shohei sugiyama is an accountant who spots a beautiful japanese woman in a dance studio window. Shall we dance stirs within it the heart, energy and romance of those musical films gone by. After watching the movie shall we dance, i could say its fair enough to compare it to billy elliot in the sense that john and billy were both afraid to tell people they were taking dance lessons. Yul brynner and deborah kerr perform shall we dance from the king and i duration. Shall we dance, released in 1937, is the seventh of the ten astairerogers musical comedy films. Its always hard to find a good moviemusical in our day and age, and perhaps this doesnt quite qualify there is plenty of learning how to dance, but no singing but i really think that gene kelly and others who championed a place for dance in our lives would have thought so very highly of this film and the role of dance in helping to tell a. Put simply, japanese culture seems far too alien and too damn odd to resonate much with western mainstream audiences, which is what makes the universal appeal of shall we dance.
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