Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy

Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy (男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥, Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Shiawase no Aoi Tori) aka Tora-san, Bluebird of Happiness^[1] is a 1986 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Etsuko Shihomi as his love interest or "Madonna".^[2] Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy is the thirty-seventh entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Yoji Yamada
Written by	Yoji Yamada Yoshitaka Asama
Produced by	Kiyoshi Shimizu Shigehiro Nakagawa
Starring	Kiyoshi Atsumi Etsuko Shihomi
Cinematography	Tetsuo Takaba
Edited by	Iwao Ishii
Music by	Naozumi Yamamoto
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	December 20, 1986 (1986-12-20)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Synopsis

During his travels, Tora-san comes across a traditional theater he used to visit, and discovers that one of his old friends has died. Tora-san and his family help the friend's daughter, who becomes romantically involved with an aspiring artist.^[3][4]

Cast

• Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō^[5]
• Chieko Baisho as Sakura
• Etsuko Shihomi as Miho Shimazaki
• Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi as Kengo Kurata
• Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō
• Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt)
• Gin Maeda as Hiroshi Suwa
• Hidetaka Yoshioka as Mitsuo Suwa
• Hisao Dazai as Boss (Umetarō Katsura)
• Gajirō Satō as Genkō
• Chishū Ryū as Gozen-sama
• Jun Miho as Akemi
• Issei Ogata

Critical appraisal

Stuart Galbraith IV judges this to be one of the weaker entries in the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series, but still recommended. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the film is that the co-star, Etsuko Shihomi, was the star of the Sister Street Fighter series. It was on the set of Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy that she met Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, whom she married the following year.^[4] The German-language site molodezhnaja gives Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy three and a half out of five stars.^[6]

Availability

Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy was released theatrically on December 20, 1986.^[7] In Japan, the film was released on videotape in 1988 and 1996, and in DVD format in 2005 and 2008.^[8]

References

1. "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -SHIAWASE NO AOITORI". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
2. "男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (Madonna)" (in Japanese). www.tora-san.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2010-01-31. (official site)
3. 男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
4. Galbraith IV, Stuart (2007-02-16). "Tora-san 37: Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy (Region 3)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
5. 男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
6. "Tora-San's Bluebird Fantasy" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
7. "男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
8. 男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (1986) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-31.

Bibliography

English

• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2007-02-16). "Tora-san 37: Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy (Region 3)". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
• "Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy". The Hollywood Reporter. 297 (May 1987): 3, 9. 1987-05-13.
• "OTOKO WA TSURAI YO SHIAWASE NO AOI TORI (1986)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
• "OTOKO WA TSURAIYO -SHIAWASE NO AOITORI". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
• Otoko wa tsurai yo: Shiawase no aoi tori (1986) at IMDb
• "'Tora-san' bringing in new year with 37th film". Pacific Stars and Stripes. 1987-01-11.

German

• "Tora-San's Bluebird Fantasy" (in German). www.molodezhnaja.ch. Retrieved 2010-01-31.

Japanese

• 男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (1986) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
• "男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
• 男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
• 男はつらいよ 幸福の青い鳥 (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2010-01-31.

External links

• Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy Archived 2015-07-23 at the Wayback Machine at www.tora-san.jp (official site)