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
Noriko Honma	...	Housewife (as Fumiko Honma)
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 literal translation of Ikiru is "To Live".

Goofs:

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

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."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Little Children (2006)

Soundtrack:

Gondola no Uta

Not just a film, but an incredible learning experience

A quiet, but very moving film. Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is a clerk who has been living a dull, unsatisfying life working in the government's offices who is diagnosed with cancer and is given one year to live. He tries to enjoy his days by picking up a former co-worker (Miki Odagiri) and taking her out on the town. She finally convinces him that this is not the way to spend the rest of his life. He soon realizes that he has a strong desire to do something with his life so that it will not have been a total waste. Therefore he begins to work in cooperation with the people... accomplishing something that nobody in the office had the nerve to do before.

I consider Ikiru to be Kurosawa's first truly excellent film. The story moves along very low-key and we gradually realize the power and emotion that is in this great film. Roger Ebert said of Ikiru that it is one of the few films that can actually change the way you look at life after watching it.