Based on a 1956 television feature on Japan’s national network, NHK, this is one of Uchida’s rarest films. A socially conscious drama with a contemporary backdrop, Dotanba focuses on the attempts to rescue a group of trapped miners. The title is a figure of speech — (essentially “last minute” or “eleventh hour”) — that refers to a situation of peril. The film boasts a script co-written by Uchida and Akira Kurosawa’s frequent screenwriter, Shinobu Hashimoto, and stars Kurosawa’s frequent star Takashi Shimura.
Shozo Hirogami | Sound Recordist |
Shizuka Fujii | Director of Photography |
Ryūzō Kikushima | Novel |
Mikio Mori | Art Direction |
Taichiro Kosugi | Original Music Composer |
Tomu Uchida | Director |
Shinobu Hashimoto | Screenplay |
Tomu Uchida | Screenplay |
Fumio Soda | Editor |