Cult classic The Man Who Stole the Sun is ranked by Japanese critics as one of the best films ever made but has rarely even been screened internationally. Director Kazuhiko Hasegawa cast 70s rock icon Kenji Sawada as a high school teacher who steals a plutonium capsule from a nuclear power plant and then succeeds in building an atomic bomb in his apartment. He extorts the government with demands for uninterrupted baseball games and a concert by the then-banned Rolling Stones. A brilliantly eccentric mix of explosive thriller and satirical black comedy. Presented on an archive 35mm print.

Screening as part of Japan 2021: Over 100 years of Japanese Cinema is a UK-wide film season supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network.

Film sales: Toho / 35mm print from the National Film Archive of Japan.