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| Takashi
Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Kamatari
Fujiwara |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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Novelist: How tragic that man can
never realize how beautiful life is until he is face to face with
death.
A lifetime bureaucrat realises the
pointlessness of his life upon learning that he suffers from terminal
stomach cancer.
 Kurosawa
is best known today for two regular elements in his films: his
preference for a western-like setting in feudal Japan (including Rashomon,
Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Ran) and his regular collaboration
with star Toshiro Mifune, who played key parts in most of Kurosawa's
films from 1948 until their much-publicized parting of ways in
1965. But Ikiru, one of his most celebrated, emotional
and universally accessible works, features neither of these elements
and is therefore frequently overlooked by new fans charmed by the
action-packed samurai masterpieces that have become so popular
in the West.
Although the film's prosaic subject matter tends to stand out
less beside these more visceral spectacles, Kurosawa brought every
ounce of his considerable cinematic technique to this life-affirming
tale of a dying man's final days of disillusionment, realization,
and - ultimately - acceptance and spiritual fulfillment. The film
is very cleverly divided into two parts: the first moving forward
in time as career bureacrat Watanabe (a performance of awesome
subtlety and conviction from Takashi Shimura) slowly accepts his
fate and learns how to deal with his life, and the second looking
back after his death, as his family and co-workers reassemble the
past by sharing memories at his wake, and slowly come to realize
his achievement. It's a haunting story, beautifully told, and a
cinematic high point that ranks among the best of Kurosawa's pictures. |
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Available for Region 2 on a
DVD release with hardly any extras, and for Region 1 as a
two-disc special edition from The Criterion Collection boasting
a commentary track and two long documentaries, as well as
(slightly) superior image quality. The Criterion release
served as the basis for this review.
The fullscreen
image is framed at its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1. Although
good in parts and nicely film-like in its reproduction on
DVD, the source print used for the transfer presented here
is much the worse for wear. Not only does it have almost
constant vertical scratch lines running through the middle
of the frame, there are also moments (especially in the first
two reels) that suffer from heavy damage and an overload
of debris. There are also a few scenes that suffer badly
from light fluctuation problems that can be highly distracting.
We can only assume that this is yet another case in which
the surviving film elements are simply not in good shape,
and though they have been cleaned up for this DVD to best
of the Criterion Collection's abilities, this is probably
as good as the film will ever look barring the miraculous
discovery of pristine negative or interpositive.
The original mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital
1.0, and sounds surprisingly good within the strict limits
of its dynamic range.
Stephen Prince, a film scholar
and Kurosawa expert as well as a regular commentator on Criterion
releases, offers a highly accessible, well-informed audio
commentary that singles out Kurosawa's techniques
as well as elucidating matters of Japanese custom and culture
that help further one's understanding of the film. (For instance:
the surgeon informing Watanabe that his lethal stomach cancer
was 'merely a slight ulcer' was the considered appropriate
bedside manner in Japan.) Prince is pleasant to listen to
throughout and sustains his quick pace across the extended
running time of the film.
Disc two holds two documentaries, the first of which runs
nearly two hours and explores Kurosawa's working methods
in exhaustive detail. Unfortunately, this documentary was
produced by Kurosawa's own production company, and not only
does it pertain more to the master's latter years as a director,
but it also strikes a slavishly hagiographic tone that makes
it a curiously lifeless affair, though fans of the director
will still find points of interest. The other feature runs
about forty minutes, but is far more illuminating, as it
refers solely to the making of Ikiru. This Japanes-produced
TV episode could have done with some editing, as it includes
fairly large chunks of the film proper, but it still offers
a welcome addition that offers some good background on the
picture's production. Finally, the film's theatrical
trailer and an excellent essay printed
in the beautifully designed booklet round out these solid
extras. Subtly
animated menu screens employ the x-ray shot that opens the film
as an elegant background, accompanied by a cue from the score.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed:
March 1, 2004
Click
here for IMDB info on Ikiru.
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to return to the front page.
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