Movie

The Quiet Duel

1949 · 95 min

A somber, morally serious medical drama that quietly accumulates emotional weight through restraint and ethical anguish.

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Genres: Drama
Starring: Toshirō Mifune, Miki Sanjō, Takashi Shimura

Overview: A young army surgeon, Kyoji Fujisaki, accidentally contracts syphilis during a WWII field operation. Back at his father’s clinic, he treats himself in secret and breaks off his engagement rather than risk his fiancée’s future, even as he confronts the irresponsible patient who infected him—testing his ethics, pride, and capacity for sacrifice.

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Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Genres: Drama
Starring: Toshirō Mifune, Miki Sanjō, Takashi Shimura

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: guilt
morality
isolation
love
redemption
Places: hospital
home
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: None
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language none
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	2
Humour	1
Realism	8
Romance	4
Tension	5
Darkness	7
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	8

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Where to watch in the UK

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Details

Genres: drama
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Written by: Akira Kurosawa, Senkichi Taniguchi
Starring: Toshirō Mifune, Miki Sanjō, Takashi Shimura, Kenjiro Uemura, Isamu Yamaguchi, Noriko Sengoku, Chieko Nakakita, Kenichi Miyajima
Music: Akira Ifukube
Cinematography: Sōichi Aisaka
Runtime: 95 min
Country: Japan
Languages: Japanese

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The Quiet Duel

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