Singing Lovebirds (1939)

Original title

鴛鴦歌合戦

Directed by

Masahiro Makino

Genre

musical film

Country

Japan

Runtime

1h 09m

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 6 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A musical comedy from 1939 Japan. It follows characters through songs and comedy, mixing jazz with traditional Japanese music.

whimsicallivelyupbeatlightheartedenergeticplayful

What happens

Singing Lovebirds (鴛鴦歌合戦, Oshidori utagassen) is a 1939 Japanese musical comedy film directed by Masahiro Makino. Makino made the film in only two weeks while the production of another film, Yaji Kita Dōchūki, was put on hold after its star, Chiezō Kataoka, came down with appendicitis (Kataoka's scenes in Singing Lovebirds were filmed in only a few hours). The film, however, has become "the most frequently revived Japanese pre-war musical film," featuring music ranging from jazz to jōruri, and music stars like Dick Mine. Masahiro Makino produced other musicals, like Hanako-san (1943) and was known for his rhythmic style. Singing Lovebirds also features Takashi Shimura, most famous as the lead samurai in Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, in a singing role. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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