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Judo Life

1963·Movie
1h 34min

Where to watch

No stream option in US yet.

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About

Sonny Chiba's first martial arts film, a partially fictionalized judo biopic based on prominent judoka Shiro Saigo (Chiba), the second student of judo founder Jigoro Kano (Naoki Sugiura). Akira Kurosawa’s Sanshiro Sugata is based on the same character and shares some scenes, but Judo for Life focuses more on the martial arts philosophy and training, including scenes depicting how the protagonist learned his famous cat-like landing, coined the term judo, and trained with Tsunejiro Tomita (Hideo Murata). There’s also a slight yakuza film influence. The port street ambush scene is found in both films, but in Judo for Life it’s not Kano but a travelling yakuza that jumps out of the rickshaw. Entertaining and beautifully old fashioned, one does however with there were more shades of gray between good and evil, and a stronger ninkyo-like moral / honour conflict.
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Sequels and Prequels

No sequels or prequels available

Media

Questions about Judo Life

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Where can I stream Judo Life legally?

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How long is Judo Life?

1 h 34 min

Judo Life runs 1 h 34 min.

What language is Judo Life in?

Japanese

It was made in Japanese. Produced in Japan.