Endless Desire (1958): Cast & Plot
Endless Desire is a 1958 drama directed by Shôhei Imamura, starring Takeshi Katô as Brutal yakuza, Kō Nishimura and Shinichi Yanagisawa. It runs 1 hour 41 minutes.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 41m (101 min)
- Director
- Shôhei Imamura
- Genre
- Drama
- Original language
-
Japanese - Studio
- Nikkatsu Corporation
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Endless Desire About?
The premise of Endless Desire without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.
In post‑war Japan, five strangers—a quartet of men and a lone woman—convene in the cramped basement of a butcher shop to unearth a cache of morphine hidden during the conflict. Their desperate quest sparks a darkly comic spiral of mistrust and twisted loyalties, and one by one the group meets a fatal end.
Endless Desire Themes & Keywords
· 2 tags- yakuza
- male female relationship
Endless Desire Cast & Characters
Takeshi Katô leads the cast as Brutal yakuza, with Kō Nishimura as Pharmacist and Shinichi Yanagisawa. Directed by Shôhei Imamura; 19 actors are credited in all.
- Director Shôhei Imamura
-
Takeshi Katô as Brutal yakuza - Kō Nishimura as Pharmacist
- Shinichi Yanagisawa
- Shoichi Ozawa as A teacher
Also Starring in Endless Desire
· 15 more- Ichirô Sugai Kinzo Onoyu
- Misako Watanabe Shima
- Hiroyuki Nagato Satoru
- Sanae Nakahara Ryuko
- Taiji Tonoyama Ramen shop owner
- Chieko Misaki Kiyo
- Shinsuke Ashida
- Kaku Takashina
- Kayo Matsuo
- Nobuo Kawakami
- Shuntaro Tamamura
- Shizuko Kasagi
- Makiko Tsunoda
- Tomiko Hattori
- Reiji Akitsu Detective
More from Shôhei Imamura
More films directed by Shôhei Imamura: Dr. Akagi, Zegen, The Ballad of Narayama and Why Not?.
Endless Desire Plot Summary
What happens in Endless Desire from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
Ten years after the Pacific War, four ex-soldiers—Onuma, Takeshi Katô, Nakata, Kō Nishimura, Yamamoto, Shinichi Yanagisawa, and Sawai, Shoichi Ozawa—team up to recover a hidden stash of morphine said to be buried in an air-raid shelter. Their only reassurance comes from a former superior who claimed that only three men knew about the morphine, so a seed of doubt quickly takes root and Sawai becomes the initial prime suspect of an intruder in their tightly knit group.
Full summary
The whole story of Endless Desire, scene by scene
How Well Do You Know Endless Desire?
9 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 9
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
What is the ultimate goal of the four ex‑soldiers in the film?
Endless Desire Also Known As
7 alternative titles, including “Hateshinaki yokubô” and “Desejo Insaciável”.
- Also known as
-
- Hateshinaki yokubô
- Desejo Insaciável
- Бесконечное желание
- 无穷的欲望
- Desiderio inappagato
- Désir inassouvi
- 無窮的慾望
Seen Endless Desire?
Movies Like Endless Desire
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including A Yakuza in Love, Painful Bliss: Final Twist and Street Without End.
Endless Desire FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date
Runtime, release date, director, cast, post-credit scenes and language of Endless Desire, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Endless Desire?
Endless Desire runs 1 hour 41 minutes (101 minutes).
When was Endless Desire released?
Endless Desire was released on November 18, 1958.
Who directed Endless Desire?
Endless Desire was directed by Shôhei Imamura.
More films by Shôhei Imamura Who is in the cast of Endless Desire?
Endless Desire stars Takeshi Katô as Brutal yakuza, Kō Nishimura as Pharmacist and Shinichi Yanagisawa, among 19 credited actors.
Does Endless Desire have a post-credit scene?
No. Endless Desire has no extra scene during or after the credits.
What language is Endless Desire in?
The original language of Endless Desire is Japanese.
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