Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.
Acting
Mifune's controlled stillness versus Kayama's explosive arrogance.
Direction
Kurosawa's final collaboration with Mifune, and they knew it.
Production
Clinic built as working set with period-accurate medical tools.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Toshirō Mifune
Dr. Kyojio Niide ("Red Beard")
Yūzō Kayama
Dr. Noboru Yasumoto
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Sahachi
Reiko Dan
Osugi
Miyuki Kuwano
Onaka
Kyōko Kagawa
Madwoman ("The Mantis")
Tatsuyoshi Ehara
Genzô Tsugawa
Terumi Niki
Otoyo
Akemi Negishi
Okuni
Yoshitaka Zushi
Chobo
Yoshio Tsuchiya
Dr. Handayû Mori
Eijirō Tōno
Goheiji
Takashi Shimura
Tokubei Izumiya
Chishū Ryū
Mr. Yasumoto
Haruko Sugimura
Kin, the madam
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Red Beard adapts Shūgorō Yamamoto's novel but Kurosawa invented the medical mentorship framework, making it deeply personal.
Mifune grew the actual beard for a year; this was his final film with Kurosawa after 16 collaborations, ending one of cinema's greatest partnerships.
JP
