When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

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When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Criterion Collection DVD cover
Directed by	Mikio Naruse
Produced by	Ryuzo Kikushima
Written by	Ryuzo Kikushima
Starring	Hideko Takamine Masayuki Mori Daisuke Kato
Music by	Toshiro Mayuzumi
Cinematography	Masao Tamai
Editing by	Eiji Ooi
Distributed by	Toho
Release date(s)	January 15, 1960 June 25, 1963
Running time	111 min
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (女が階段を上る時, Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki^?) is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.

Keiko, a young widow, becomes a bar hostess in Ginza to make ends meet. Now 30, she must decide whether to open her own place or get married. She struggles to maintain her independence in a male-dominated society.

[edit] Cast

Hideko Takamine ... Keiko Yashiro
Masayuki Mori ... Nobuhiko Fujisaki
Reiko Dan ... Junko Inchihashi
Tatsuya Nakadai ... Kenichi Komatsu, Keiko's manager
Daisuke Kato ... Matsukichi Sekine
Ganjiro Nakamura ... Goda
Eitaro Ozawa ... Minobe
Keiko Awaji ... Yuri
Kyu Sazanka ... Bar owner
Noriko Sengoku ... Fortune-teller

[edit] DVD Release

In 2007, The Criterion Collection released a one disc Region 1 edition. Special features included audio commentary by Donald Richie, a new interview with Tatsuya Nakadai, the theatrical trailer and new English subtitle translation. The edition also included a booklet containing essays by Phillip Lopate, Catherine Russell, Audie Bock, and Hideko Takamine.