Sanshiro Sugata Judo saga
(DVD)

Based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita.

Originally produced as a motion picture in 1943.

Issued as part of the box set : The First Film of Akira Kurosawa.

"This film has been modified from the original version of Akira Kurosawa's debut film which opened in 1943, without consulting the director or the production staff. 1,845 feet of footage was cut in 1944, to comply with the government's wartime entertainment policies. As much as we'd like to show the original version, we are not able to locate the cut footage. Yet we strongly believe this modified version is worthy of rerelease. We thank you for understanding the circumstances surrounding the rerelease of this film. April 1952, Toho Company, Ltd."

Music by Seiichi Suzuki ; production design, Masao Tozuka ; editor, Toshio Goto.

Denjiro Ookouchi, Susumu Fujita, Yukiko Todoroki, Ranko Hanai, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Takashi Shimura, Sugisaku Aoyama, Kokuten Kodo.

Akira Kurosawa's dazzling debut as a director is about the rivalry between judo and jujitsu, and it concerns the moral education and enlightenment of Sanshiro.

DVD; region 1, NTSC; full screen (1.33:1) presentation; mono.

In Japanese with English subtitles.