Japan's fake 'Beethoven' to star in documentary

A fraudulent composer once dubbed "Japan's Beethoven", but who was neither deaf nor especially musical, is set to star in a documentary film about his charade, a report said on Thursday.

Mamoru Samuragochi rocketed to fame in the 1990s with classical compositions that provided the soundtrack to video games including Resident Evil, claiming at the time to have a degenerative condition that affected his hearing.

His story proved irresistible for Japan's media, which lapped up the tale of a tortured genius battling a crippling condition to produce Symphony No.1, Hiroshima, a mournful tribute to those killed in the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.