Red Lion
Japan, 1969
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto
Starring Toshirō Mifune, Shima Iwashita
35mm print courtesy Japan Foundation. Approx. 115 min.
1868. Stuttering former “village idiot” Mifune returns to his hometown resplendent in a borrowed officer’s red lion headdress, to announce their liberation by advancing anti-shogunate imperialist forces — but there’s a sting in the tale as slapstick farce turns to something far more serious…
