Sayonara is widely available for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray where it has long been a staple.
Audrey Hepburn would probably have been no worse a choice for the female lead than Katharine Hepburn was in Dragon Seed but thankfully she turned it down. Miiko Taka was fine in the role but was overshadowed by Miyoshi Umeki who won a supporting actress Oscar for her more sympathetic performance.
The film did have casting problems. Marlon Brando, although he was absurdly nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, was extremely annoying with his nondescript fake Southern accent which no West Point graduate of the day would have had. Better choices for the role would have been Willliam Holden who turned it down to make The Bridge on the River Kwai and Rock Hudson who turned it down to make A Farewell to Arms.
Even worse was Ricardo Montalban as a Japanese Kabuki dancer, a role that most definitely should have been cast with a native Japanese performer.
Casting aside, however, it was a decent film that was extremely popular at the time and remained so for a long time afterward.
R.I.P. Miiko Taka
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Big Magilla
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Re: R.I.P. Miiko Taka
I know the Hayes Code was a lot of the problem, but it is absolutely wild to me that Audrey Hepburn was originally approached for the role she played in Sayonara. I don't really remember anything about her (or anyone else) in that film, which is not available on any streaming services, for whatever reason.
R.I.P. Miiko Taka
Miiko Taka, Marlon Brando’s Co-Star in ‘Sayonara,’ Dies at 97
After her sensational acting debut, she appeared in films alongside Glenn Ford, Bob Hope, James Garner and Cary Grant and in the miniseries 'Shogun.'
by Mike Barnes (Hd Reporter) 1/13/2023
pilot Lloyd “Ace” Gruver and Taka as an elegant Japanese dancer named Hana-ogi. They fall for each other but face hostility in an era that frowned on interracial romances and marriages.
Logan looked to cast an unknown after his first choice for the role, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down. The Seattle-born Taka was working as a clerk at a travel agency in Los Angeles when she was hired, even though she had no acting experience.
The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., I Spy and The Wild Wild West.
Her big-screen résumé also included the war films Hell to Eternity (1960) and Operation Bottleneck (1961), a remake of Lost Horizon (1973), Paper Tiger (1975), The Big Fix (1978) and The Challenge (1982).
She also appeared on the acclaimed NBC 1980 miniseries Shogun, starring Richard Chamberlain
After her sensational acting debut, she appeared in films alongside Glenn Ford, Bob Hope, James Garner and Cary Grant and in the miniseries 'Shogun.'
by Mike Barnes (Hd Reporter) 1/13/2023
pilot Lloyd “Ace” Gruver and Taka as an elegant Japanese dancer named Hana-ogi. They fall for each other but face hostility in an era that frowned on interracial romances and marriages.
Logan looked to cast an unknown after his first choice for the role, Audrey Hepburn, turned him down. The Seattle-born Taka was working as a clerk at a travel agency in Los Angeles when she was hired, even though she had no acting experience.
The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., I Spy and The Wild Wild West.
Her big-screen résumé also included the war films Hell to Eternity (1960) and Operation Bottleneck (1961), a remake of Lost Horizon (1973), Paper Tiger (1975), The Big Fix (1978) and The Challenge (1982).
She also appeared on the acclaimed NBC 1980 miniseries Shogun, starring Richard Chamberlain