Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
British officer Major Jack Celliers fights to maintain his humanity and command within a brutal Japanese POW camp, where his clash with the enigmatic Captain Yonoi threatens both men’s honor and survival.
“Java, 1942 — A clash of cultures, a test of the human spirit.”
Synopsis
In 1942, on the island of Java during World War II, British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp overseen by Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who possesses extensive knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, described as brutal and simple‑minded, observe the clash of wills between two men from markedly different backgrounds who are inevitably set to confront each other.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 67+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Tomoyo OshimaShot by Toichiro NarushimaScored by Ryuichi SakamotoDesigned by Shigemasa Toda
Box Office
1983 · Box office
Grossed $2.3M worldwide
Worldwide gross
$2.3M
Also known as
- Furyo - Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrencede
- Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrencede
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrenceen
- Feliz Navidad, Mr. Lawrencees
- Furyofr
- Furyoit
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Cast & Crew
67 unique people credited
Top billed cast
David Bowie
as Celliers
Tom Conti
as Lawrence
Ryuichi Sakamoto
as Yonoi
Takeshi Kitano
as Hara
Jack Thompson
as Hicksley
Johnny Okura
as Kanemoto
Johnny Ohkura
as Kanemoto
Alistair Browning
as De Jong
James Malcolm
as Celliers' Brother
Chris Broun
as Celliers 12 Years
Yuya Uchida
as Commandant of Military Prison
Ryunosuke Kaneda
as President of the Court
Supporting cast
48Takashi Naito
as Lieutenant Iwata
Tamio Ishikura
as Prosecutor
Rokko Toura
as Interpreter
Kan Mikami
as Lieutenant Itō
Yuji Honma
as PFC Yajima
Daisuke Iijima
as Corporal Ueki
Hideo Murota
as New Commandant of Camp
Barry Dorking
as Chief Doctor
Geoff Clendon
as Australian Doctor
Grant Bridger
as P.O.W. Officer
Richard Adams
as P.O.W. #1
Geoff Allen
as P.O.W. #2
Michael Baxter Lax
as P.O.W. #3
Mark Berg
as P.O.W. #4
Marcus Campbell
as P.O.W. #5
Colin Francis
as P.O.W. #6
Richard Hensby
as P.O.W. #7
Richard Hoare
as P.O.W. #8
Martin Ibbertson
as P.O.W. #9
Rob Jayne
as P.O.W. #10
Richard Mills
as P.O.W. #11
Mark Penrose
as P.O.W. #12
Arthur Ranford
as P.O.W. #13
Steve Smith
as P.O.W. #14
Stephen Taylor
as P.O.W. #15
Richard Zimmerman
as P.O.W. #16
Ian Miller
as English Guard
Don Stevens
as Pastor
Yoichi Iijima
as Japanese Soldier #1
Satoshi Ito
as Japanese Soldier #2
Masaki Kusakabe
as Japanese Soldier #3
Kunihide Kuruma
as Japanese Soldier #4
Hiroshi Mikami
as Japanese Soldier #5
Akihiro Masuda
as Japanese Soldier #6
Tokuhisa Masuda
as Japanese Soldier #7
Takeshi Nagasawa
as Japanese Soldier #8
Takashi Odashima
as Japanese Soldier #9
Masanori Okada
as Japanese Soldier #10
Shoetsu Sato
as Japanese Soldier #11
Rintaro Shibata
as Japanese Soldier #12
Masamichi Shibasaki
as Japanese Soldier #13
Kaname Shimura
as Japanese Soldier #14
Kenzo Shirahama
as Japanese Soldier #15
Hisao Takeda
as Japanese Soldier #16
Hidenobu Togo
as Japanese Soldier #17
Atsuo Yamashita
as Japanese Soldier #18
Heiwa Yoshihara
as Japanese Soldier #19
Takeshi Yu
as Japanese Soldier #20
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
1Other crew
4Parents Guide
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