4/5 Morality Tale
  by Cary B. Barad (Baltimore, MD)
A Japanese language subtitled film and morality tale replete with very interesting cultural features--particularly recurring ceremonial bowing and gestures that predominate. The film is over 50 years old but still conveys some universal and ageless messages about contemporary life. The characters are alternately funny and moving. Much to like here.

5/5 Ikiru is a Masterpiece
  by K. Young (California, USA)
Ikiru is one of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films, and this special DVD has the movie and great special features, including the making of, interviews with actors, and people in-charge of effects and lighting from Ikiru and other movies made by Akira Kurosawa.

I highly recommend this movie and many other movies Akira Kurosawa has made. The Criterion Collection is a very nice version of the movie to have.

I purchased this DVD to replace my copy of Ikiru from an aging VHS collection I have, and the quality of the video and audio of the movie on the DVD is superb to the VHS.

5/5 Interesting View
  by Christop Glenn (Arizona, USA)
Many reviews gave great and glowing reviews of this movie, I will second them. I enjoyed the screenplay/dialogue. I found the Criterion version had outstanding subtitles and will definitely look into Criterion versions of other foreign movies. The subtitles made a large difference to the enjoyment of this movie (along with the cleaned up film).

3/5 Identity Crisis
  by Ted Byrd
This film of Kurosawa's has hovered like an unsolved problem in my mind ever since I watched it a couple of weeks ago. Its true that it inspired a lukewarm reaction in me, and I've been pondering why my feelings about it are so different from the overwhelmingly enthusiastic majority. I can accept the possibility that perhaps my artistic appreciation is not as well developed as that of some. But I have considered the matter, and I don't believe any amount of reevaluation is going to make me like it any better. I don't take such a critical stance lightly because: (1) Akira Kurosawa is one of my favorite film-makers. Throne of Blood, Dersu Uzala, and Seven Samurai would all be on my top-ten list. (2) I have no wish to show disrespect for the opinions of all those who evidently revere the film. But I take my books and movies seriously. While I expect them to be entertaining, I am also looking for a positive stimulus or suggestion to give me a new or heightened perspective about life. This is what I failed to find in Ikiru. Kurosawa's stance throughout this movie seemed to me to be more didactic and ideological than insightful. Kurosawa appears to have had some strong opinions that he wanted to convey with this story. The character of Watanabe, the protagonist, seems to be more of a symbolic victim than a real human being. "The System" has beaten him down and destroyed his spirit. If Watanabe is the victim, then society itself is shown to be the villain. We are given such a negative picture of the bureaucracy, where Watanabe is a minor official, that the obvious conclusion is that the system is rotten and should be overthrown. I question whether the Japanese system was ever so stagnant and repressive to initiative as it is portrayed here, for in the years following this film, Japan went on to become a technological and economic powerhouse. By implication, Watanabe himself is also to blame for his benighted state of soul. Most of the other employees who work under him are thriving in the cynical, venal, self-serving atmosphere. But he was evidently once a man of ideals, and when he had that knocked out of him, he withdrew and became a mummy rather than be involved in the petty intrigues of the office. Essentially, he was an individual who should have made a difference, but he abdicated his responsibility. I think Kurosawa was holding both society and individuals like Watanabe up for reproof. That Kurosawa thought that activism was the answer for both personal and societal ills seems obvious, given the direction taken by the protagonist in dealing with his fatal diagnosis. I admit I have a problem accepting books or films that inject politics into their themes in a heavy-handed way. Even though properly directed activism is a good thing, I am resistant to fictional portrayals that are designed to influence the viewers to adopt the opinions of the writers or directors. These fictional portrayals can be manipulated and fine-tuned to present a very emotionally persuasive, but distorted picture of actual circumstances. It seems to me that there was a very concentrated effort in Ikiru to use the device of gaining sympathy for Watanabe to also gain an endorsement of Kurosawa's condemnation of society as a whole. Why would Kurosawa be so negative on society, and especially bureaucracy? Maybe he felt that his artistic expression was being hampered by the bureaucracy of film studios, and he extrapolated his frustration to society as a whole. I don't say the character of Watanabe is undeserving of pity; not only because he was facing death - we all have to face that. It is pitiful to see a human being capitulating to exterior influences without even putting up a fight. There are no doubt many people trapped in bureaucratic rubber-stamp type jobs who can identify with Watanabe. What I can't identify with is someone who ignores all the tools at their disposal that can be used for personal empowerment. There are billions of neurons in our brains by means of which we can utilize thoughts, books, music, relationships, activities to give meaning to our lives. I agree that it is a positive thing and there is a certain poetic beauty to Watanabe's final achievement of getting the playground for the children. Thus he was able to die happy with the feeling that his life had had meaning. But Kurosawa's blistering attack on society continues unabated, as we are shown that things return to status quo after the death of the protagonist. I really can't say that any of the messages of Ikiru are bad, as such. Its just that I felt it was so extreme in its viewpoint that this detracted from the believability of both the acting and the storyline.

5/5 Am I even qualified to review this title?
  by Matthew Turpin (Connecticut)
Ikiru is a classic. It's a simple movie that far exceeds the sum of its parts. There are many classic movies, but very few of them have such a timeless and relevant theme. Roger Ebert said that Ikiru might be one of the few movies that makes you rethink how you live your life, and I think he's right. You owe it to yourself to see this movie once. Life is short. Don't procrastinate. You'll be glad you did. If any movie inspires to live life to its fullest and to try and be a better person, it's Ikiru.