Five Scouts (1938)
An early example of the Japanese war film, closer to documentary realism than the kind of propaganda produced at the height of the Pacific War. "A company commander calls on five men. They are to reconnoiter, but on their way they are attacked. Only four of them return. While his companions mourn the fifth straggles back. Soon after comes the order to move out for a general attack. The men know that this time there will be no returning." (Donald Richie)
Released: Jan 07, 1938
Runtime: 70 minutes
Stars: Isamu Kosugi, Bontarō Miake, Ichirō Izawa, Shirô Izome, Toshinosuke Nagao, Hikaru Hoshi
Crew: Tomotaka Tasaka (Director), Tatsuo Hirabayashi (Sound Recordist), Tomotaka Tasaka (Original Story), Takashi Matsuyama (Production Design), Saburō Isayama (Director of Photography), Yoshirô Aramaki (Screenplay)