Ikiru Blu-ray

'Ikiru' Director: Akira Kurosawa (1952) BFI 2-disc Blu-ray | 4K restoration | Japanese w/ English subtitles

Inspired by a Leo Tolstoy novella - Ikiru is the the tale of Kanji Watanabe, a dedicated, downtrodden civil servant diagnosed with terminal cancer. After a bout of self-pity, he determines to change his unfulfilling existence and discover a zest for life, plunging into hedonistic pleasure-seeking on the frenetic streets of post-war Tokyo. But he is soon driven to give lasting meaning to his life, and lights upon a plan to construct an urban children's playground where for years has been the site of a festering cesspool.

With a beautifully nuanced performance by Takashi Shimura (star of 21 other Kurosawa films) as the dying bureaucrat, Ikiru is an intensely lyrical and moving film that explores the nature of existence and how we find meaning in our lives.

Special features include:
- Audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin
- Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create - Ikiru (2002, 42 mins): made as part of the Toho Masterworks series and featuring interviews with Kurosawa, script supervisor, Teruyo Nogami, writer Hideo Oguni, actor Takashi Shimura and others
- Introduction by Alex Cox (2003, 15 mins)
- It's Ours Whatever They Say (1972, 39 mins): a community action film by Jenny Barraclough telling of the battle fought by a group of mothers against a London council to establish a playground for children on a derelict site
- The People People (1970, 22 mins): intended for school leavers, this COI film shows the vast range and variety of jobs available within the civil service, highlighting the ways in which civil servants help individuals, the community in general and Parliament