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IMDb > Ikiru (1952)
Ikiru
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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   13,812 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Akira Kurosawa
Writers:
Shinobu Hashimoto (writer)
Akira Kurosawa (writer)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Ikiru on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 March 1956 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
Kanji Watanabe is a longtime bureaucrat in a city office who, along with the rest of the office, spends his entire working life doing nothing... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins more
User Comments:
A cinematic tour de force more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Takashi Shimura ... Kanji Watanabe
Shinichi Himori ... Kimura
Haruo Tanaka ... Sakai
Minoru Chiaki ... Noguchi
Miki Odagiri ... Toyo Odagiri, employee
Bokuzen Hidari ... Ohara
Minosuke Yamada ... Subordinate Clerk Saito
Kamatari Fujiwara ... Sub-Section Chief Ono
Makoto Kobori ... Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
Nobuo Kaneko ... Mitsuo Watanabe, Kanji's son
Nobuo Nakamura ... Deputy Mayor
Atsushi Watanabe ... Patient
Isao Kimura ... Intern
Masao Shimizu ... Doctor
Yûnosuke Itô ... Novelist
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Doomed
Living (International: English title) (informal English title)
To Live (International: English title) (informal English title)
At leve (Denmark) [da]
Att leva (Sweden) [sv]
Ikiru - At leve (Denmark) [da]
Ikiru - Einmal richtig leben (West Germany) [de]
Ikiru - tuomittu (Finland) [fi]
Leben! (West Germany) [de]
O katadikasmenos (Greece) [el]
Pietno smierci (Poland) [pl]
Vivere (Italy) [it]
Vivir (Spain) [es]
Vivre (France) [fr]
Vivre enfin un seul jour (France) [fr]
more
Runtime:
143 min | Sweden:123 min (cut version)
Country:
Japan
Language:
Japanese | English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
USA:Not Rated | Sweden:11 | Finland:S | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Japan
Company:
Toho Company more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The literal translation of Ikiru is "To Live". more
Quotes:
Toyo: [telling joke] "You've never had a day off, have you?" "No." "Why? Are you indispensable?" "No. I don't want them to find out they can do without me." more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Little Children (2006) more
Soundtrack:
J'ai deux amours more

FAQ

What Are The English Lyrics To The Song Kanji Watanabe Sings? (+More Info.)
more
28 out of 33 people found the following comment useful:-
A cinematic tour de force, 16 October 2003
Author: Butch-Higgins

"Ikiru" is supposedly one of Steven Spielberg's favourite films, and one can see the influence it's had on him not only in the sentimentality and the ultimate "feelgood factor" (which may be a little too extreme for some viewers, although the script never condescends), but visually, especially in the virtuoso sequence in which a reprobate leads our hero, a respectable and dull civil servant, on a whirlwind tour of Tokyo's frenzied nightlife - a masterpiece of camera placement and editing. With images throughout that will stay with you for a long time, and a terrific supporting performance by Miki Odagiri as a vivacious young "office lady", "Ikiru" is still an absolute knockout more than 50 years on.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ikiru (1952)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
My theory as to why the Yakuza boss walks away nhpbob
Does he ever blink? djmils
I think it's one of Kurosawa's worst gk_891
Why the difference in rating between male and female? ThaWalrus9
Most overrated director of all time saarijas
My (negative) thoughts on the film slinkoff
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