The Lower Depths (1957 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lower Depths
Donzoko.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAkira Kurosawa
Screenplay by
Based onThe Lower Depths
by Maxim Gorky
Produced byAkira Kurosawa[1]
Starring
CinematographyKazuo Yamasaki[1]
Edited byAkira Kurosawa
Music byMasaru Sato[1]
Production
company
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • 17 September 1957 (1957-09-17) (Japan)
Running time
124 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

The Lower Depths (どん底, Donzoko) is a 1957 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, based on the 1902 play The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky.[1] The setting was changed for the film from late 19th-century Russia to Edo period Japan.

Plot[]

In a run-down Edo tenement, an elderly man (Rokubei) and his bitter wife (Osugi) rent out rooms and beds to the poor. The tenants are gamblers, prostitutes, petty thieves and drunk layabouts, all struggling to survive. The landlady’s younger sister (Okayo) who helps the landlords with maintenance, brings in an old man (Kahei) and rents him a bed. Kahei quickly assumes the role of a mediator and grandfatherly figure, though there is an air of mystery about him and some of the tenants suspect his past is not unblemished.

Sutekichi, thief and self-appointed tenement leader, is having an affair with Osugi the landlady, though he is gradually shifting his attention to her sweet-tempered sister. Okayo thinks little of him, however, which frustrates Sutekichi and sours his relationship with Osugi. Jealous and vengeful, Osugi seeks to persuade Sutekichi to murder her husband so she can turn him over to the authorities. Sutekichi sees through her plot and refuses to take any part in the murder. The husband discovers the affair, gets into a fight with Sutekichi, and is saved only through Kahei’s intervention.

Slowly, Okayo begins to see the good in Sutekichi and warms to his advances. Rokubei and Osugi beat Okayo, prompting the tenants to break into their house to save her. Sutekichi is enraged to learn how Okayo was treated and, in the ensuing chaos, accidentally kills Rokubei, and is then blamed by Osugi for her husband's death. Rather than defend himself, the enraged Sutekichi claims that she had goaded him into doing it. Okayo now believes that they have used her to provide an excuse for the killing. She will now have nothing to do with Sutekichi. Kahei, whose testimony could potentially have cleared him, runs away to avoid having to testify, adding substance to the suspicions that he had something to hide. Sutekichi and Osugi are arrested.

Other subplots, some of a comic nature, involve the occupants of the tenement: an aging actor who has lost his ability to memorize lines; a craftsman who appears indifferent to the impending death of his ailing wife, yet becomes a broken man when she finally dies; a destitute who claims to be descended from a samurai family, only to have this claim refuted; and a group of partying drunks who seem to rejoice in the face of misfortune.

Cast[]

Actor Role
Toshiro Mifune Sutekichi (the thief)
Isuzu Yamada Osugi (the landlady)
Kyōko Kagawa Okayo (Osugi's sister)
Nakamura Ganjirō II Rokubei (Osugi's husband)
Kōji Mitsui Yoshisaburo (the gambler)
Kamatari Fujiwara Danjuro (the actor)
Bokuzen Hidari Kahei (the pilgrim)
Minoru Chiaki Tonosama (the ex-samurai)
Eijirō Tōno Tomekichi (the tinker)
Akemi Negishi Osen (the prostitute)
Haruo Tanaka Tatsu (the cooper)
Atsushi Watanabe Kuna (the wrestler's associate)
Yū Fujiki Unokichi (the cobbler)

Production[]

Kurosawa assembled his cast from among the top performers in Japanese cinema, dress-rehearsing them on-set for 60 days and shooting extended takes with multiple cameras to create a theatrical effect.[2]

Release[]

The Lower Depths received a roadshow theatrical release on September 17, 1957 by Toho.[1] It received general release in Japan on 1 October 1957.[1]

Toho produced an English-dubbed version, but its release is undetermined.[1] It was released by Brandon Films with English subtitles in the United States on 9 February 1962.[1]

Reception[]

The Lower Depths has an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on six critics’ opinions.[3]

In Japan, Isuzu Yamada won Kinema Junpo's award for Best Actress of the Year (for this film and Downtown and Throne of Blood).[1] Kōji Mitsui won the award for Best Supporting Actor by (also for ) and Best Actor for Toshiro Mifune (also for Downtown) by Mainichi Film Concours.[1] In 2009 the film was voted at No. 36 on the list of The Greatest Japanese Films of All Time by Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo.[4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m Galbraith IV 2008, p. 137.
  2. ^ "Donzoko (The Lower Depths)". Senses of Cinema. sensesofcinema.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  3. ^ Donzoko (The Lower Depths) (1957), retrieved 2019-07-03
  4. ^ "Greatest Japanese films by magazine Kinema Junpo (2009 version)". Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved 2011-12-26.

Sources[]

External links[]

Retrieved from ""