Ikiru (1952)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto (writer)
Akira Kurosawa (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

25 March 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

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...

Plot Keywords:

Office | Cancer | Park | City Hall | Playground

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins

Cast

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
Kumeko Urabe	...	Tatsu Watanabe, Kiichi's Wife
Kin Sugai	...	Housewife
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Housewife
Fumiko Honma	...	Housewife
Yatsuko Tan'ami	...	Bar Hostess
Yoshie Minami	...	The Maid
Kyôko Seki	...	Kazue Watanabe, Mitsuo's wife
Kusuo Abe	...	City Assemblyman
Tomoo Nagai	...	Newspaperman (as Tomo Nagai)
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Yakuza Boss
Daisuke Katô	...	Yakuza
Miki Hayashi	...	Second Yakuza
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Newspaperman
Hirayoshi Aono	...	Newspaperman
Junpei Natsuki	...	Hand-Washing Cancer Patient
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Park Section Chief
Akira Sera	...	Worker in General Affairs
Ichirô Chiba	...	Policeman
Akira Tani	...	Bar Owner
Yoko Kajima	...	Worker in Sewage Section
Haruko Toyama
Mie	...	Woman in Dance Hall
Sachio Sakai	...	Yakuza
Toshiyuki Ichimura	...	Pianist
Harue Kuramoto	...	Dancer
Lasa Saya	...	Stripper

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Shinobu Hashimoto		writer
Akira Kurosawa		writer
Hideo Oguni		writer

Produced by
Sôjirô Motoki	....	producer

Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka

Cinematography by
Asakazu Nakai

Production Design by
Takashi Matsuyama

Makeup Department
Sadako Okada	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Teruo Maki	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hisanobu Marubayashi	....	chief assistant director
Teruo Maru	....	assistant director

Art Department
Yoshirô Muraki	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Fumio Yanoguchi	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Shigeru Mori	....	lighting technician
Takao Saitô	....	assistant camera
Masao Soeda	....	still photographer

Other crew
Akira Araki	....	accountant
Hiromichi Horikawa	....	advisor to the director
Teruyo Nogami	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Toho Company

Distributors

• Toho Company (1952) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Brandon Films (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Heron International Company (1985) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Cowboy Pictures (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Image Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1966) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sandrews (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Orchestra  music performer
• Toho Studios  sound stages

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]

Runtime:

143 min | Sweden:123 min (cut version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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

Trivia:

The only Akira Kurosawa film between Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel) and Akahige (Red Beard) not to feature 'Toshiro Mifune'.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A beer sign is backwards in a bar scene, revealing the use of a mirror image.

Quotes:

Kanji: Drinking this expensive sake is like paying myself back with poison for the way I lived all these years.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Little Children (2006)

Soundtrack:

Gondola no Uta

The most moving and human film I have ever seen.

I can safely say that I have seen no finer film than Kurosawa's true masterpiece, Ikiru. The story of a dying petty bureaucrat in 1950's Japan, Ikiru is as uncompromisingly honest and beautiful a film as has ever been made on the subject of life. Kurosawa elevates a story that could have been simple melodrama to the level of masterwork with a genuine love of his characters, and with an incredible technical direction. The film's structure accentuates and deepens its many, many lessons on life, and the performances, including a heartbreakingly earnest turn by Shimura are all flawless.

In short, Ikiru is easily one of the greatest works committed to film, and no discerning film aficionado should avoid experiencing it. Had Kurosawa directed only this film, it would still be enough to include him in the pantheon of the greatest storytellers who ever lived. Fortunately for us, it is simply the pinnacle of a staggeringly amazing career. It is the absolute definition of a 10/10 film.