Rikidōzan (Korean: 역도산; RR: Yeokdosan) is a 2004 South Korean-Japanese film written and directed by Song Hae-sung.[1] The film is based on the life of Rikidōzan, a legendary ethnic Korean professional wrestler who became a national hero in Japan in the 1950s. It stars Sul Kyung-gu in the title role, with Miki Nakatani, Tatsuya Fuji, and actual Japanese wrestlers Keiji Mutoh and Masakatsu Funaki in the cast.
Cast
- Rikidōzan/Kim Sin-rak: Sul Kyung-gu
- Aya: Miki Nakatani
- Yuzuru Yoshimachi: Masato Hagiwara
- Keiko Oki: Sawa Suzuki
- Kōichi Kasai: Tarō Yamamoto
- Masahiko Kimura: Masakatsu Funaki†
- Kim Myon-gil: Park Chul-min
- Kim Il: No Jun-ho
- Kōkichi Endō: Jun Akiyama†
- Toyonobori: Muhammad Yone†
- Harold Sakata: Keiji Mutoh†
- Azumanami: Shinya Hashimoto†
- Ben Sharpe: Mike Polchlopek†
- Mike Sharpe: Jim Steele†
- Mr. Atomic (Clyde Steeves): Rick Steiner†
- Wrestler: Makoto Hashi†
- Wrestler: Go Shiozaki†
- Wrestler: Koji Yoshida
- Wrestler: Chikara Momota
- Announcer: Shigeru Kajiwara
- Interviewer: Masami Ogishima
- NTV President: Shinji Nomura
- Nishonoyama Oyakata: Kazuyuki Senba
- Kenichi Tamura: Munenori Iwamoto
- New Havana Club M.C.: Magy
- Middle-Aged Woman: Rei Okamoto
- Takeo Kanno: Tatsuya Fuji
†denotes an actual professional wrestler
Reception
Sol Kyung-gu gained 20 kilograms (44 lbs.) for the role and also delivered 95% of his lines in Japanese.[2][3] Despite winning great praise for his performance, however, the film vastly underperformed in the box office on its local release, with total admissions at 1,249,794.[4]
Nevertheless, Rikidozan was recognized at the 42nd Grand Bell Awards, winning Best Director for Song Hae-sung, and Best Cinematography for Kim Hyung-koo.
References
- ^ Kim, Gab-sik (13 October 2004). “A Dialogue between Film Directors Song Hae-sung and Iwai Shunji”. The Dong-A Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
- ^ Lee, Seung-jae (1 December 2004). “I Reflected on Myself in Rikidozan”. The Dong-A Ilbo. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
- ^ “Sul Kyung-gu Brings a Touch of Muscle to Wrestling Role”. The Chosun Ilbo. 15 December 2004. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
- ^ “Commercial Releases in 2004: Ranked Box-Office Results”. Koreanfilm.org. Archived from the original on 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
External links
- Rikidozan at IMDb
- Rikidozan at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
- Rikidozan at Sony Pictures Japan