The Most Beautiful (1944)
Ichiban utsukushiku
85 min
Young women at a precision optics factory in wartime Japan push to exceed production quotas, enduring illness, injury, and personal hardship to “serve the country.” Led by Tsuru Watanabe, they fight fatigue and setbacks to keep their line moving—even when duty collides with grief.
- Release date
- April 13, 1944
- Country of origin
- Japan
Where to watch
Subscription
Criterion Channel
Free with ads
Plex
Plex Channel
Cast
- Takashi Shimura as Chief Goro Ishida
- Ichirō Sugai as Ken Shinda, Chief of Labor Section
- Takako Irie as Noriko Mizushima, dorm mother
- Yôko Yaguchi as Tsuru Watanabe, president of women workers
- Sayuri Tanima as Yuriko Tanimura, vice president of the women workers
- Sachiko Ozaki as Sachiko Yamazaki
- Shizuko Nishigaki as Fusae Nishioka
- Asako Suzuki as Asako Suzumura
- Haruko Toyama as Masako Koyama
- Itoko Kôno as Sue Okabe
- Michiko Oikawa as Michiko Ayukawa (uncredited)
- Teruko Katô as Teruko Sato (uncredited)
- Akitake Kôno as Fire and drum band instructor (uncredited)
- Unpei Yokoyama as Dormitory worker (uncredited)
- Chieko Nakakita as Student worker (uncredited)
- Sōji Kiyokawa as Soichi Yoshikawa, Chief of General Affairs Section
Crew
- Akira Kurosawa · Director
- Akira Kurosawa · Writer
- Motohiko Itō · Producer
- Jin Usami · Producer
- Seiichi Suzuki · Composer
- Jōji Ohara · Cinematographer
- Teruaki Abe · Production designer