Madadayo
by Akira Kurosawa
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Hisashi Igawa, J?ji Tokoro, Ky?ko Kagawa, Masayuki Yui, Tatsuo MatsumuraDirector: Akira Kurosawa
Writer: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Gohei Kogure
Producer: Hiroshi Yamamoto
Producer: Hisao Kurosawa
Producer: Seikichi Iizumi
Writer: Hyakken Uchida
Writer: Ishir? Honda
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Japanese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-03-13
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of Madadayo
Movie Review: The Long Goodbye
Summary: 3 Stars
It pains me to write this but I was, frankly, disappointed with "Madadayo". For the final film of his illustrious career, Akira Kurosawa chose something that seemed like a mixture of "Goodbye Mr. Chips", "I Remember Mama", and "Lassie Come Home". Yes, it was a farewell film and, yes, it was probably intentionally understated, and yes, the ending was nicely done but I watch Kurosawa for the masterful way he bring his message to film. What I got in "Madadayo" was something "not with a bang but with a whimper." There are extended scenes in this movie that are practically embarrassing to watch. The main one was about a lost cat (could this be the Japan that he could no longer find? No, I think it was just a lost cat). Anyway, that's what I was left with. I had just finished watching a number of early Kurosawa films and I was left with the impression that anyone of them was better than his final film. There's a reason that this is one is rarely mentioned.
Summary of Madadayo
The film follows the last 2 decades in the life of Hyakken Uchinda, a writer and teacher who retires in the war years of the early 1940's. His students venerate him in his old age, and join him and his family each year for a ritual birthday party, asking "are you ready?" to which he answers, "not yet," acknowledging that death may be near, but life still goes on.Kurosawa is considered to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and this, his final and touching film, is the perfect ending to a lifetime of cinematic achievements.
Akira Kurosawa was 83 years old when he made this, his serenely glorious final film. Kurosawa's eyesight was failing, so Madadayo would be the master's farewell to filmmaking, and one can hardly imagine a more lovely and loving way to end one of the greatest careers in motion picture history. Based on the literary works of Japanese author Hyakken Uchida, the film presents Uchida as its central character (named only "The Professor"), and begins in war-torn Tokyo with the sensei's retirement from teaching in 1943. He is considered "solid gold" by his legacy of former students, who support their beloved teacher as he focuses on writing and throw annual birthday parties in his honor. Each year they ask "Maadha kai?" ("Are you ready?"), to which the aging professor responds, "Madadayo!" ("Not yet!"), acknowledging that he will die someday, but only when he's ready.
While Madadayo may not be autobiographical, the professor (played with charming grace by Tatsuo Matsumura) is clearly Kurosawa--a beloved master reflecting on life, continuing to teach, and expressing gratitude for a long and rewarding career that was "not yet" over. This is a calm and simple film of peaceful resolution, in which the only major crisis is the loss of a cat--an episode both heartbreaking and, finally, as life affirming as the professor's benevolent wisdom. And while Kurosawa was criticized for being sentimental when Madadayo was released in Japan in 1993 (it didn't reach Western shores until 2000), there's an important distinction to be made between sentiment and the twilight serenity of one of the cinema's most eloquent humanitarians. Closing with a final dream image that's as beautiful as only dreams can be, Madadayo is, in its own way, as miraculous as any of Kurosawa's previous masterworks. --Jeff Shannon
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