Japan Synopsis
楢山節考
“Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…”
In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.
Other Titles From Toei Company
The 1982–1984 Japan Window
The Ballad of Narayama holds position #10 of 57 Japan films in the 1982–1984 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
#1Space Cobra
★ 8.3 · 1982
#2Super Dimension Fortress Macross
★ 8.1 · 1982
#3Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
★ 7.9 · 1984
#4The Transformers
★ 7.9 · 1984
#5Captain Tsubasa
★ 7.8 · 1983
#6Kinnikuman
★ 7.8 · 1983
#7Voltron: Defender of the Universe
★ 7.6 · 1984
#8Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space
★ 7.6 · 1982
The 1980s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1980s in Japan, 280 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Ballad of Narayama premiered alongside 17 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 17 other Japan films in 1983.
The 597th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
144 audience reviews — more than 81% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 69th percentile among Japan films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,369 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (70th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.5 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Drama productions specifically: #591 of 1,933 (top 31%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Toei Company |
| Runtime | 2h 10m |
| Release Date | April 29, 1983 |
| IMDb | tt0084390 |