Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Dodes'ka-den
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Infobox film | name = Dodes'ka-den | image = Dodeskaden.JPG | caption = Theatrical release poster | screenplay = Akira Kurosawa<br>[[Hideo Oguni]]<br>[[Shinobu Hashimoto]] | based_on = {{based on|''A City Without Seasons''<br>1962 novel|[[Shūgorō Yamamoto]]}} | producer = Akira Kurosawa<br>Yoichi Matsue<br>[[Keisuke Kinoshita]]<br>[[Kon Ichikawa]]<br>[[Masaki Kobayashi]] | starring = [[Yoshitaka Zushi]]<br>[[Kin Sugai]]<br>[[Toshiyuki Tonomura]]<br>Shinsuke Minami | director = [[Akira Kurosawa]] | music = [[Tōru Takemitsu]] | editing = Reiko Kaneko | cinematography = [[Takao Saito (cinematographer)|Takao Saito]]<br>Yasumichi Fukuzawa | studio = [[Toho]]<br>Yonki no Kai Productions | distributor = Toho | released = {{film date|1970|10|31}} | runtime = 140 minutes | country = Japan | language = Japanese | budget = {{¥|100 million}}{{sfn|Ishizaka|1988|p=53}} }} {{nihongo|'''''Dodes'ka-den'''''|どですかでん|Dodesukaden|[[onomatopoeia]] term equivalent to "Clickety-clack"|lead=yes}} is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by [[Akira Kurosawa]]. The film stars Yoshitaka Zushi, [[Kin Sugai]], Toshiyuki Tonomura, and Shinsuke Minami. It is based on [[Shūgorō Yamamoto]]'s 1962 novel ''A City Without Seasons'' and is about a group of homeless and poverty-stricken people living on the outskirts of [[Tokyo]]. ''Dodes'ka-den'' was Kurosawa's first film in five years, his first without actor [[Toshiro Mifune]] since ''[[Red Beard]]'' in 1965, and his first without composer [[Masaru Sato]] since ''[[Seven Samurai]]'' in 1954.<ref name="prince">{{cite web|last=Prince |first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen Prince|title=Dodes'ka-den: True Colors|publisher=[[Criterion Collection]]|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1035-dodes-ka-den-true-colors|date=2009-03-10|access-date=2022-11-20}}</ref> Filming began on April 23, 1970, and ended 28 days later.{{sfn|Tsuzuki|2010|p=371}} This was Kurosawa's first-ever color film and had a budget of only {{¥|100 million}}.{{sfn|Ishizaka|1988|p=53}} In order to finance the film, Kurosawa mortgaged his house, but it failed at the box office, grossing less than its budget,{{sfn|Barrett|2018|p=64}} leaving him with large debts and, at sixty-one years old, dim employment prospects. Kurosawa's disappointment culminated one year later on December 22, 1971, when he attempted suicide.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=262}} ==Plot== The film is an anthology of overlapping vignettes exploring the lives of a variety of characters who live in a suburban [[Shanty town|shantytown]] atop a [[Landfill|rubbish dump]].<ref name=newyorkmag/> The first to be introduced is Roku-chan, a boy who lives in a fantasy world in which he is a [[Tram|trolley]] driver. In his fantasy world, he drives his trolley along a set route and schedule through the dump, reciting the refrain "dodeska-den" ("clickety-clack", mimicking the sound of a trolley). His dedication to the fantasy is fanatical. Roku-chan is called "trolley freak" (''densha baka'') by locals and by children from outside the shantytown.{{sfnp|Yoshimoto|2000|p=339}}<ref>{{citation|last=Wild |first=Peter |title=Akira Kurosawa |page=150 |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2014|isbn=9781780233802 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vIVoCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA150}}</ref> His mother is concerned that Roku-chan is genuinely [[Intellectual disability|mentally challenged]].{{Refn|In Yamamoto's novel it is stated "it has been repeatedly demonstrated by [expert] doctors that he is neither imbecile nor mentally deficient".{{sfnp|Yoshimoto|2000|p=339}}}}{{sfnp|Yamamoto|1969|p=12}} (Roku-chan has earned the label in several cinematographic writings.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Such as Kurosawa's frequent script supervisor [[Teruyo Nogami]],<ref name="criterionbooklet">"A Conversation with Teruyo Nogami", ''Dodeska-den'' DVD booklet, 2009, [[The Criterion Collection]]. Retrieved 2022-11-20</ref> Kurosawa's assistant {{illm|Hiromichi Horikawa|ja|堀川弘通}},<ref>{{citation|last=Horikawa |first=Hiromichi (堀川弘通) |title=Hyōden Kurosawa Akira<!--評伝黒澤明--> |publisher=Mainichi Shimbun sha |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HukvAQAAIAAJ |page=293|isbn=9784620314709 |quote=六ちゃんという知的障害児 (mentally disabled child named Roku-chan)|language=ja}}</ref> and film theorist [[Noël Burch]].<ref name=burch/>}}) Ryotaro, a hairbrush maker by trade, is saddled with supporting many children whom his unfaithful wife Misao{{efn|Misao means "Chastity".}} has conceived in different adulterous affairs, but he is wholeheartedly devoted to them.{{sfnp|Yoshimoto|2000|p=340}}<ref name=newyorkmag>{{cite journal|last=Crist |first=Judith |title=Movies: Uneasy Rider |journal=New York Magazine |date=1971-10-11 |page=67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTXQh4KRPuoC&pg=PA67}}</ref> A pair of drunken day laborers (Masuda and Kawaguchi) engage in [[Swinging (sexual practice)|wife-swapping]], only to return to their own wives the next day as though nothing has happened.<ref name=newyorkmag/>{{sfnp|Yamada|1999|p=162}} A stoic, bleak man named Hei is frequently visited by Ocho, who appears to be his ex-wife, and he watches emotionless as she does his domestic chores. It is eventually revealed that she cheated on him and returned, wracked with guilt; he does not forgive her. {{sfnp|Yamada|1999|p=162}}{{sfnp|Mellen|1972|p=19}} At the opposite end of the spectrum is Shima, a man with a [[tic]] who is always defending his outwardly unpleasant and bullying wife. He flies into a rage when friends criticize her and says that she's always been there for him.{{sfnp|Mellen|1972|pp=20, 22|ps=Mellen refers to Hei as Hira-san}}{{sfnp|Yamada|1999|p=163}} A beggar and his son live in a derelict car, a [[Citroën 2CV]]. While the father is preoccupied with daydreams of owning a magnificent home, the boy dies tragically of food poisoning and his father's neglect. He buries his son's cremated remains with Tanba's help, still keeping up the fantasy that the grave is a swimming pool built for his son to enjoy.<ref>{{citation|last1=Wilson |first1=Flannery |last2=Correia |first2=Jane Ramey |title=Intermingled Fascinations: Migration, Displacement and Translation in World Cinema |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1443831271 |page=105}}</ref>{{sfnp|Mellen|1972|pp=20, 21}} Katsuko, a [[Muteness|mute]] girl, is raped by her alcoholic uncle and becomes pregnant, and in a fit of irrationality stabs Okabe, a boy who works at the liquor shop who has tender feelings for her, not having any other way to vent her emotional turmoil.{{sfnp|Mellen|1972|pp=20, 21}}{{sfnp|Wilson|Correia|2011|p=123}} When her uncle is confronted as a suspect for this abusive act, he flees town. Okabe recovers and forgives Katsuko when she apologizes to him, his warmth toward her undaubted. Tanba the [[Repoussé and chasing|chasework]] silversmith is a sage figure who shows kindness to the people of the town, disarming a youth swinging a katana sword with understanding words and helping a burglar who broke into his house, first by giving him money and later denying to police that a robbery occurred.<ref name=burch/><ref>{{citation|last=Kusakabe |first=Kyūshirō (草壁久四郎) |title=Kurosawa Akira no Zenbō<!--黒澤明の全貌--> |publisher=Gendai Engeki Kyokai |year=1985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDx-AAAAIAAJ |page=108|isbn=9784924609129 }}</ref> After exploring the setbacks and anguish that surround many of the indigent characters, along with the dreams of escape that many of them support to maintain at least a superficial level of calm, the film comes full circle, returning to Roku-chan as he returns home, takes his imaginary tram conductor hat off, and hangs it up. ==Cast== [[File:Junzaburo Ban 530406 Scan10008.JPG|thumb|upright|Comedian [[Junzaburō Ban]] (pictured in 1953) portrayed Yukichi Shima]] * [[Yoshitaka Zushi]] as Rokuchan * [[Kin Sugai]] as Okuni, Rokuchan's mother * [[Toshiyuki Tonomura]] as Taro * [[Shinsuke Minami]] as Ryotaro Sawagami * [[Yuko Kusunoki]] as Misao, Sawagami's wife * [[Junzaburō Ban]] as Yukichi Shima * [[Kiyoko Tange]] as Shima's wife * [[Michio Hino]] as Ikawa, Shima's guest * [[Keiji Furuyama]] as Matsui, Shima's guest * [[Tappei Shimokawa]] as Nomoto, Shima's guest * [[Kunie Tanaka]] as Hatsutaro Kawaguchi * [[Jitsuko Yoshimura]] as Yoshie, Kawaguchi's wife * [[Hisashi Igawa]] as Masuo Masuda * [[Hideko Okiyama]] as Tatsu, Masuda's wife * [[Hiroshi Akutagawa]] as Hei * [[Tomoko Naraoka]] as Ocho * [[Atsushi Watanabe (actor, born 1898)|Atsushi Watanabe]] as Tanba * [[Kamatari Fujiwara]] as Suicidal Old Man * [[Kōji Mitsui]] as Stall Operator ([[cameo appearance|cameo]]) ==Production== Five years had elapsed since the release of [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s last film, ''[[Red Beard]]'' (1965). The Japanese film industry was collapsing as the major studios were slashing their production schedules or shutting down entirely due to television stealing the movie audience.<ref name="prince"/> When Kurosawa was let go from the American film ''[[Tora! Tora! Tora!]]'' by [[Twentieth Century Fox]] in 1969, it was rumored that the Japanese director's mental health was deteriorating. [[Teruyo Nogami]], Kurosawa's frequent script supervisor, believes the director needed to make a good film to put that rumor to rest.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> ''Dodes'ka-den'' was made possible by Kurosawa forming the Club of the Four Knights production company with three other Japanese directors; [[Keisuke Kinoshita]], [[Masaki Kobayashi]], and [[Kon Ichikawa]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dodes'ka-den|publisher=Criterion|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/1083-dodes-ka-den|access-date=2021-01-18}}</ref> It was their first and only production.<ref name="prince"/> It marks a stylistic departure from Kurosawa's previous works. It has no central story and no protagonist. Instead it weaves together the stories of a group of characters living in a slum as a series of anecdotes.<ref name="prince"/> It was his first color film, and he had only ever worked with a few of the actors previously; [[Kamatari Fujiwara]], [[Atsushi Watanabe (actor, born 1898)|Atsushi Watanabe]], [[Kunie Tanaka]], and Yoshitaka Zushi.<ref name="prince"/> It marks the first time Kurosawa had used [[Takao Saito (cinematographer)|Takao Saito]] as principal cinematographer, and Saito became his "cinematographer of choice" for the rest of his career.<ref name="prince"/> Nogami said that Kurosawa told the crew that this time he wanted to make a film that is "sunny, light, and endearing."<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> She speculated that ''Dodes'ka-den'' was his rebuttal to what went wrong on ''Tora! Tora! Tora!''. The script supervisor of the film opined that the director was still recuperating from the shock of what happened on that Hollywood film, and was not operating at full strength.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> Nogami said that she gets choked up whenever she watches the scene where Rokuchan is called "trolley crazy" by children, because she imagines Kurosawa as the boy, with people yelling "Movie-crazy" at him.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> Kurosawa said that he wanted to show younger filmmakers that it did not need to cost a lot of money to make a movie.<ref name=var>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|page=2 |title=Shuns Fests, But Kurosawa To Russ|date=August 11, 1971}}</ref> David A. Conrad wrote that an influence of the surging [[Japanese New Wave]] can be felt in this impulse and in the decision to focus on outcasts in contemporary society.<ref>Conrad, David A. (2022). ''Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan'', 176, McFarland & Co.</ref> ===Filming=== In contrast to ''Red Beard'', which was in production for two years, filming for ''Dodes'ka-den'' began on April 23, 1970, and was finished in only 27 days, two months ahead of schedule.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/><ref name="prince"/> According to [[Stephen Prince]], it was shot for standard-ratio [[35 mm movie film]] rather than the [[anamorphic widescreen]] that Kurosawa had used since ''[[The Hidden Fortress]]'' (1958). Prince writes that this was because the director did not like how anamorphic lenses handled color information.<ref name="prince"/> As a result, it marks a return to the [[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|1.33:1 aspect ratio]] he used regularly in the 1940s and early 1950s.<ref name="prince"/> Prince also states that ''Dodes'ka-den'' marks the first time the director used zoom lenses; a sign of the "speed and economy" with which he made the film.<ref name="prince"/> Nogami stated that she had never seen Kurosawa as "quiet and undemanding" on set as he was for ''Dodes'ka-den''. As an example, she explained how during a nine-minute scene that had to be shot in one take, [[Junzaburō Ban]] had trouble memorizing all of his dialogue and caused numerous retakes. Nogami said "the old Kurosawa" would have lost his temper and started yelling, but instead he just gently said "let's try it again." and eventually praised Ban when the shot was finally completed.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> Nogami also related how Fujiwara was well-known for not being able to memorize his lines. While filming an eight-minute scene with Watanabe, Kurosawa finally had had enough and had Nogami give Fujiwara verbal prompts. Nogami said her voice was hard to remove from the final tape.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> The drawings that cover the walls of Rokuchan's house were initially drawn by Kurosawa at home. But he decided they were too "grown-up", and had schoolchildren draw them instead.<ref name="criterionbooklet"/> ===Title=== The film's title "''Dodeska-den''" are the playacting "words" uttered by the boy character to mimic the sound of his imaginary trolley car in motion. It is not a commonly used [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]] word in the Japanese vocabulary, but was invented by author [[Shūgorō Yamamoto]] in ''{{illm|Kisetsu no Nai Machi|ja|季節のない街}}'' (''A City Without Seasons''), the original novel on which the film was based. In standard Japanese language, this sound would be described as ''gatan goton'', equivalent to "clickity-clack" in English.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|More specifically, it is the sound that the trolley makes as it passes over the [[Track (rail transport)#Joining rails|joints in the rail]].<ref>{{citation|last=Yamamoto |first=Shūgoro |title=Kisetsu no nai machi |work=Yamamoto Shugoro shosetsu zenshu (collected works) |volume=17 |year=1969 |orig-year=1962 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lyQVAQAAMAAJ|language=ja}}</ref>}}{{sfnp|Mellen|1972|p=20}} ==Reception== ''Dodes'ka-den'' was Kurosawa's first film in color.<ref name=burch>{{Citation|last=Burch |first=Noël |title=To the Distant Observer: Form and Meaning in the Japanese Cinema |publisher=University of California Press |year=1979 |page=321 |isbn=9780520038776 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lLtyz275-GYC&pg=PA321}}</ref> Domestically, it was both a commercial and critical failure upon its initial release.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a90859f/sightandsoundpoll2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102174511/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a90859f/sightandsoundpoll2012 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |title=Akira Kurosawa: 10 essential films |last=Sharp |first=Jasper |publisher=British Film Institute |date=November 14, 2016 |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> Abroad, however, the film was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[44th Academy Awards]].<ref name="Oscars1972">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1972 |title=The 44th Academy Awards (1972) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2011-11-27 |work=oscars.org}}</ref> Its Japanese reception, among other things, sent Kurosawa into a deep [[depression (mood)|depression]], and in 1971 he attempted suicide.<ref>Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald; [https://books.google.com/books?id=C2z3otM-y5kC&pg=PA460 ''The Japanese Film: Art and Industry''], p.460</ref> Despite continuing to draw mixed responses,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/clickety_clack/reviews/ |title=Clickety-Clack (Dodes'ka-den) - Movie Reviews |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> ''Dodes'ka-den'' received votes from two artists – [[Sion Sono]] and the [[Dardenne brothers]] – in the [[British Film Institute]]'s 2012 ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' polls of the world's greatest films.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a90859f/sightandsoundpoll2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102174511/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a90859f/sightandsoundpoll2012 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 2017 |title=Votes for DODES'KA-DEN (1970) |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> ==Awards== The film won the [[Grand Prix (Belgian Film Critics Association)|Grand Prix]] of the [[Belgian Film Critics Association]]. ==Documentary and home media== A significant short 36-minute documentary was made by Toho Masterworks concerning this film, ''Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create'' (Toho Masterworks, 2002). The film was released by [[the Criterion Collection]] on DVD in 2009, and it includes the documentary by Toho Masterworks. ==See also== * [[List of submissions to the 44th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]] * [[List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film]] ==Explanatory notes== {{Notelist}} ==References== {{reflist}} ===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book|last=Barrett|first=Michael S.|title=Foreign Language Films and the Oscar: The Nominees and Winners, 1948-2017|date=August 15, 2018|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=9781476674209}} * {{cite book| last=Conrad|first=David A.|title=Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan|year=2022|publisher=McFarland & Co.|isbn=978-1-4766-8674-5}} * {{cite book|last=Ishizaka|first=Shōzō|title=The Legends of the Masters|year=1988|publisher=[[:ja:三一書房|San-ichi Publishing]]|isbn=978-4380902529|language=Japanese}} * {{citation|last=Mellen |first=Joan |title=Dodeskaden: A Renewal |journal=Cinema |volume=7 |year=1972 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcJZAAAAMAAJ}} * {{cite book |last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|last2=Godziszewski|first2=Ed|url=https://archive.org/details/ishiro-honda-a-life-in-film-from-godzilla-to-kurosawa|title=Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa|publisher=[[Wesleyan University Press]]|year=2017|isbn=9780819570871}} * {{cite book|last=Tsuzuki|first=Masaaki|title=Akira Kurosawa's Life and Career|publisher=[[Iwanami Shoten]]|year=2010|isbn=9784487804344|language=Japanese}} * {{citation|last=Yoshimoto |first=Mitsuhiro |title=Film Studies and Japanese Cinema |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QizaCOjKs-IC&pg=PA339 |isbn=9780822325192}} * {{citation|last=Yamada |first=Kazuo (山田和夫) |title=Kurosawa Akira no zenbō<!-- 黒澤明: 人と芸術 --> |publisher=Shin-Nihon Shuppansha |year=1999 |isbn=9784406026765 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-wvAQAAIAAJ|language=ja}} {{Refend}} ==External links== * {{IMDb title|0065649}} * ''[http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1970/ct002760.htm Dodesukaden]'' {{in lang|ja}} at the [[Japanese Movie Database]] * {{tcmdb title|id=73328}} {{Akira Kurosawa}} {{Japanese submissions for the Academy Award}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:1970 films]] [[Category:1970 drama films]] [[Category:Japanese drama films]] [[Category:1970s Japanese-language films]] [[Category:Japanese anthology films]] [[Category:Rail transport films]] [[Category:Films based on Japanese novels]] [[Category:Films directed by Akira Kurosawa]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Shinobu Hashimoto]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Hideo Oguni]] [[Category:Films scored by Toru Takemitsu]] [[Category:Toho films]] [[Category:Films about intellectual disability]] [[Category:Films about poverty]] [[Category:Films about homelessness]] [[Category:1970s Japanese films]] [[Category:Films set in slums]] [[Category:Films based on works by Shūgorō Yamamoto]]
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page
(
help
)
:
Template:Akira Kurosawa
(
edit
)
Template:Authority control
(
edit
)
Template:Citation
(
edit
)
Template:Cite book
(
edit
)
Template:Cite journal
(
edit
)
Template:Cite magazine
(
edit
)
Template:Cite web
(
edit
)
Template:EditAtWikidata
(
edit
)
Template:Efn
(
edit
)
Template:First word
(
edit
)
Template:IMDb title
(
edit
)
Template:Illm
(
edit
)
Template:In lang
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox film
(
edit
)
Template:Japanese submissions for the Academy Award
(
edit
)
Template:Main other
(
edit
)
Template:Nihongo
(
edit
)
Template:Notelist
(
edit
)
Template:PAGENAMEBASE
(
edit
)
Template:Preview warning
(
edit
)
Template:Refbegin
(
edit
)
Template:Refend
(
edit
)
Template:Reflist
(
edit
)
Template:Refn
(
edit
)
Template:Sfn
(
edit
)
Template:Sfnp
(
edit
)
Template:Tcmdb title
(
edit
)
Template:Trim
(
edit
)
Template:Wikidata
(
edit
)
Template:WikidataCheck
(
edit
)
Template:¥
(
edit
)