Princess from the Moon (1987)
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The Tale of the
Princess from the Moon (竹取物語 Taketori Monogatari, lit. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) is a 1987 tokusatsu fantasy film co-produced by Fuji TV and Toho Pictures. It is an adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a Japanese fairy tale. It was released to Japanese theaters by Toho on September 26, 1987.
Plot
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A poor country couple has just lost their only child. After seeing a strange storm, the father walks into the forest, where he finds something he did not expect: a strange blue cocoon. He discovers a small girl with big blue eyes inside. She is then raised by the couple as their own daughter.
Staff
- Main article: Princess from the Moon/Credits.
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Kon Ichikawa
- Written by Ryozo Kikushima, Mitsutoshi Ishigami, Shinya Hidaka, Kon Ichikawa
- Executive producers Tomoyuki Tanaka, Shigeaki Hazawa
- Produced by Masaru Kakutani, Hiroaki Fujii, Junichi Shinsaka
- Special effects producer Masao Suzuki
- Music by Kensaku Tanikawa
- Conducted by Michiyoshi Inoue
- Orchestrated by Junosuke Yamamoto
- Theme song "STAY WITH ME—Song for Princess KAGUYA" performed by Peter Cetera
- Cinematography by Setsuo Kobayashi
- Edited by Chizuko Osada
- Production Design by Shinobu Muraki
- First assistant director Kazuo Yoshida
- Director of special effects Teruyoshi Nakano
- First assistant director of special effects Eiichi Asada
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Toshiro Mifune as Taketori no Miyatsuko
- Ayako Wakao as Tayoshime
- Yasuko Sawaguchi as Kaya / Princess Kaguya
- Koji Ishizaka as Mikado
- Kiichi Nakai as Otomo no Dainagon, Minister of the Military
- Megumi Odaka as Akeno, blind girl
- Katsuo Nakamura as Lise
- Takeshi Kato as Fujiwara no Okuni
- Kyoko Kishida as Kougo
- Jun Hamamura as Sakanoue no Dajo Daijin
- Koasa Shunputei as Kuramochi no Miko, Minister of Culture
- Takatoshi Takeda as Abe no Udaijin, Minister of Finance
- Shiro Ito as Sojo no Doson
- Fujio Tokita as Shonin no Uda
- Hirokazu Yamaguchi as metal carver
- Gen Idemitsu as Mura no Choja
- Michiyo Yokoyama as Lise's wife
- Hirokazu Inoue as Ono no Fusamori
- Miho Nakano as young Kaya
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Gallery
- Main article: Princess from the Moon/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: Princess from the Moon (soundtrack).
Alternate titles
- The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (literal Japanese title)
Theatrical releases
- Japan - September 26, 1987
Foreign releases
Soviet Union release
Princess from the Moon was exhibited in the USSR in 1990 with a Russian-language dub produced by the studio Soyuzmultfilm.[citation needed]
Box office
Princess from the Moon earned 1.45 billion yen in distributor rentals,[2] with a budget estimated around 2 billion yen.[1] It was Japan's sixth-highest grossing film for the year of 1987.[2]
Reception
Despite disappointing box office returns, Princess from the Moon was nominated for and won several Japanese Academy Awards.
Awards
Actress Megumi Odaka won the Japanese Academy Award for "Newcomer of the Year" for her role as Akeno in this film. The film also received awards for "Best Art Direction" and the Academy's "Special Award." Princess for the Moon was nominated for "Best Picture," "Best Director," "Best Cinematography," "Best Editing," "Best Lighting," "Best Score," "Best Sound," and "Best Supporting Actor."
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th Japan Academy Awards[3] | Newcomer of the Year | Megumi Odaka | Won |
| Best Art Direction | Shinobu Muraki | Won | |
| Special Award | Teruyoshi Nakano & special effects staff | Won | |
| Best Film | Princess from the Moon | Nominated | |
| Best Director | Kon Ichikawa | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | Setsuo Kobayashi | Nominated | |
| Best Editing | Chizuko Osada | Nominated | |
| Best Lighting | Kazuo Shimomura | Nominated | |
| Best Score | Kensaku Tanikawa | Nominated | |
| Best Sound | Teiichi Saito & Tetsuya Ohashi | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Toshiro Mifune | Nominated |
Video releases
Artsmagic DVD (2002)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese
- Subtitles: English
- Special features: Cast List, "warrior" artwork, biographies, filmographies
DVD Toho DVD (2004)
- Region: 2
- Discs: 1
- Audio: Japanese
Videos
Trailers
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Trivia
- Princess from the Moon was the first film appearance for actress Megumi Odaka, who went on to portray Miki Saegusa in six of the seven Heisei Godzilla films, beginning with Godzilla vs. Biollante two years later.
- Princess from the Moon is the second film adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, the first being 1934's Princess Kaguya.
- This was the last film for Teruyoshi Nakano, who served as the director of special effects for most of Toho's tokusatsu productions following Eiji Tsuburaya's death. Nakano retired from directing following the film at the age of 52. Fittingly, Nakano and his staff won a Special Award at the 11th Japan Academy Awards for their work on the film.
- "Stay With Me" was performed by Peter Cetera, who is perhaps best known for being the vocalist and bassist of the American rock band Chicago.
References
This is a list of references for Princess from the Moon. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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Bibliography
- Motoyama, Sho; Matsunomoto, Kazuhiro; Asai, Kazuyasu; Suzuki, Nobutaka; Kato, Masashi (28 September 2012). Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works (1st ed.). villagebooks. ISBN 978-4864910132.
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