221 Ikiru
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- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:53 pm
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221 Ikiru
Ikiru
One of the greatest achievements by Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru presents the director at his most compassionate—affirming life through an exploration of death. Takashi Shimura (Rashomon) 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.
SPECIAL FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 2004 by Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa
• A Message from Akira Kurosawa (2000), a ninety-minute documentary produced by Kurosawa Productions and featuring interviews with Kurosawa
• 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
• PLUS: Essays by critic and travel writer Pico Iyer and critic Donald Richie
Criterionforum.org user rating averages
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One of the greatest achievements by Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru presents the director at his most compassionate—affirming life through an exploration of death. Takashi Shimura (Rashomon) 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.
SPECIAL FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary from 2004 by Stephen Prince, author of The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa
• A Message from Akira Kurosawa (2000), a ninety-minute documentary produced by Kurosawa Productions and featuring interviews with Kurosawa
• 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
• PLUS: Essays by critic and travel writer Pico Iyer and critic Donald Richie
Criterionforum.org user rating averages
Feature currently disabled
- King of Kong
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:32 pm
- Location: New Zealand
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I saw this for the first time today - the only Kurosawa I've seen thus far (apart from clips in docos, film class, etc). Quite an effecting film. Being an Ozu fanatic, it took a while getting used to a Japanese movie with camera movement, close-ups, dissolves and wipes, but it was worth it .
I've had a blind spot for Kurosawa's work for so long, but now looks like a good time to dip further into his catalogue.
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My favourite part of the film was Watanabe's "courtship" of the young female co-worker. Those scenes were rather lovely. It's a pity she became such a bitch when she started work at the wind-up bunny factory.
- lord_clyde
- Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2004 4:22 am
- Location: Ogden, UT
- jorencain
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:45 am
You should definitely check out "Red Beard" if you're interested in another non-samurai Kurosawa. It's one of my favorites, and I enjoy it much more than "Ikiru" (not to say that I don't like "Ikiru"). Anyway, I'd make that your next Kurosawa film; I know that several other people have commented positively about it over in the "Red Beard" thread.
- King of Kong
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:32 pm
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- Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:21 pm
- Location: Berkeley, CA
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Although, in my opinion, you've hit the zenith with Ikiru. Not that his other films are anything to sneeze at. Except Dreams - I'd sneeze at that one all day long. Don't miss Stray Dog - a "lesser" Kurosawa, in that it's mentioned less often, but a great film in it's own right filled with brilliant acting and a really lively, fresh directing style by Kurosawa.lord_clyde wrote:Uh, yeah. Wait til you see Seven Samurai and Red Beard, and Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, and Ran for that matter. You have just discovered one of the finest filmmakers of all time, imo his films are superior to Ozu, Mizoguchi, Fukasaku and/or Suzuki.
- Jean-Luc Garbo
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- porquenegar
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:33 pm
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- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:22 pm
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I just picked up this title. More out of respect than of love. I had seen it before in college (16 mm), as well as on the big screen. It has always left me a bit disappointed.
Scene by scene, shot by shot, the film is brilliantly composed, shot, and edited. The Criterion edition really brought a new admiration for the compositions in depth. But I can't shake the feeling that Kurosawa put too much, thematically speaking, into his film. Or maybe that he just chewed on it too long. Not content with telling Watanabe's story, he takes on the living death that is civil bureaucracy. I know he has to take the time to set up his elaborate coda, but after the scene when he discovers what he must do, the film really starts to drag. I think he could have skillfully telescoped a good bit of the wake (borrowing some time from the night on the town that was definitely over-extended) and re-structured things so that he ended with Kenji on the swing in the snow. Where it is now placed in the film, it just serves as Kurosawa's device to help set up Watanabe's shallow colleagues for their short lived change of heart.
The Seven Samurai is, for me, Kurosawa's masterpiece. I have put off getting it, awaiting Criterion's new transfer.
Scene by scene, shot by shot, the film is brilliantly composed, shot, and edited. The Criterion edition really brought a new admiration for the compositions in depth. But I can't shake the feeling that Kurosawa put too much, thematically speaking, into his film. Or maybe that he just chewed on it too long. Not content with telling Watanabe's story, he takes on the living death that is civil bureaucracy. I know he has to take the time to set up his elaborate coda, but after the scene when he discovers what he must do, the film really starts to drag. I think he could have skillfully telescoped a good bit of the wake (borrowing some time from the night on the town that was definitely over-extended) and re-structured things so that he ended with Kenji on the swing in the snow. Where it is now placed in the film, it just serves as Kurosawa's device to help set up Watanabe's shallow colleagues for their short lived change of heart.
The Seven Samurai is, for me, Kurosawa's masterpiece. I have put off getting it, awaiting Criterion's new transfer.
- Godot
- Cri me a Tearion
- Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 12:13 am
- Location: Phoenix
I also thought this after seeing the film. I was not terribly impressed or moved by Ikiru (sorry for the blasphemy), but this scene was marvelous. I thought Kurosawa could have either repeated it at the end (leaving the earlier scene intact), or had the earlier scene only referred to in dialogue (the cop to the coworkers at the wake) while saving the slow pan through the playground and falling snow to find our hero swinging in peace as the closing shot. This is how one of my favorite novels ends, and it reduces me to a quivering blob every time:Panda wrote:..and re-structured things so that he ended with Kenji on the swing in the snow.
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Kurt Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan
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the daughter forcing the man to dance with his wife
But one can't change a work of art, or impose one's desires on it. Unless you're a Hollywood producer, of course.
- hammock
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:52 pm
- Location: www.criteriondungeon.com
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As I only have the Criterion DVD of Kurosawa's IKIRU and would really like to hear what Alex Cox said about the film in his introduction from the BFI DVD, I wanted to ask if someone here could perhaps summarise what Cox says in the intro or could perhaps make the whole intro available for download. I'd be very grateful.
- MitchPerrywinkle
- Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2010 1:26 am
Re: 221 Ikiru
This, along with Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove", is probably my favorite film. It's life-affirming, but it never drips in sentimentality. Takashi Shimura gives a magnificent performance, arguably the finest in his career with Kurosawa. And it manages to be inspiring without becomin excessive or cheesy. It is an extremely sad film, and not quite what you'd expect if you're expecting something along the lines of Frank Capra, but by the end I always feel moved and uplifted. Not to mention that final shot takes your breath away.
- aox
- Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
- Location: nYc
Re: 221 Ikiru
Is there a reason why this thread is completely empty with discussion? The result of the great board crash from years back?
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: 221 Ikiru
This may not be the perfect spot to say that, but Ikiru, as long with Yojimbo, Sanjuro and The Lower Depths have been announced for a French BR by Wild Side for 2011 (no more precise date).
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- Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:07 am
Re: 221 Ikiru
anyone have any clue what the likelihood of a CC Ikiru blu-ray upgrade in the near future would be?
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Re: 221 Ikiru
I believe most of the Kurosawas are just waiting in the wings, having had Blu releases in Japan a while back. I imagine that Criterion will be favouring the samurai films for obvious commercial reasons, but Ikiru is probably the biggest title among his present-day melodramas, so I expect it will be bobbing near the top of the re-issue list. The other major factor will be the quality of the available transfer, which somebody who's seen the Japanese release will have to comment on.
- EddieLarkin
- Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am
Re: 221 Ikiru
That isn't so much of a major factor if Seven Samurai is anything to go by. The Japanese Blu was abysmal, so Criterion were obviously happy to do their own thing on it. That policy will no doubt extend to other big name Kurosawas.zedz wrote:The other major factor will be the quality of the available transfer, which somebody who's seen the Japanese release will have to comment on.
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Re: 221 Ikiru
Yes, but my concern is that, if they can't use the existing transfer and need to arrange for a new one, that will inevitably delay any reissue, or even put if off indefinitely if they're waiting for a proper restoration.
- ryannichols7
- Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:26 pm
Re: 221 Ikiru
I can't help but feel like they have Ikiru ready to go though. surely it'll be that, Throne of Blood/Hidden Fortress, and wherever after that
I just hope an Ikiru upgrade is paired with a Madadayo spine in the same month.
I just hope an Ikiru upgrade is paired with a Madadayo spine in the same month.
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- Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:07 am
Re: 221 Ikiru
well that would make my year! I feel like Madadayo and Ikiru are pretty likely candidates as far as the next Kurosawa films to get the CC bluray upgrade. Ikiru because it's probably his most well thought of film not blu-rayed yet, and Madadayo because it just went out of print with ak100 and because there are no late period CC Kurosawa blurays yet.ryannichols7 wrote:I can't help but feel like they have Ikiru ready to go though. surely it'll be that, Throne of Blood/Hidden Fortress, and wherever after that
I just hope an Ikiru upgrade is paired with a Madadayo spine in the same month.
- med
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:58 pm
Re: 221 Ikiru
I imagine a proper restoration would be necessary in any case, because, as I recall, the source print that served as the basis for the Criterion DVD was a bit rough.
- Drucker
- Your Future our Drucker
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am
Re: 221 Ikiru
Ran and Kagemusha both have blu-ray releases, albiet, the former from Studio Canal.jkj1908 wrote:...and Madadayo because it just went out of print with ak100 and because there are no late period CC Kurosawa blurays yet.