Japanese Film Club brought one of Japan’s most beloved modern classics back to the big screen. For one special night at Rio Cinema in Dalston, London audiences could experience the UK premiere of the brand-new 4K restoration of Masayuki Suo’s 1996 smash hit, SHALL WE DANCE? uncut at its full 137-minute running time.
Lauded on release and winner of 13 Japanese Academy Awards, Suo’s bittersweet romantic comedy received universal acclaim from critics:
“An implausibly charming comedy” – The New York Times
“Completely entertaining” – Roger Ebert
Now, nearly three decades later, it returned in pristine condition, as charming and emotionally precise as ever. Book your seats now for the Saturday 6 December 2025, 17:45 screening at Rio Cinema Dalston and experience SHALL WE DANCE? on the big screen, use code JFCNAKAMA to get 30% off your ticket.
Shall We Dance? at Rio Cinema Dalston
- Address
- Rio Cinema: 107 Kingsland High St, London E8 2PB, United Kingdom
- Admission
- £10 with code JFCNAKAMA
- Starts
- December 6, 2025, 5:45 PM
- Ends
- December 6, 2025 7:45 PM
More about the event
- UK premiere of the new 4K restoration of Masayuki Suo’s 1996 classic Shall We Dance? (full 137-minute cut)
- Japanese audio with English subtitles
- Presented by MadeGood Films and Japanese Film Club
Synopsis
Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) seems to have it all, a high-paying job as an accountant, a beautiful home, a caring wife and a doting daughter he loves dearly. However, he feels something is missing in his life. One day while commuting on the train he spots a beautiful woman staring wistfully out a window and eventually decides to find her. His search leads him head-first into the world of competitive ballroom dancing. Read our full take on the film’s charm, themes, and legacy, check out our in-depth review of Shall We Dance?.
An “infinitely touching” (Washington Post) modern classic from director Masayuki Suo, SHALL WE DANCE? is a feel-good romantic comedy that “will sweep you off your feet” (Austin Chronicle). A box office sensation in North America upon its initial release (which led to a Hollywood remake with Richard Gere), MadeGood Films presents SHALL WE DANCE? in a new 4K restoration of the original 137-minute film, available uncut for the first time in the United Kingdom.
About Masayuki Suo
After a childhood spent living and breathing movies and baseball, Tokyo-born Suo entered Rikkyo university to study French Literature. It was there that lectures by esteemed movie critic, Shigehiko Hasumi inspired him to become a film director. After an initial foray into independent movies, he got a leg up when he summoned the nerve to ask director Banmei Takahashi, for a job. The legendary director, who happened to be a regular customer at a bar where Suo’s friend was working, gave Suo unpaid employment at the telephone switchboard. Suo went on to become an Assistant Director on as many as 10 movies a year for Takahashi as well as other directors in his stable such as Koji Wakamatsu and Kazuyuki Izutsu.
When Takahashi founded the Directorʼs Company in 1982, Suo took the opportunity to open Unit 5, his own filmmaking collective with colleagues Isumichi Isomura, Yoshiho Fukuoka, Toshiyuki Mizutani and Akira Yoneda. He was soon churning out scripts and in 1984 his debut as a director was made with Abnormal Family – My Brotherʼs Bride, a well-received homage to his hero, Yasujiro Ozu, which put him on the map. In 1986 he directed the adaptation of a popular novel Salaryman Classroom for TV. His momentum increased when he was entrusted with making the behind-the-scenes documentary of the filming of Juzo Itamiʼs Taxing Woman in 1987. This led him to team up with former Daiei employee, Shoji Masui who produced Suoʼs Fancy Dance in 1989. This film debuted the superstar actor, Motohiro Motoki and gave Suo the clout to take on Sumo Do, Sumo Donʼt in 1992, which won Best Film at the Japanese Academy Awards.
In 1993 Suo and Masui created their own production company, Altamira Pictures. 1996ʼs Shall We Dance? swept nearly every category of the 20th Japanese Academy Awards and became a social phenomenon, inspiring a Hollywood remake starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez. 2007’s I Just Didn’t Do It won a raft of awards and helped catalyse a shift in attitudes within Japanʼs legal system. Suo changed gears with Dancing Chaplin in 2011, a low-budget documentary about ballet which garnered international festival exposure. In 2012, he reunited the two lead actors from Shall We Dance? For A Terminal Trust, a love story set in the context of terminal hospital care. In 2014 Suo returned to his signature style with Lady Maiko, a light-hearted look at a country girlʼs ambitious bid to enter the cloistered world of Kyotoʼs apprentice geisha.
Shall We Dance? at Rio Cinema Dalston
The Cast
Shohei Sugiyama: Koji Yakusho
Mai Kishikawa: Tamiyo Kusakari
Tomio Aoki: Naoto Takenaka
Toyoko Takahashi: Eriko Watanabe
Tokichi Hattori: Yu Tokui
Macho: Hiroshi Miyasaka
Tamako Tamura: Reiko Kusamura
Masako Sugiyama: Hideko Hara
Detective Miwa: Akira Emoto
Masahiro Tanaka: Hiromasa Taguchi
What is Japanese Film Club?
Japanese Film Club is a London-based screening series curated by Will of MadeGood Films, a distributor specialising in Japanese releases. After eight years living in Japan and working in film distribution, he launched the club in summer 2025 as a simple idea: gather people in a cinema to watch Japanese films together.
The response has been huge, with early screenings like Tampopo and Gaea Girls selling out at Rio Cinema in Dalston. The programme isn’t academic or rigid; Will chooses films he loves, invites interesting guests, and focuses on creating a relaxed, communal cinema experience. There are few rules on what can be shown, only that it deserves to be seen on the big screen.
Audiences are encouraged to suggest titles, chat after screenings, and get involved. For future events and announcements, Japanese Film Club invites people to join the newsletter and follow along on social media.
