IKIRU

JAPAN | 1952 | B&W | DCP | 143’ | JAPANESE

A rigid bureaucrat in post-war Tokyo learns he has cancer and one year to live. His character will be radically transformed. Rooted in a Kurosawa idea, in conversation with Tolstoy's "Death of Ivan Ilyich" and with exemplary writing by two of the director's key screenwriters, "Ikiru" ("To Live") is the ultimate "contemporary" Kurosawa, a monument on the importance of being Human. Understated yet emotionally charged, superbly photographed and inimitably performed by the great Takashi Shimura, here is a film, perhaps hopelessly against the contemporary tide, that still brings the focus back not only to the important questions but also to their answer. Core, revolutionary cinema. 

photo credit ©1952 TOHO CO., LTD.

DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
SCREENWRITERS: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
DoP: Asakazu Nakai
MUSIC: Fumio Hayasaka
EDITOR: Kōichi Iwashita
PRINCIPAL CAST: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri

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