The Eleventh Hour(1957)

Based on a 1956 television feature on Japan’s national network, NHK, this is one of Uchida’s rarest films. A socially conscious drama with a contemporary backdrop, Dotanba focuses on the attempts to rescue a group of trapped miners. The title is a figure of speech — (essentially “last minute” or “eleventh hour”) — that refers to a situation of peril. The film boasts a script co-written by Uchida and Akira Kurosawa’s frequent screenwriter, Shinobu Hashimoto, and stars Kurosawa’s frequent star Takashi Shimura.

Genre: Drama

Director: Tomu Uchida

Actors: Shinjirô Ebara, Eiji Okada, Eijirô Tôno, Takashi Shimura, Jirô Takagi, Takashi Kanda, Chôko Iida, Kokuten Kôdô, Yoshi Katô, Shin Tonomura

Release date: 1957-11-24

Country of origin: Japan

Length: 1h 49m

Ratings:

• 7.3/10