Based on a book by Shugoro Yamamoto, who also provided the source material for Kurosawa\u2019s Sanjuro<\/em> and Dodes\u2019ka-den<\/em>, Red Beard<\/em> is epic in length (over three hours with a built-in intermission), but intimate in scope as it depicts the inner workings of a rural clinic that primarily serves the poor. Not the sort of place an ambitious young doctor just out of medical school wants to intern, but it\u2019s precisely where Dr. Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama) winds up after what he believes is a misunderstanding. (He was sent by his mentor to visit; he didn\u2019t expect to stay.) Yasumoto especially chafes under the rules of the clinic\u2019s demanding director, Dr. Kyojio Niide, whose nickname gives the film its title and whose ideas about how to minister to the sick are antithetical to what he\u2019s just spent three years learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the title character is played by Mifune in his prime, it\u2019s reasonable for first-time viewers to expect him to be a man of action. Mifune was, after all, the dynamic star of Kurosawa\u2019s earlier period films Rashomon<\/em>, Seven Samurai<\/em>, Throne of Blood<\/em>, The Hidden Fortress<\/em>, and the one-two slash of Yojimbo<\/em> and Sanjuro<\/em>. In contrast, his Red Beard has a wellspring of patience to draw from, which comes in handy not only with patients, but also Yasumoto, who spends the first hour and change sulking, refusing to wear his uniform, and being a nuisance in hopes of being dismissed. Over time, however, he grows to appreciate the wisdom Red Beard offers and sees the value of their work in the community. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty difficult here,\u201d says a fellow doctor Yasumoto meets on his first day. \u201cBut if you want, you can learn a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red Beard\u2019s lessons for Yasumoto take the form of interactions with patients whose ailments open the young man\u2019s eyes to the cruelties of life. There\u2019s \u201cThe Mantis,\u201d a madwoman who has killed three men and is on the verge of claiming a fourth victim before Red Beard\u2019s timely intervention. There\u2019s the man with advanced liver cancer whose final moments Red Beard wants him to witness, saying, \u201cNothing\u2019s so solemn as a man\u2019s last moments.\u201d And there\u2019s the tragic case of Sahachi (Tsutomu Yamazaki, who previously played the kidnapper in High and Low<\/em><\/a>), who works himself to the point of exhaustion for the benefit of his fellow patients. Sahachi\u2019s story touches Yasumoto most deeply and inspires his turnaround; it\u2019s a major milestone when he finally dons his uniform. (Tellingly, the first time he goes out in it, a mother runs up to him with a sick infant, which he diagnoses with measles.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout, Red Beard serves as an example for Yasumoto by sticking to his principles. This is never more evident than when they visit a brothel and he declares that a 12-year-old girl being pressed into service against her will has a fever so they can remove her. The brothel\u2019s madam (Ozu regular Haruko Sugimura) won\u2019t let her go without a fight, though, and calls her bodyguards. \u201cI won\u2019t kill you,\u201d Red Beard warns them, \u201cbut I might break a couple of arms or legs,\u201d and he does just that in a well-choreographed melee that is over in a minute. \u201cThis is terrible,\u201d he tells the stunned Yasumoto as they survey the carnage. \u201cSuch violence is bad. A doctor mustn\u2019t do such things.\u201d But clearly there are occasions where such things are necessary. Moments like these allow Kurosawa to insert some welcome levity into the proceedings. Even Red Beard\u2019s habit of absently stroking his beard \u2013 an echo of Takashi Shimura\u2019s Kambei rubbing his shaved head in Seven Samurai<\/em> \u2013 gives the viewer a glimpse behind the gruff exterior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red Beard<\/em> marked the end of an era in a number of ways for Kurosawa. Not only was it the last time he directed Mifune, it was the last film he made in black-and-white and his last shot in Tohoscope. It also represents the end of his most productive period. In his first 22 years as a director, he made 23 films. In the 28 years that followed, he managed only seven. Mifune, meanwhile, appeared in dozens, but there was no Irishman<\/em>-style reunion with the man who made him an international star. That\u2019s our loss, but with Red Beard<\/em>, they went out on a high note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRed Beard\u201d is streaming on the <\/em>Criterion Channel<\/em><\/a> (along with a commentary by film scholar Stephen Prince) and <\/em>Max<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Red-Beard-1024x576.jpeg\")
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