Ikimono no kiroku (1955)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto (writer)
Fumio Hayasaka (story)

Release Date:

25 January 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is so frightened and obsessed with the idea of nuclear extermination...

Plot Keywords:

Nuclear | Dentist | Business | Movie Projector | Fan

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Toshirô Mifune	...	Kiichi Nakajima
Takashi Shimura	...	Domestic Court Counselor Dr. Harada
Minoru Chiaki	...	Jiro Nakajima
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Toyo Nakajima
Kyôko Aoyama	...	Sue Nakajima
Haruko Togo	...	Yoki Nakajima
Noriko Sengoku	...	Kimie Nakajima
Akemi Negishi	...	Asako Kuribayashi
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Ryoichi Sayama
Kichijiro Ueda	...	Mr. Kuribayashi father
Eijirô Tôno	...	Old man from Brazil
Yutaka Sada	...	Ichiro Nakajima
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Okamoto
Ken Mitsuda	...	Judge Araki
Masao Shimizu	...	Yamazaki, Yoshi's husband (as Gen Shimizu)

Also Known As:

I Live in Fear (USA)
I Live in Fear: Record of a Living Being (International: English title)
Record of a Living Being (Japan) (informal literal title)
What the Birds Knew

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (video rating) (1998) | UK:A (original rating) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The music score was completed by Masaru Satô when composer Fumio Hayasaka died during production.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku (1991)

Story of patriarch, thought mad by family, who wants to re-locate to South America for fear of nuclear attack.

I Live in Fear is yet another masterpiece by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of an aging patriarch who is terrified nuclear attack will destroy his family and the business he has worked to build up his entire life. His children do not wish to leave the comfortable life in Japan which his labours have provided. They believe he is mad and take him to family court for mediation. It becomes the difficult duty of a mediator to decide whether his fears are rational or not. The shadow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are palpable in the feverish eyes of legendary actor Toshiro Mifune as the father. A thought-provoking time capsule of post-war Japan, the combination of Kurosawa and Mifune should never be missed.