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Ikiru (1952)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
25 March 1956 (USA) morePlot:
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 synopsisAwards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Group Fun (From FilmExperience. 20 October 2009, 3:50 PM, PDT)
Daniel Craig Moves Into His Dream House
(From FilmShaft.com. 29 August 2009, 1:02 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
The most moving and human film I have ever seen. more (108 total)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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
DoomedLiving (International: English title) (informal English title)
To Live (International: English title) (informal English title)
more
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
143 min | Sweden:123 min (cut version)Country:
JapanColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
USA:Not Rated | Sweden:11 | Finland:S | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Singapore:PGFilming Locations:
JapanFun Stuff
Trivia:
The literal translation of Ikiru is "To Live". moreGoofs:
Revealing mistakes: A beer sign is backwards in a bar scene, revealing the use of a mirror image. moreQuotes:
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." moreSoundtrack:
Happy Birthday moreFAQ
What Are The English Lyrics To The Song Kanji Watanabe Sings? (+More Info.)more
more (108 total)
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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.