| The Man Who Stole the Sun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Kazuhiko Hasegawa |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Leonard Schrader |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tatsuo Suzuki |
| Music by | Takayuki Inoue |
| Production company | Kitty Films Corp. |
| Distributed by | Toho |
| Release date |
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| Running time | 147 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
The Man Who Stole the Sun (Japanese: 太陽を盗んだ男, Hepburn: Taiyō o Nusunda Otoko) is a 1979 Japanese thriller film, directed by Hasegawa Kazuhiko.
Plot
Makoto Kido, a high school science and chemistry teacher, has decided to build his own atomic bomb. Before stealing plutonium isotopes from Tōkai Nuclear Power Plant, he is involved in the botched hijack of one of his school's buses during a field trip. Along with a police detective, Yamashita, he is able to overcome the hijacker and is publicly hailed as a hero.
Meanwhile, Makoto is able to extract enough plutonium from his stolen isotopes to create two bombs—one genuine, the other containing only enough radioactive material to be detectable, but otherwise a fake. He plants the fake bomb in a public lavatory and phones the police and demands that Yamashita take the case. Since Makoto speaks to the police through a voice scrambler, Yamashita is unaware that Makoto is behind the whole thing.
Makoto manages to extort the government into showing baseball games without cutting away for commercials. Flush with success, he follows a suggestion by a radio personality, nicknamed "Zero", to use the real bomb to extort the government into allowing the Rolling Stones to play in Japan (despite being barred from doing so due to Keith Richards being arrested for narcotics possession). The request is soon granted and the band eventually plays in Tokyo.
As Makoto makes his way to the concert with the bomb, Yamashita follows him. Makoto pulls out a gun and forces Yamashita to a rooftop. Makoto reveals that he was the extortionist, and gets into a fight with Yamashita. Eventually the two fall from the roof whilst Makoto holds on to the bomb. He is saved by grabbing on to a power line as Yamashita falls to his death. Still in possession of the bomb, Makoto decides to leave. As he walks away, a ticking sound, then an explosion is heard.
Cast
- Kenji Sawada as Makoto Kido
- Bunta Sugawara as Inspector Masuo Yamashita
- Kimiko Ikegami as Reiko Sawai a.k.a. Zero
- Kazuo Kitamura as Tanaka
- Shigeru Kôyama as Nakayama
- Kei Satō as Dr. Ichikawa
- Yūnosuke Itō as Bus Hijacker
Release
The Man Who Stole the Sun was released by Toho on October 6, 1979. The film was released in the United States by Kitty Enterprises on October 10, 1980.
Reception
On its release, the film won the Reader's Choice Award for Best Japanese Film in Kinema Junpo and Best Director, Reader's Choice Award at the (Mainichi Film Concours) and Best Supporting Actor for Bunta Sugawara at the Japanese Academy Awards.
In the Japanese film magazine July 2018 issue of Kinema Junpo a list was made of the Top 1970s Japanese Films voted by 115 people including film critics and directors with The Man Who Stole the Sun being voted at number one.
In 2022, American writer and critic Nick Newman placed The Man Who Stole the Sun on his Sight and Sound list of the greatest films ever made, saying, "In anything like a just world this is seen concurrent with benchmarks of Japanese cinema."
References
- ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 316.
- "キネマ旬報が選ぶ1970年代日本映画ベストテン、第1位は「太陽を盗んだ男」". Natalie.mu (in Japanese). July 19, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- Newman, Nick (March 2, 2023). "Nick Newman". Sight and Sound. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
Sources
- Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1461673743.
External links
- The Man Who Stole the Sun at IMDb
- 太陽を盗んだ男 (in Japanese). JMDB.