The film “Melody (aka S.W.A.L.K.)” was first released in Japan 54 years ago today
(This article was originally published in Japanese on the Japanese version of Bee Gees Days on June 26, 2025.)
What day is today, June 26? That’s right! It’s the day the movie “Melody,” also known as “S.W.A.L.K.,” was released in Japan in 1971—54 years ago!
The top image is a newspaper clipping from that time (June 17, 1971). As I wrote elsewhere, the publicity team at the Japan Herald was brilliant.
*A bold declaration from an 11-year-old! “We’re getting married because we love each other!”
Newsweek hailed the film as a “diamond in the rough.”
Created by a team of young staff members in their twenties.
Instead of emphasizing the generational divide with the “adults just don’t understand” chestnut, the movie’s publicity focused on innocence and freshness, which likely contributed to its massive success in Japan. Film critic Masahiro Ogi aptly pointed this out in a review published in the film magazine Screen at the time. I had always wanted to share it on this website, but, as it turns out, this article was reprinted a few years ago, so those interested can check it out here.
However, the famous tagline, “An 11-Year-Old’s Bold Declaration,” is incorrect. According to articles in British magazines at the time of its theatrical release there, the two were actually 12 years old, not 11. I had wondered about this for a long time, so I asked Mark Lester, who played Daniel in the film, and he confirmed that they were supposed to be 12.
While there are differences in school systems between the UK and Japan, I think 12-year-olds are basically comparable to sixth-graders in Japan. Speaking of which, one of the taglines for this movie in the UK was: “For everyone who was once 10 years old.”
Now, the First of May, beautifully featured in the movie, has passed, and the rainy season has begun. On that note, when the film returned to theaters in Japan a few years after its original release due to its immense popularity, the tagline they used was: “The beautiful May rain falls on Melody’s hair. From beyond the rainbow, we hear that beautiful melody, that lovely theme song.” Who wouldn’t be thrilled?
{Bee Gees Days}
