Photo courtesy of Janus Films. ©1956 Nikkatsu.
Photo courtesy of Janus Films. ©1956 Nikkatsu. Source: Janus Films press release Special Thanks to Courtney Ott Photo courtesy of Janus Films. ©1956 Nikkatsu. Janus Films presents a new 4K restoration of the Nikkatsu classic antiwar film THE BURMESE HARP (ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no Tategoto, 1956). The movie will play October 18-24 at the Film Forum in New York and is available for bookings nationwide. In the last days of World War II, a Japanese platoon sustains morale through the Burma campaign by singing traditional songs, accompanied by the delicate harp-playing of Private Mizushima (Shoji Yasui). After the unit surrenders to British forces, Mizushima is tasked with convincing a holdout of cave-dwelling Japanese soldiers to lay down their arms; when his mission fails, he is counted among the dead. Mizushima survives, however, and becomes a monk who dedicates his life to providing proper burials for
