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IMDb > Ikiru (1952)
Ikiru
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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   14,528 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Ikiru on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 March 1956 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
Kanji Watanabe is a longtime bureaucrat in a city office who, along with the rest of the office, spends his entire working life doing nothing... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
User Reviews:
Beautiful & touching, also very clever more (108 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Takashi Shimura ... Kanji Watanabe
Shinichi Himori ... Kimura
Haruo Tanaka ... Sakai
Minoru Chiaki ... Noguchi
Miki Odagiri ... Toyo Odagiri, employee
Bokuzen Hidari ... Ohara
Minosuke Yamada ... Subordinate Clerk Saito
Kamatari Fujiwara ... Sub-Section Chief Ono
Makoto Kobori ... Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
Nobuo Kaneko ... Mitsuo Watanabe, Kanji's son
Nobuo Nakamura ... Deputy Mayor
Atsushi Watanabe ... Patient
Isao Kimura ... Intern
Masao Shimizu ... Doctor
Yûnosuke Itô ... Novelist
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Doomed
Living (International: English title) (informal English title)
To Live (International: English title) (informal English title)
more
Runtime:
143 min | Sweden:123 min (cut version)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
USA:Not Rated | Sweden:11 | Finland:S | UK:PG (video rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) | Singapore:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The only Akira Kurosawa film between Yoidore tenshi (Drunken Angel) and Akahige (Red Beard) not to feature 'Toshiro Mifune'. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: A beer sign is backwards in a bar scene, revealing the use of a mirror image. more
Quotes:
Kanji: Life is so short / Fall in love, dear maiden / While your lips are still red / And before you are cold, / For there will be no tomorrow. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences (2006) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Happy Birthday more

FAQ

What Are The English Lyrics To The Song Kanji Watanabe Sings? (+More Info.)
more
23 out of 25 people found the following review useful.
Beautiful & touching, also very clever, 18 December 1998
Author: Ray McBain from USA

This film touched me in a way no other film has. Filmed in black and white and gorgeous, both in the visuals and in how the story unfolds. Behold the clever manner of gradually unfolding the story as people jog each other's memories at his funeral (an obligation for them, that gradually turns into a real eulogy). Everything is told in flashbacks: the mourners' memories unfold naturally, as people remember what the man did and struggle to comprehend why.

This film I would nominate for the golden five of the century!

I first saw it in 1956 or so at a small theater in downtown Chicago. A second viewing, years later, confirmed my initial pleasure!

Was the above review useful to you?
more (108 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Ikiru (1952)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
This movie....not in the top 250. NoRegretsForOurYouth
Does he ever blink? djmils
Why the difference in rating between male and female? ThaWalrus9
My theory as to why the Yakuza boss walks away nhpbob
Where can I get one of those bunnies? gwargh
Most overrated director of all time saarijas
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