Product Details

• Actors: Kôji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko Watanabe, Yu Tokui
• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: ALL
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006Z2KJI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #293,802 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Shall We Dance?" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

On his evening commute, bored accountant Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) always looks for the beautiful woman who gazes wistfully out the window of the Kishikawa School of Dancing. One night he gets off the train, walks into the studio, and signs up for a class. Soon Sugiyama is so engrossed in his dancing he practices his steps on the train platform and under his desk, and becomes good enough for competition, compelling his wife to hire a private investigator to find out why he stays out late and returns home smelling of perfume. Among the colorful characters Sugiyama meets is his coworker Aoki (Naoto Takenaka), who transforms himself from geeky systems analyst to hilariously flamboyant (and bad-wigged) lounge lizard. Aoki explains to Sugiyama, "When I finish work, put on the clothes, the wig and become Donny Burns, Latin world champion, and I start to move to the rhythm, I'm so happy, so completely free." Here lies the chief charm of Shall We Dance, the contrast between the ultracompetitive women of the studio--including the one who caught Sugiyama's eye, Mai (Tamiyo Kusakari)--and the men who dance simply because they enjoy it. This 1996 film is somewhat comparable to the flamboyant Aussie favorite Strictly Ballroom, but Shall We Dance is especially noteworthy for contrasting the boldness of social dance with the buttoned-up societal mores of Japan, where people avoid public displays of emotion. Even in Japan, the joy of dance is irresistible. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

232 of 237 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why tamper with perfection, September 17, 2004

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shall We Dance? [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I see over one hundred well-written summaries on these pages, with an average five-star rating. While adding my rave review to the list, I ask the question: Why tamper with perfection? The US-made re-make is about to hit the screens with A-list cast Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, and Susan Sarandon. I know for a fact that a large majority of the U.S. population will never watch a subtitled film, so I can understand the reason for re-making it. However, I think everyone who has written here will agree that there's no way this Gere/Lopez/Sarandon re-make will capture the spirit of the original, certainly not the two driving forces that propel it.

First, there's the drudgery of the Japanese salaryman...like millions of others Tokyo-based wage slaves, Koji Yakusho's unhappy accountant takes his hours-long train ride home each evening, beaten down a bit more by his lot in life. He spies a dance studio, a dancer...and slowly - night after night - develops a small dream. The night he finally decides to get off the train is a magnificent scene...there's a complete struggle going on inside his body to hop off and stay off that train. I wonder how the re-make will possibly capture even a smidgen of that angst.

Second, there are the strong mores of Japanese society and the overrriding ethos of "the upright nail gets hammered down." In the U.S., to a large extent, the spirit of the individual endures - if you want to dance, you dance. In Japan, not only is Koji Yakusho's character battling himself, he's battling his country's perception of his decision to dance, which basically can be summarized as: "Guys don't." Again, I challenge the re-make to capture this tension.

I will point out that I'm not dead set against any re-make: I'm a big fan of the Argentinian film "Nueve Reinas," and thought that 2929 Entertainment's recently released "Criminal" really compared quite well to the original. Still, I urge those of you with any interest in seeing the upcoming release of "Shall We Dance" to do yourself a favor and invest 118 minutes in the original, a great look at Japanese society.

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A touching, humorous, very human film, November 24, 1998

By 

LANCE R LINDLEY "hagakure" (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shall We Dance? [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Shall We Dance" is a great film about a typical, aging Japanese "salaryman" searching for a break from his dreary existence. What starts as a fantasy about a dance teacher he sees from the window of his train becomes an actual passion for dancing that changes his outlook on life and his relationships with those around him. I haven't seen the subtitled version, but the original Japanese version is clever, well-paced, and contains just the right dash of humor, especially Takenaka Naoto as the dance-mad coworker. This movie touched off a ballroom dance craze in Japan; whether it can affect Americans the same way is doubtful, but it's still a great little movie for anyone who enjoys foreign films.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Movie great, DVD is not, May 9, 2008

By 

theSshow (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shall We Dance? (1996) (DVD)

Note, I am NOT referring to the American REMAKE starring Richard Gere. I am referring to this American DVD release of the Japanese film.

I give this Japanese movie 5 stars. However, I give this particular product one star. This American DVD release cut almost 20 minutes from the full Japanese version! Also, the voiceover narration at the beginning of the film is altered! I understand why the studios might think that the film in its entirety might not "sit well" with American audiences, but I honestly don't think that would've changed people's opinion of this classic film.

Perhaps, most of you do not mind, but that is a great travesty to me.