The Idiot (1951 film)

The Idiot
Theatrical release poster showing Toshiro Mifune (left), Masayuki Mori (centre) and Setsuko Hara (right)
Japanese name
Kanji	白痴
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Hakuchi
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Screenplay by	Akira Kurosawa Eijirō Hisaita [ja]
Based on	The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Produced by	Takashi Koide
Starring	Setsuko Hara Yoshiko Kuga Toshiro Mifune Masayuki Mori Takashi Shimura Noriko Sengoku
Cinematography	Toshio Ubukata
Edited by	Yoshi Sugihara
Music by	Fumio Hayasaka
Production company	Shochiku
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	23 May 1951 (1951-05-23)
Running time	265 minutes (original; lost)[1] 166 minutes (existing)[1]
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Budget	¥70 million[2]

The Idiot (Japanese: 白痴, Hepburn: Hakuchi) is a 1951 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Eijirō Hisaita [ja]. It is based on the 1869 novel The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky.^[3] The original 265-minute version of the film, faithful to the novel, has been long lost. A nearly three-hour release, reflecting a 100-minute studio-imposed cut, currently survives as the most complete version of the film available for contemporary audiences.

The film stars Setsuko Hara who plays the part of Taeko Nasu, the beautiful mistress of Tohata. The characters are involved in a weblike plot of intersecting relationships.