Ikiru
8.3
“A big story of a little man which will grip your soul...”
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
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Cast
62 people
Takashi Shimura
Kanji Watanabe
Known for
Seven Samurai
Rashomon
Haruo Tanaka
Sakai
Known for
Chikamatsu Monogatari
Floating Weeds
Nobuo Kaneko
Mitsuo, son of Kanji
Known for
Shōgun
Fight, Zatoichi, Fight
Bokuzen Hidari
Ohara
Known for
Seven Samurai
Gamera, the Giant Monster
Miki Odagiri
Toyo
Also in
The Moon Has Risen
The Wild Geese
Shinichi Himori
Kimura
Known for
The Only Son
Scandal
Minoru Chiaki
Noguchi
Known for
Seven Samurai
Rashomon
Minosuke Yamada
Subordinate Clerk Saito
Known for
Rodan
Godzilla Raids Again
Kamatari Fujiwara
Sub-Section Chief Ono
Known for
Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Makoto Kobori
Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
Also in
Jubilation Street
The Man Who Has Returned
Nobuo Nakamura
Deputy Mayor
Known for
Tokyo Story
High and Low
Atsushi Watanabe
Patient
Known for
Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Akira Kurosawa Director · Shinobu Hashimoto Screenplay Hideo Oguni Screenplay
Worldwide gross $55K · Budget $85K · United States release March 25, 1956
Box office
Budget
$85,000
Worldwide gross
$55,240
Gross vs. budget
0.6×
Production
TOHO
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
生きる
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
France · October 9, 1952
Premiere
Japan · October 9, 1952
Theatrical
United States · March 25, 1956
Limited theatrical
United States · October 27, 2015
Digital
Australia
April 7, 2006 · Physical · DVD
October 25, 2024 · Limited theatrical · Re-Release
France
August 31, 1966 · Theatrical
April 27, 2016 · Physical
Germany
April 27, 2014 · Physical
Israel
October 21, 2014 · Physical · Blu-ray
Italy
January 25, 1986 · TV · Raiuno
Netherlands
March 6, 1980 · Theatrical · Re-release
March 12, 2013 · Physical · DVD
June 26, 2025 · Theatrical · 4k restored
June 26, 2025 · Digital · Eye Film Player
South Korea
October 27, 2015 · Theatrical
Spain
January 24, 1972 · Theatrical · ICAA 808850
Sweden
October 9, 1952 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
April 30, 1958 · Theatrical
September 22, 2003 · Physical · BFI DVD
October 18, 2021 · Limited theatrical · BFI Japan: 100 Years of Japanese Cinema season
August 19, 2024 · Physical · BFI Blu-ray
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Some details come from TheTVDB.