Scandal 醜聞 (Shūbun) aka スキャンダル (Sukyandaru)

While Akira Kurosawa is appreciated mainly for his samurai films, he worked in a wide variety of genres. Scandal was shot and released the same year as Rashomon, but it never attracted much attention until recent decades with its release on video. A rough combination of sentimental melodrama and comedy, the film skewers the growing pop culture press of the Occupation era. Shirley Yamaguchi (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) plays a beautiful concert singer, who happens to meet an artist—a debonairToshiro Mifune—in a hot springs area. Stalked by a scandal rag, their chance meeting is mistaken for a tryst and soon becomes the center of a highly publicized legal feud.1950, 105 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. With Shirley Yamaguchi (as Yoshiko Yamaguchi), Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoko Katsuragi, Noriko Sengoku, Sakae Ozawa, Shinichi Himori.

$15/$12 Japan Society members, seniors & students

Part of the 2015 Globus Film Series: The Most Beautiful: The War Films of Shirley Yamaguchi & Setsuko Hara.