#221: KUROSAWA, Akira: Ikiru (1952)

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KUROSAWA, Akira (Japan)
Ikiru [1952]
Spine #221
DVD/Blu-ray


One of the greatest achievements by Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru shows the director at his most compassionate — affirming life through an exploration of death. Takashi Shimura beautifully portrays Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer who is impelled to find meaning in his final days. Presented in a radically conceived two-part structure and shot with a perceptive humanistic clarity of vision, Ikiru is a multifaceted look at what it means to be alive.

143 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in Japanese
1:37:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2015
Director/Writers


Kurosawa was 42 when he directed Ikiru.

Eclipse Series 7: One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
#413: Drunken Angel (1948)
Eclipse Series 7: Scandal (1950)
Eclipse Series 7: The Idiot (1951)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

DVD: Eight-page wraparound featuring an essay by Donald Richie.

Blu-ray: Twelve-page wraparound featuring the same essay.

DVD/Blu-ray: 

Commentary

By Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior’s Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa.

A Message from Akira Kurosawa: For Beautiful Movies (2000)

An 81-minute documentary produced by Kurosawa Production Inc., featuring interviews with the director on the sets of his later films.
Documentary

A 41-minute documentary on Ikiru from the series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, including interviews with Kurosawa, writer Oguni, actor Shimura, and many others.
Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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