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Samurai Marathon (Japanese: サムライマラソン, Hepburn: Samurai Marason) is a 2019 Japanese-British historical action adventure film co-written and directed by Bernard Rose and starring Takeru Satoh, Nana Komatsu and Mirai Moriyama. It is based on the 2014 novel The Marathon Samurai: Five Tales of Japan’s First Marathon by Akihiro Dobashi, itself inspired by the origin story of the Ansei Toashi 30-km footrace held annually in Annaka City.[1][2][3]
| Samurai Marathon | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Bernard Rose |
| Screenplay by | Bernard Rose Hiroshi Saito Kikumi Yamagishi |
| Based on | The Marathon Samurai: Five Tales of Japan’s First Marathon by Akihiro Dobashi |
| Produced by | Jeremy Thomas Toshiaki Nakazawa |
| Starring | Takeru Satoh Nana Komatsu Mirai Moriyama Shōta Sometani Munetaka Aoki Naoto Takenaka Danny Huston Etsushi Toyokawa Hiroki Hasegawa |
| Cinematography | Takuro Ishizaka |
| Music by | Philip Glass |
| Distributed by | Well Go USA Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Countries | Japan United Kingdom |
| Languages | Japanese English |
In 1855, a daimyo sends his men on a grueling marathon to discover if they're tough enough to face the newly arrived Americans. Misunderstanding his intent, the Shogun dispatches assassins.[4]
- Takeru Satoh as Karasawa Jinnai[1]
- Nana Komatsu as Princess Yuki[5]
- Mirai Moriyama as Tsujimura Heikurō[1]
- Shōta Sometani as Uesugi Hironoshin[1]
- Munetaka Aoki as Ueki Yoshikuni[1]
- Ryu Kohata[1]
- Yuta Koseki[1]
- Motoki Fukami[6]
- Shinsuke Katō[6]
- Joey Iwanaga[6]
- Ruka Wakabayashi[6]
- Mariko Tsutsui[6]
- Mugi Kadowaki[6]
- Nao[6]
- Junko Abe[6]
- Taishi Nakagawa[6]
- Naoto Takenaka as Kurita Mataemon[6]
- Danny Huston as Commodore Perry[5]
- Etsushi Toyokawa as Ioki Suketora[6]
- Hiroki Hasegawa as Itakura Katsuakira[6]
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The film was released in theaters in Japan in February 2019.[5] It was later featured at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in June 2019.[7] Well Go USA Entertainment acquired North American distribution rights to the film in July 2019.[1] The film was released on VOD and digital platforms in May 2020.[8] It was also released on DVD and Blu-Ray in the United States on July 21, 2020.[2]
The film has a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[9] James Hadfield of The Japan Times awarded the film three stars out of five.[3]
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