The Lights of Asakusa

Pre-war Asakusa was a riotous district of cabarets, dance-halls and brothels - a striking backdrop for Shimazu's story of innocence and experience. Pretty, young Reiko is the new dancer in an infamous theatre troupe, and her fellow performers try to protect her virtue in a land of vice. Meanwhile, an ageing actor wants to be a hero off stage as well as on, and the troupe matriarch Marie has to keep them all together.

Director: Yasujirō Shimazu

Cast: Ken Uehara, Mieko Takamine, Daijiro Natsukawa, Seiji Nishimura, Yoshiko Tsubouchi, Kaneko Fujiwara, Shin Tokudaiji, Haruko Sugimura

Audience-only score — full critic data not yet in the ReelXO vault.