Warai no Daigaku (English Subtitles) Standard Edition

Mamoru Hoshi's film version of the hit 1996 play by Koki Mitani, has been described by critics as a feature-length manzai routine, the classic two person act vaguely similar to something like an Abbot & Costello routine, with a straight man being picked on by the other. The story is set on the eve of the Second World War, where a nervous playwright (Goro Inagaki of SMAP) for an Asakusa comedy troupe tries to get his latest farce past the new police censor (Koji Yakusho). The censor is a stern man, proud of the fact has never laughed, but in reality secretly desires to become a gag writer. Amidst these shenanigans, the sobering reality of war looms in the background, with the personal conflict of the playwright and the censor becoming an absurd oasis of normality in an ever increasingly nightmarish world.

Special Feature / Bonus Track: audio commentary

映像不可能といわれた三谷幸喜による原作・脚本「笑の大学」が早くもDVDがリリース!! 監督は、ドラマ「古畑任三郎」「僕の生きる道」などの星護が満を持して監督デビュー!! 舞台は昭和15年。日本は戦争への道を歩み始め、国民の娯楽である演劇は規制され台本も上演前に検閲を受けていた。そんな時代に、警視庁の取調室で出会った2人の男。1人は笑ったことがない検閲官・向坂睦男(役所広司)、１人は笑いに命をかける、劇団・笑の大学座付作家・椿一（稲垣吾郎）。椿は上演許可を貰うため、向坂の要求を飲みながらも「笑い」を増やす抜け道を必死に考えていく・・・。

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