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Catalog/Drama/The Ballad of Narayama
The Ballad of Narayama poster
A
Excellent
MASTER SCORE 80.9 / 100
1958·Drama·1h 38m

THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA

In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Granny Orin is approaching 70, content to embrace her fate. Her widowed son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing his mother, even as she arranges his marriage to a widow his age. Her grandson Kesa, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die. Around them, a family of thieves are dealt with severely, and an old man, past 70, whose son has cast him out, scrounges for food. Will Orin's loving and accepting spirit teach and ennoble her family?

Above the Line
Keisuke Kinoshita·DirectorKeisuke Kinoshita·ScreenplayShichirō Fukazawa·NovelHiroshi Kusuda·Director of PhotographyMatsunosuke Nozawa·Original Music ComposerYoshi Sugihara·Editor
Cast
Kinuyo Tanaka·OrinTeiji Takahashi·TatsuheiYūko Mochizuki·TamayanSeiji Miyaguchi·MatayanYūnosuke Itō·Matayan's sonKen Mitsuda·TeruyanDanko Ichikawa·KesakichiKeiko Ogasawara·Matsu-yanEijirō Tōno·MessengerKō Nishimura·One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)
Full Crew
(19 credits)
Directing· 2
Keisuke Kinoshita·DirectorYoshikazu Ōtsuki·Assistant Director
Writing· 2
Keisuke Kinoshita·ScreenplayShichirō Fukazawa·Novel
Camera· 1
Hiroshi Kusuda·Director of Photography
Editing· 1
Yoshi Sugihara·Editor
Sound & Music· 6
Matsunosuke Nozawa·Original Music ComposerKineya Rokuzaemon XIV·Original Music ComposerShûzô Horikawa·Sound MixerHisao Ōno·Sound RecordistHideo Nishizaki·Sound AssistantIshun Endō·Music Consultant
Art & Design· 5
Chiyoo Umeda·Art DirectionToshikazu Sugiyama·Costume DesignKisaku Ito·Production DesignMototsugu Komaki·Set DecorationGenzô Furumiya·Set Designer
Production· 2
Ryuzo Otani·ProducerMasaharu Kokaji·Producer
By the Numbers
80.9
OF 100
Master Score
7.8
OF 10
IMDb
—
CRITICS
Rotten Tomatoes
—
Worldwide Gross
0
Oscar Wins
Where to Watch

THE AVAILABILITY MAP

The canonical record of where this film lives across the streaming map.

Provider Index In Progress

Streaming, rental, and purchase availability for this title is being ingested from the TMDB watch-providers feed and will appear here once the next catalog refresh runs. Until then, the canonical source links below remain the fastest route.

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Poster DNA

THE VISUAL DECONSTRUCTION

A bespoke vision agent's reading of the design language behind The Ballad of Narayama's key art.

Dominant Palette
3 colors
#4A6D7C
#C9463C
#A39C91
Mood
Somber, Determined, Traditional
Composition
Diagonal
Era
1980s
Visual Style
Painted

“The poster depicts a man carrying an older woman on his back, both looking towards the viewer with serious expressions, against a backdrop of mountains and a cl”

dramafamily
Key Elements
BowQuiver With Arrows
Atmosphere
Muted
Color Mood
Mixed
Setting
Wilderness
Design Score
7/10
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THE NEIGHBORHOOD

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THREE WAYS DEEPER

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AUT
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GEN
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