Dodesukaden (1970)

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa (screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 June 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Episodes from the lives of a group of Tokyo slum-dwellers: Rokkuchan, a retarded boy who brings meaning...

Plot Keywords:

Poverty | Artificial Flower | Garbage Dump | Alcohol | Ghetto

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins

Cast

Yoshitaka Zushi	...	Roku-chan
Kin Sugai	...	Okuni
Toshiyuki Tonomura	...	Taro Sawagami
Shinsuke Minami	...	Ryotaro Sawagami
Yûko Kusunoki	...	Misao Sawagami
Junzaburô Ban	...	Yukichi Shima
Kiyoko Tange	...	Mrs. Shima
Michio Hino	...	Mr. Ikawa
Keiji Furuyama	...	Mr. Matsui
Tappei Shimokawa	...	Mr. Nomoto
Kunie Tanaka	...	Hatsutaro Kawaguchi
Jitsuko Yoshimura	...	Yoshie Kawaguchi
Hisashi Igawa	...	Masuo Masuda
Hideko Okiyama	...	Tatsu Masuda
Tatsuo Matsumura	...	Kyota Watanaka
Imari Tsuji	...	Otane Watanaka
Tomoko Yamazaki	...	Katsuko Watanaka
Masahiko Kametani	...	Okabe
Hiroshi Akutagawa	...	Hei
Tomoko Naraoka	...	Ochô
Noboru Mitani	...	Beggar
Hiroyuki Kawase	...	Beggar's Son
Akemi Negishi	...	Good-Looking Housewife
Eimei Esumi	...	Detective
Minoru Takashima	...	Policeman
Kazuo Katô	...	Painter
Michiko Araki	...	Restaurant proprietress
Toki Shiozawa	...	Waitress
Masakazu Kuwayama	...	Western-style restaurant owner
Hiroshi Kiyama	...	Sushi Shop Proprietor
Kôji Mitsui	...	Foodstand owner
Jerry Fujio	...	Kichi the Carpenter Bee (as Jierî Fujio)
Mashahiko Tanimura	...	Mr. Sô
Atsushi Watanabe	...	Mr. Tanba
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Suicidal Old Man
Sanji Kojima	...	Thief
Kayako Sono	...	Kichi's Wife
Yoshiko Maki	...	2nd Wife
Toshiko Sakurai	...	3rd Wife
Toriko Takahara	...	5th Wife
Matsue Ono	...	4th Wife
Reiko Niimura	...	1st Wife
Akira Hitomi	...	1st Man Calling Out
Shôji Ichimura	...	3rd Man calling out
Shin Ibuki	...	5th Man Calling Out
Masanari Nihei	...	4th Man calling out
Takashi Ebata	...	2nd Man calling out (as Kanji Ebata)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Minoko Kaizuka	...	Kumanbachi's second child (uncredited)

Directed by
Akira Kurosawa

Writing credits
Akira Kurosawa		(screenplay) &
Hideo Oguni		(screenplay) &
Shinobu Hashimoto		(screenplay)
Shûgorô Yamamoto		(novel "Kisetsu no nai machi")

Produced by
Kon Ichikawa	....	planner
Keisuke Kinoshita	....	planner
Masaki Kobayashi	....	planner
Akira Kurosawa	....	planner
Akira Kurosawa	....	producer
Yôichi Matsue	....	producer

Original Music by
Tôru Takemitsu

Cinematography by
Yasumichi Fukuzawa
Takao Saitô

Film Editing by
Reiko Kaneko

Art Direction by
Shinobu Muraki
Yoshirô Muraki

Costume Design by
Miyuki Suzuki

Makeup Department
Sakai Nakao	....	hair stylist
Shozo Takahashi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Hiroshi Nezu	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Koji Hashimoto	....	assistant director
Yoshihiro Kawasaki	....	assistant director
Kenjiro Omori	....	assistant director
Nobumitsu Takizawa	....	assistant director

Art Department
Akio Nojima	....	property master
Tsuneo Shimura	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Hiromitsu Mori	....	sound recordist
Mamoru Yamada	....	sound assistant
Fumio Yanoguchi	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Naomi Hashiyama	....	still photographer
Shinji Kojima	....	assistant lighting technician
Hiromitsu Mori	....	lighting technician
Daisaku Omura	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Reiko Kaneko	....	assistant editor

Transportation Department
Isamu Miwano	....	transportation

Other crew
Shoichi Koga	....	production assistant
Shôji Nakayama	....	production assistant
Teruyo Nogami	....	script supervisor
Etsuo Yamamoto	....	acting office

Production Companies

• Toho Company
• Yonki-no-Kai Productions

Distributors

• Toho Company (1970) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Toho Company (1971) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Les Films Molière (1974) (France) (theatrical)
• Janus Films (1974) (USA) (all media) (subtitled)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1972) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sandrews (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Tocantins (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Toho Dabing

Other Companies

• Toho Recording Center  sound post-production
• Toho Sound Effects Group  sound effects
• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Clickety-Clack (Japan) (literal English title)
Dodes'ka-den (USA)

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Sweden:15 | UK:A

Filming Locations:

Horie-cho, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

The drawings shown toward the end of the film weren't from Akira Kurosawa. He usually uses his own paintings but he didn't think they'd feel right; childish enough, so he had some kids draw some paintings which are the ones ultimately shown in the finished picture.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tsukuru to iu koto wa subarashii! Kurosawa Akira: Shikisai wo te ni ireta Kurosawa Akira (2003) (V)

Kurosawa's first film in color

In 1970, after a five year absence, Kurosawa made what would be his first film in color. Dodes' Ka-Den is a film that centers around many intertwining stories that go on in a small Tokyo slum.

The title comes from the sound a mentally retarded boy makes as he imagines he is operating a train. We slowly get to know more of the people in the small community, the two drunks who trade wives because they are not happy with the ones they have. The old man who is the center of the town who helps out a burglar that tries to rob him. The very poor father and son that cannot ever afford a house, so they imagine one up of their own. By the end of the film, the stories all come full circle, some turn out happy, others sad.

Since this was Kurosawa's first color film you can see that he uses it to his advantage and it shows. Maybe too much. This movie goes in many different directions and it's hard to settle down and get into it. But don't get me wrong, Dodes' Ka-Den may not be Kurosawa's best, but coming from the greatest director of all time, it's much better than 99% of today's films.