DODES’KA-DEN

JAPAN | 1970 | COLOR | DCP |140’ | JAPANESE

Neither De Sica’s emotion, Rossellini’s precision, Fellini’s exuberance, nor S. Ray’s integrity, could have anticipated this. Kurosawa's first film in colour, made at a critical juncture of his life, when his relevance - even his importance (!) - were uncertain, was met coldly by the world and timidly by the critics. Kurosawa himself attempted suicide a year after its production. Here, however, a series of “stylishly naturalistic” vignettes about the grinding life of poverty-stricken people on the outskirts of Tokyo, betrays equal parts love and despair. A unique film, nominated for Best Film in a Foreign Language.

photo credit ©1970 TOHO CO., LTD.

DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
SCREENWRITERS: Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
DoP: Takao Saito, Yasumichi Fukuzawa
MUSIC: Tōru Takemitsu
EDITOR: Reiko Kaneko
PRINCIPAL CAST: Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, Shinsuke Minami

AKIRA KUROSAWA
Japanese filmmaker, legend of world cinema. He was recognized more than any of his Asian counterparts and had an overall and profound influence on Western film culture. 30 films, a multi-award winning body of work (Oscar, Golden Lion, Golden Palm, among others), a legendary 16-film collaboration with Toshiro Mifune, a life and work that marked globally the artistry of the 20th century.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTED)
1990 Dreams 
1985 Ran 
1970 Dodes’ka-den 
1965 Red Beard 
1963 High and Low 
1961 Yojimbo 
1960 The Bad Sleep Well 
1958 The Hidden Fortress 
1957 Throne of Blood 
1954 Seven Samurai 
1952 Ikiru 
1951 The Idiot 
1950 Rashomon