The Great White Tiger Platoon (1954)
The Great White Tiger Platoon was part of the Aizu clan's last ditch efforts to stop the advance of Imperial troops after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meant to be a reserve unit as it was made of the young, 16-17 year old sons of Aizu samurai. Their story is one of the great tragedies of the Boshin War (1868-1869) as they were called into action. Getting cut off from the main body of their platoon, a group of 20 from the 2nd squad retreated to Iimori Hill, where they looked down upon fires surrounding Aizu Castle and thinking that the castle has fallen and all is lost, they choose to die as samurai by committing seppuku. A superb rendition of this true story that shows the true honor of the samurai.
Director:
Katsuhiko Tasaka
Writer:
Fuji Yahiro
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Raizō Ichikawa as |
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Ryū Takeda as |
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Takeshi Hanayagi as |
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Takashi Mita as |
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Shintarō Katsu as |
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Yataro Kurokawa as |
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Michiko Ai as |
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Sachiko Mine as |
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Takako Irie as |
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Makoto Kobori as |
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Shōsaku Sugiyama as |
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Toranosuke Ogawa as |
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Rumiko Komachi as |
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Shinobu Araki as |
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Ryūzaburō Mitsuoka as |
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Shōzō Nanbu as |
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Seishiro Hara as |
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Eigorō Onoe as |
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Saburo Date as |
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Hiroshi Mizuno as |
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Ikkei Tamaki as |
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Yukio Horikita as |
| Directing | Katsuhiko Tasaka | Director |
| Writing | Fuji Yahiro | Screenplay |
| Costume & Make-Up | Shima Yoshizane | Costume Design |
| Sound | Iwao Ōtani | Sound Recordist |
| Sound | Urato Watanabe | Original Music Composer |
| Art | Seiichi Ōta | Art Direction |
| Camera | Yukimasa Makita | Director of Photography |
| Directing | Tokuzō Tanaka | Assistant Director |
| Lighting | Yasuo Iwaki | Lighting Technician |
| Editing | Shigeo Nishida | Editor |
