La Longue Mort (1964)

Anecdotes

The Long Death is a 1964 Japanese docudrama film directed by Kei Kumai. It was Kumai's directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Kumai, who based it on the infamous real-life Teigin incident. The film stars Kinzō Shin as Sadamichi Hirasawa, a painter who was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death despite strong suspicions of his innocence. It co-stars Tanie Kitabayashi, Keiko Yanagawa, Reiko Tanigawa and Mizuho Suzuki in supporting roles. The film's score was composed by Akira Ifukube. The Long Death was theatrically released by Nikkatsu on 12 April 1964, in Japan.

Production

The Long Death was Kei Kumai's directorial debut. He had previously been a screenwriter for various Nikkatsu productions, and had also served as an assistant director on Hideo Sekigawa's Hiroshima (1953). Kumai intended The Long Death to be a protest against Hirasawa's conviction. In 1963, he interviewed Hirasawa at Miyagi Detention House as part of his research for the film.

To film the robbery sequence, a set was constructed using the floor plan of the actual bank. The crime scene was reconstructed down to the exact placement of objects, such as bottles and teacups.

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