Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean
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This article may require Naoki Sato | |
Production company | |
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Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
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Running time | 128 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Languages | Japanese English |
Budget | ¥1.2 billion[1] |
Box office | ¥2.4 billion[2] |
Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean, known in Japan as simply Lorelei (ローレライ, Rōrerai), is a 2005 Japanese war drama film directed by Shinji Higuchi (in his feature directorial debut).[3] In the film, the Imperial Japanese Navy save Tokyo from a third atomic bomb during World War II. The film was the highest-grossing film in Japan during the week of its release.[4]
The story of "Lorelei", based on a best-selling novel written by Harutoshi Fukui,[5] is a departure from the last 50 years of Japanese cinema by weaving a tale using a "what if" fictional narrative with a tip of the hat to modern manga storylines and styles.
Plot
In the last months of World War II, the Empire of Japan receives a final gift from the collapsing Nazi Germany: the I-507, a highly advanced submarine equipped with experimental technology.[6]
The mission, as revealed by the grim Chief of Staff Asakura (Shinichi Tsutsumi) following the
Once at sea, Lt. Takasu (Ken Ishiguro), the owlish technician in charge of the imaging system, refuses to tell Masami what it is or how it works. Masami also discovers that two crew members belong to the Kaiten suicide corps. He has no idea why they are there, and neither, for the moment, do they.
Meanwhile, the
Cast
- Kōji Yakushoas Shinichi Masami
- Satoshi Tsumabuki as Yukito Orikasa
- Toshirō Yanagiba as Kizaki Toshiro
- Yu Kashiias Paula Atsuko Ebner
- Shin'ichi Tsutsumias Asakura Ryokitsu
- Ken Ishiguro as Narumi Takasu
- Isao Hashizume as Sadamoto Nishimiya
- Masato Ibuas Eitaro Narazaki
- Takaya Kamikawa as writer
- Kreva as Shunpei Komatsu
- Jun Kunimura as Matoi Tokioka
- Takehiko Ono as Shichigoro Iwamura
- Shugo Oshinari as Shōi Tsuchiya
- Ryuta Sato as Kikuo Kiyonaga
- Pierre Takias Tokutaro Taguchi
- Yoshiyuki Tomino as Mamiya
- Shingo Tsurumi as Sankichi Oominato
Release
Box office
Release Date: March 5, 2005 (Japan) Budget: ¥1,200,000,000 / $11,500,000 (Rough Figure) Opening Weekend: ¥305,302,906 / $2,914,308 (Japan, 263 Screens) Attendance Total: 1,900,000 (Japan) Total: ¥2,400,000,000 / $23,000,000 (Japan, Rough Figure)
Critical response
References
- ^ "Lorelei". Weekly Economist (in Japanese). Vol. 83. Tokyo: Daily Newspaper. 2005. p. 109.
- ISBN 9784873767550.
- ^ "ローレライ - 映画・映像|東宝WEB SITE". www.toho.co.jp. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- ^ Groves, Don (2005-03-13). "'Hitch' finds perfect pitch in Germany". Variety. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "ローレライ - 映画・映像|東宝WEB SITE". www.toho.co.jp. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- Surcouf and is equipped with imaging technology that is far in advance of the era's primitive sonartechnology.
- ScreenDaily. Media Business Insight. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
Sources
- Lorelei at IMDb
- "Variety Japan" ローレライ (in Japanese). Variety (Japanese edition). Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- Schilling, Mark (March 25, 2005). "Lorelei: The Witch Of The Pacific Ocean". Screen International (1494): 24.