Lucky Dragon No. 5 (第五福竜丸)

A KINDAI EIGA KYOKAI/ SHINSEI EIGA COPRODUCTION

LUCKY DRAGON NO. 5

Produced by HISAO ITOYA, KAZUO WAKAYAMA TENGO YAMADA, SETSUO NOTO

Screenplay by YASUTARO YAGI & KANETO SHINDO

Cinematography by EIKICHI UEMATSU Production Design by TAKASHI MARUMO

Music by HIKARU HAYASHI

Assisted by the YAIZU CITY FISHING COOPERATIVE

Starring:

JUKICHI UNO NOBUKO OTOWA

- Bring us a big catch! - Aye!

Directed by Kaneto Shindo

YAIZU HARBOR

I'm counting on you.

Head Fisherman TAMIO MISHIMA

Radio Operator AIKICHI KUBOYAMA

Hey look alive!

«What’s up? - Hey

Do a good job.

Ship Manager YOICHI NISHIYAMA

Hey!

JANUARY 22, 1954

Bishop takes rook!

Here comes white up your ass!

Knight thrusts in saying, “Show some tits!“

Dammit!

Map of the Pacific

I hope we catch 64 tonnes this time.

Last time in the Indian Ocean we caught 56 tonnes.

Yeah, if we get 64 tonnes and take our commission...

then I could at least buy Ma an underskirt!

- Odd. We're headed in the wrong direction. - What?

Where are we going? We're headed east.

I didn't tell everyone yet, but I thought we'd try fishing out east.

That's news to me.

I thought we were going to the Solomons, right, guys?

Yeah, that's right.

Hey...

There's no way this old boat can handle the seas out east.

I only just learned of it from the Chief here myself.

He thinks that rather going to the south to catch cheap yellow-fin tuna,

it'd be better to catch the pricier big-eye tuna out east, even if it's rough.

Out east is bound to be rough.

I'm for the south.

A load of cheap yellowfin tuna would still be good money

I talked it over with Ship Manager Nishiyama;

he says let's take a chance and search east for big-eye tuna.

How about it, Kuboyama?

Well, I guess he has final say over the boat...

So let's head for Midway Atoll.

- If Kuboyama's for it, so am I. - I'm glad we all agree.

Let's scoop up those big-eyes and make loads of money!

From Ogasawara Islands past Minami Torishima island

Good work. I'll take over now.

You're pretty good with a knife, Chief.

Have a taste.

Just right.

Talking in your sleep, eh?

I can't help it.

«Kiyo-chan! Oh, Kiyo-chan!»

«I want to be with you, Kiyo-chan!»

Stop it, Mr Harada!

Dinner's ready! The chief made curry rice for us.

From Minami Torishima Island to Midway Atoll

The temperature's about right...

The water colour looks fine, too.

Ready to go for it?

Drop the lines!

Please catch us many fish.

Go ahead!

Go ahead!

Bring in the lines!

Damn it, another shark...

You greedy beggar!

Perhaps the tuna are away on holiday!

Keep trying-

The lines have broken!

Turn the ship!

The sea's too rough...

- Must've got caught in the coral. - There's a strong current, too.

Hey keep a lookout!

We've not found any in four days. Let's give it up.

I feel bad for the ship owner and the men.

All we'll bring back from this voyage is debt.

We can still use half of the lines. We'll make do with that.

With only half, we'd be lucky to cover our costs.

We shouldn't just keep hanging around here.

I say we head south, to the calmer seas.

Why not head north? We'd be closer to home and save fuel.

We can still fish along the way

Since we're low on fuel, how about going north for albacore tuna?

Everyone's exhausted. The seas up north are too rough.

We can be sure of a catch if we head south.

Have you contacted the ship owner?

No. I'll do it now.

You can't always be lucky when fishing.

I'll go tell everyone.

Hey!

Listen up, guys!

Forget about the broken lines. We're heading south.

A fisherman must know when to give up.

It's a new start.

We'll regain our energy by heading south.

How about we break open that bottle of sake we've been saving!

From Midway Atoll to Bikini Atoll

Let it go.

Be careful!

MARCH 1st

Harada, we'll return home to Yaizu after raising the lines.

My Kiyo-chan will be dying to see me.

«Oh, Kiyo-chan!»

I can't wait to see her. It's frustrating!

We can cover our costs provided we pull in 8 or 9 tons.

What a terrible voyage!

The ship owner will be angry

- We'll have nothing but debts. - Breakfast is ready

The sun rose in the west!

Idiot! The sun can't rise in the west!

Wasn't that an atomic bomb?

What was that?

Let's eat.

Start the engine!

Raise the lines!

Full speed!

The bang arrived seven minutes after the flash of light.

No, it was eight minutes.

Look! An atomic bomb!

There may be airplanes around! Be on the lookout.

Back to work! Raise the lines!

The speed of sound is around 1,000 feet per second.

Let's say it took 7.5 seconds...

That would make it 75 nautical miles.

The ship's position is...

11°53' north, 66°58' east.

Stay off the radio - we can't risk being intercepted.

What's this, snow?

It doesn't snow in the south seas.

What strange stuffs falling from the sky!

Get back to work. Hurry up!

- What the heck is this? - Could be ash.

It sticks to my feet.

What is this?

MARCH 14th

Just what have you guys been up to?!

Boss, I need to talk to you.

What happened to your face?

I turned into a native Polynesian!

Why is your face like that?

Come on, let's talk.

- Everyone's turned black! - I know. Come on.

- Huh? You saw an atomic bomb explode? - We saw a flash of light...

After 90 minutes, white ash began to fall.

We were all covered with ash. It turned us black.

Why didn't you contact us by radio?

We'd have got in trouble if the U.S. military intercepted us.

I made sure everyone's lips were sealed.

- We could be captured as spies, you know. - How's everyone's health?

Our hair falls out, and we have blisters.

Your face really is black! How strange.

I'd like to get looked over at the hospital.

Sure, go right away... Wait, today's Sunday

- There'll still be a doctor on duty - He's right. Call them now.

Say that you must see him.

You witnessed a top secret U.S. operation;

it's over for you if they think you're a spy

- Good morning! - Morning.

Kiyo-chan, the Lucky Dragon is back in port.

The Lucky Dragon? Look after this for me.

Welcome back!

What happened to your face?

- I'm back. - Welcome home.

What happened to your face?

Who's darker, your dad or the fish?

You look like a ghost! Hurry and wash your face, dear.

Washing won't remove it.

I'm going to the hospital.

Your skin's turned very dark...

You also have blisters.

For how long did the ash fall?

For about four hours.

Did you wash it off afterwards?

- We washed it off right away - Any fever?

For a while we felt nauseous and lost our appetites.

We also threw up and our hair fell out.

How do you feel now?

We feel fine.

Since you feel fine and two weeks have passed, you may be alright.

Let's take some blood samples, just in case.

They appear to have facial burns. Rub some zinc ointment on them.

Kyoriisu Hospital

Do you think we'll be alright, doctor?

Well, you saw a ball of fire, and ash fell on you. So I wonder...

- Sorry to be rude, doctor... - Hmm?

But we'd like to go to a hospital in Tokyo for examination.

Fine. I'll write you a letter of introduction to Tokyo University Hospital.

You may be suffering from radiation poisoning.

Send the two worst affected to the hospital tomorrow morning.

You kept some ash, right?

Yes. We brought some home in a plastic bag.

Good. Take it with you to the hospital.

What happened? You look like Pacific natives who've been licking the flour bowl!