Shall We Dance?
Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) seems to have it all - a high-paying job as an accountant, a beautiful home, a caring wife and a doting daughter he loves dearly. However, he feels something is missing in his life. One day while commuting on the train he spots a beautiful woman staring wistfully out a window and eventually decides to find her. His search leads him head-first into the world of competitive ballroom dancing.
An “infinitely touching" (The Washington Post) modern classic from director Masayuki Suo, SHALL WE DANCE? is a feel-good romantic comedy that "will sweep you off your feet" (The Austin Chronicle). A box-office sensation in North America upon its initial release (which led to a Hollywood remake with Richard Gere), Film Movement Classics presents SHALL WE DANCE? in a new 4K restoration of the original, 136-minute film, available uncut for the first time in North America.
The restoration of SHALL WE DANCE? was done by Tokyo Koon Co. Ltd., and supervised by Naoki Kayano. The original camera negative underwent a 4K scan by Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc. (Scanity by Digital Film Technology)
Cast
- Koji Yakusho
- Tamiyo Kusakari
- Naoto Takenaka
DVD Features
Discs: 1
- "[O]ne of the more completely entertaining movies I’ve seen in a while–a well-crafted character study that, like a Hollywood movie with a skillful script, manipulates us but makes us like it."
- "An implausibly charming comedy."
- "Like the breathtaking number from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The King and I, from which the film takes both its title and inspiration, Shall We Dance? will sweep you off your feet."
- "Funny and poignant, this is entertainment in it's kindest and swishiest form."
- "The movie has a great deal of zest and charm, and Yakusho gets so exactly that crest of melancholy that is a man’s early 40s, until he decides to go for another kind of life, that the movie is infinitely touching."
- "[A]n amazingly moving performance by Koji Yakusho."
- "Shall We Dance? combines the best elements of old-fashioned "gotta dance" romance with the courage it takes to overcome strict behavioral boundaries, both self-imposed and societal."
- "Shall We Dance? proves to be that most impressive but illusive of accomplishments in film: a simple story told well."
- "You'll want to waltz on over to "Shall We Dance"."
- "This charming comedy uses dance as a metaphor for individual expression, risk-taking and intellectual flight."
- "Sweetly entertaining and sincere."
- "Disarming and delightful...."
- "It's funny, self-deprecating and, for all of its two hours, totally absorbing."
- "Yakusho is elegant and endearingly restrained as Sugiyama. Naoto Takenaka is a comic standout as Aoki, the hilariously over-confident womanizing dancer. Reiko Kusamura is quietly charming as the elder dance instructor."
- "This irresistible Japanese film celebrates the spiritual uplift of boundless desire."
- "Masayuki Suo has written and directed Shall We Dance? with the grace, style and balance of a ballroom champion. Let him lead you across the floor."
Gallery
Awards & Recognition
Best Foreign Language Film
National Board of Review, USA
14 Awards inc. Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress
Awards of the Japanese Academy
Best Foreign-Language Film
Critics Choice Awards
6 Awards inc. Best Film, Screenplay, Actor
Kinema Junpo Awards
Special Jury Prize
Seattle Int'l. Film Festival
Best Film
Cleveland Int'l. Film Festival
Foreign Language Film of the Year
London Critics Circle Film Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
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