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Dodes'ka-den

Original title: Dodesukaden
  • 1970
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
Dodes'ka-den (1970)
Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.
Play trailer3:41
1 Video
85 Photos
Drama

Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.

  • Director
    • Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Akira Kurosawa
    • Hideo Oguni
    • Shinobu Hashimoto
  • Stars
    • Yoshitaka Zushi
    • Kin Sugai
    • Toshiyuki Tonomura
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    7.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Akira Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Akira Kurosawa
      • Hideo Oguni
      • Shinobu Hashimoto
    • Stars
      • Yoshitaka Zushi
      • Kin Sugai
      • Toshiyuki Tonomura
    • 40User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 4 wins & 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 3:41
    Watch Trailer

    Photos85

    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Noboru Mitani and Atsushi Watanabe in Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Junzaburô Ban, Keiji Furuyama, Michio Hino, and Tappei Shimokawa in Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Yoshiko Maki, Akemi Negishi, Kayako Sono, Toriko Takahara, Matsue Ono, Reiko Niimura, and Toshiko Sakurai in Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Kamatari Fujiwara and Atsushi Watanabe in Dodes'ka-den (1970)
    Hiroyuki Kawase and Noboru Mitani in Dodes'ka-den (1970)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Yoshitaka Zushi
    • Roku-chan
    Kin Sugai
    Kin Sugai
    • Okuni
    Toshiyuki Tonomura
    • Taro Sawagami
    Shinsuke Minami
    • Ryotaro Sawagami
    Yûko Kusunoki
    • Misao Sawagami
    Junzaburô Ban
    • Yukichi Shima
    Kiyoko Tange
    • Mrs. Shima
    Michio Hino
    • Mr. Ikawa
    Keiji Furuyama
    • Mr. Matsui
    Tappei Shimokawa
    • Mr. Nomoto
    Kunie Tanaka
    Kunie Tanaka
    • Hatsutaro Kawaguchi
    Jitsuko Yoshimura
    Jitsuko Yoshimura
    • Yoshie Kawaguchi
    Hisashi Igawa
    Hisashi Igawa
    • Masuo Masuda
    Hideko Okiyama
    • Tatsu Masuda
    Tatsuo Matsumura
    Tatsuo Matsumura
    • Kyota Watanaka
    Imari Tsuji
    • Otane Watanaka
    Tomoko Yamazaki
    • Katsuko Watanaka
    Masahiko Kametani
    • Okabe
    • Director
      • Akira Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Akira Kurosawa
      • Hideo Oguni
      • Shinobu Hashimoto
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The movie was made as the first feature of the Committee of the Four Knights, a group founded by four of Japan's greatest directors: Akira Kurosawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi and Kon Ichikawa. According to a interview with Ichikawa, they wanted their first picture to be a hit. When this film told a story deemed too depressing and was subsequently a failure with audiences, the group disbanded and never made another film. The movie's failure also contributed to Kurosawa's suicide attempt one year later.
    • Quotes

      Beggar: Our house ought to be built on a hill. We Japanese used to build houses in valleys and mountain coves. We've always preferred the lowlands.

      Beggar's Son: That's true. I saw pictures of foreign countries. They have their houses in high places, but ours are in low places.

      Beggar: There's a reason for that. There are many earthquakes and typhoons in Japan. Wooden houses in high places are easily shaken by earthquakes and typhoons. So they chose the lowlands to avoid the danger. But that's not the only reason.

      Beggar: [continues] The Japanese prefer soft light to bright sunshine. We like shady places. We like to live in the midst of nature. So we couldn't get used to concrete houses.

      Beggar's Son: That's right. I don't like concrete houses either. They're too cold for me.

      Beggar: But we shouldn't forget one thing. It's true that wooden houses suit the Japanese people. But we mustn't cling to our culture and characteristics if we become weak and lose endurance as a result. By living in houses made of stone, iron, and concrete, foreigners have strengthened their characters and capabilities. Now we're building our own house. We must take our future into consideration. We must think of you, your children, and your grandchildren.

      Beggar's Son: Yes, that's true.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 62nd Annual Academy Awards (1990)

    User reviews40

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    A Modern version of Lower Depths
    This is similar to another one of Kurosawa's films 'the Lower Depths' but instead of using theatrical comedy, this film tends towards a more realistic drama to carry out its multi-character case study. Each of the slum residents, who again like in LD are from diverse backgrounds and each of them have a story to tell, and those stories range from heartbreaking to inspirational, though mostly their pasts are not revealed so the viewers had to take a wild guess on how each of them ended up living in the slums.

    The plus point of this film against LD is that each character has their own arc so we can solely focus on the person matter without interruption from other characters; in LD everyone tells their stories in the same room which can be quite confusing at times. The minus point is that there seem to be a less clearer picture of the daily, mundane activities by the slum residents to carry on with their lives, aside from the scenes where the little boy begs for leftover foods. Overall, this is a very well-made movie that still put many modern movies of similar theme to shame.
    helpful•6
    1
    • maximkong
    • Nov 18, 2012

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 17, 1974 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Asunarove price
    • Filming locations
      • Horie-cho, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Yonki-no-Kai Productions
      • Toho Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $981
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 20 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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