Ikiru

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Traverwood Adult A/V 1-week checkout	Blu-ray FLC-JPN Ikiru	1-week checkout	Due 05-02-2024

Originally released as a Japanese motion picture in 1952.
Partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich.
Full screen (1.37:1).
Special features: Audio commentary from 2003 by Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior's Camera: the cinema of Akira Kurosawa; A Message from Akira Kurosawa: For Beautiful Movies (2000), a ninety-minute documentary produced by Kurosawa Productions and featuring interviews with the director; Documentary on Ikiru from 2003, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create and featuring interviews with Kurosawa, script supervisor Teruyo Nogami, writer Hideo Oguni, actor Takashi Shimura, and others; Trailer; New English subtitle translation. An essay "Ikiru Many Autumns Later" by film critic Pico Iyer and a reprint "To Live" from critic Donald Richie's 1965 book The Films of Akira Kurosawa.
Shimura Takashi, Odagiri Miki, Kaneko Nobuo, Seki Kyōko.
A young Japanese businessman dying of cancer wants to give something back to society before his death, so he decides to build a playground for children.
Blu-ray, full screen (1.37:1) presentation; Dolby Digital monaural; requires Blu-ray player.
Contents: Smertʹ Ivana Ilʹicha.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A poignant and effective story submitted by brooksza on August 15, 2022, 11:14am A poignant and effective story about a man's life in the face of death. Everything about Takashi Shimura's face was powerful, especially the scene where he's warned what the doctor's will tell him, and his night out with his "good Mephistopheles".

The message of finding meaning within your life despite bureaucracy and monotonousness hit perfectly timed for me tonight. But it's not always easy. This was a life-affirming movie that I want to stick with me. I also want to be defined by more than my work, even if I find meaning within it.

Some beautiful shots in this movie, especially when the camera moves in on Wantanabe finally appreciating the sunset. Even without color, this is gorgeous.

The movie dragged a bit in the third act, but the conclusion where it finally landed was fulfilling. I recognize some elements of this movie in other films I like.