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The 1979 film “The Man Who Stole the Sun” is set to return to Japanese theaters nationwide on October 16 in a new 4K digital remaster, 47 years after its original release. The film follows a high school teacher who steals plutonium from a nuclear power plant and the detective who pursues him. It was the second film from director Kazuhiko Hasegawa, who first drew attention with his directorial debut “The Youth Killer,” and it would prove to be his final feature-length work before his death this past January. On 5ch’s Entertainment/Sports News+ board, users buzzed about the scene where the terrorist demands that a professional baseball broadcast be allowed to continue uninterrupted, the detective’s (played by Bunta Sugawara) iconic lines, and who would be right to star if the film were remade today.
September 22, 2026
“The Man Who Stole the Sun,” which opened on October 6, 1979 and swept that year’s film awards, has been digitally remastered in 4K and will open nationwide on October 16. To mark the 4K remaster, a new trailer has been released, built from footage remastered under the concept of “recreating the original as it was completed on film” at the time.
The film was the ambitious follow-up from director Kazuhiko Hasegawa, hailed as a rising star of Japanese cinema after his acclaimed directorial debut “The Youth Killer,” released exactly 50 years ago in 1976. Made with extraordinary passion, it stands as Hasegawa’s second theatrical film and, sadly, his final feature as director following his passing in January.
Source: crank-in.net / Original article here
What people said
Everyone's saying that if this happened today, the demand would be 'stop the baseball broadcast' instead.
Even back then it was pretty extreme — that's why it became legendary.
Can't believe that phrase is still getting trotted out in the Reiwa era lol
That played in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, right?
That's wrong.
Takumi Kitamura and Ryohei Suzuki.
His real name is Yasunori.
Reminds me of how extended baseball broadcasts used to bump late-night anime off the air.
Somehow, I don't think I'll ever forgive that.
So what movie would YOU recommend then? lol
Don't run away again lol
You mean "That Guy Like a Devil"?
"The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On" lol
"Pool Without Water" lol
Yeah, "Undying Bunta." It's basically a comedy skit at that point — like something out of The Drifters, the way he's all bandaged up but totally fine.
In the back half, the highlight is just how indestructible Bunta is.
Yeah, that's the one lol — he breaks into Tokai Village and torches security with a homemade flamethrower lol
But up until 1999, workers were actually pouring uranium powder into dissolution/precipitation tanks using stainless steel buckets, prioritizing speed over following the manual. So the sloppy safety management part was real, even if the movie itself isn't exactly realistic…
The stealing scenes in this movie are pretty sloppy, honestly lol — both the nuclear plant and the police.
That one was great. Though I wish Ken Takakura hadn't gotten caught at the end.
Background and Discussion Points
“The Man Who Stole the Sun” was released in 1979, starring Kenji Sawada and Bunta Sugawara, and won numerous film awards at the time. Director Kazuhiko Hasegawa was highly acclaimed for his previous film “The Youth Killer” (1976), but never directed another feature after this one, becoming known as a famously sparse filmmaker — and he passed away this past January. This 4K remaster release effectively amounts to a re-screening of the director’s final work. The in-film scenario that drew thread attention — a terrorist demanding that a night baseball broadcast be allowed to continue — reflects how deeply professional baseball broadcasts were woven into daily life at the time, and commenters read it as a marker of just how much has changed, viewed from a present-day Reiwa-era perspective. Some replies also raised unconfirmed claims about the treatment of animals during filming, but since these could not be verified, they are not covered in this article.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Movie] Kenji Sawada’s ‘The Man Who Stole the Sun’ Revived for the Reiwa Era with a 4K Digital Remaster! October 16 Release Confirmed & New Trailer Unveiled.”
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