Ikiru (1952)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa (written by) &
Shinobu Hashimoto (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 March 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A bureaucrat tries to find a meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.

Plot Keywords:

Cancer | Office | Dying | Bureaucrat | Park

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins

Cast

Takashi Shimura	...	Kanji Watanabe
Shin'ichi 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
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Housewife
Noriko Honma	...	Housewife
Yatsuko Tan'ami	...	Bar Hostess
Kin Sugai	...	Housewife
Yoshie Minami	...	The Maid
Kyôko Seki	...	Kazue Watanabe, Mitsuo's wife
Kusuo Abe	...	City Assemblyman
Tomo'o Nagai	...	Newspaperman
Seiji Miyaguchi	...	Yakuza Boss
Daisuke Katô	...	Yakuza
Kan Hayashi	...	Second Yakuza
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Newspaperman
Hirayoshi Aono	...	Newspaperman
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Park Section Chief
Taizô Fukami
Katao Kawasaki
Keiichirô Katsumoto
Fujio Nagahama
Akira Sera	...	Worker in General Affairs
Ichirô Chiba	...	Policeman
Akira Tani	...	Bar Owner
Yôyô Kojima	...	Worker in Sewage Section
Haruko Toyama
Mie Asô
Toshiyuki Ichimura	...	Pianist
Harue Kuramoto	...	Dancer
Rasa Saya	...	Stripper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Junpei Natsuki	...	Hand-Washing Cancer Patient (uncredited)
Sachio Sakai	...	Yakuza (uncredited)

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits
Akira Kurosawa		(written by) &
Shinobu Hashimoto		(written by) &
Hideo Oguni		(written by)

Produced by
Sôjirô Motoki	....	producer

Original Music by
Fumio Hayasaka

Cinematography by
Asakazu Nakai

Film Editing by
Kôichi Iwashita

Production Design by
Takashi Matsuyama

Makeup Department
Sadako Okada	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Teruo Maki	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Teruo Maru	....	assistant director
Hisanobu Marubayashi	....	chief 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)
• trigon-film (2012) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Sandrews (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• WoWow (2012) (Japan) (TV)
• trigon-film (2012) (Austria) (all media)
• trigon-film (2012) (Germany) (all media)
• trigon-film (2013) (Switzerland) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Orchestra  music performer
• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Living" - International (English title) (informal English title)
"To Live" - International (English title) (informal English title)

Runtime:

143 min | Sweden:123 min (cut version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Singapore:PG | USA:Not Rated | Sweden:11 | Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The only Akira Kurosawa film between Drunken Angel (1948) (Drunken Angel) and Red Beard (1965) (Red Beard) not to feature Toshirô Mifune.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last scene with Toyo (in the restaurant with the birthday party going on), the position of the bell on the mechanical bunny changes, even though neither actor has touched the bunny.

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:

Featured in The Siskel & Ebert 500th Anniversary Special (1989) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Come On-A My House

To Live in Death

Probably one of the most difficult aspects a film like "Ikiru" has to overcome is the very rough march of time. To actually find someone these days, let's say a crowd of regular movie-goers to sit down and watch a film about an old Japanese man dying of cancer would be too much to ask.

Long held shots, hardly uplifting subject, to westerners very foreign. An array of reasons not to see it. And yet, once you actually start getting into the picture it doesn't let you go. Which is why it may be rightfully considered to be a classic.

Of all of Kurosawas film this is probably the one movie that works perfectly on an universal level. Because at its core it is about one of the most basic desires of human existence...namely to be able to look back on your life and say "It was worth it."

In its starch and unforgiving black-and-white form the movie records the time of one man's life in such a beautiful and yes, colorful way, that by the time the final moments of the film play out, it will be very hard for anybody not to be touched. A glorious moment in 20th century cinema, that will hopefully be preserved for decades to come.