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Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa, two of cinema's greatest directors, transform Maxim Gorky's classic proletariat play The Lower Depths in their own ways for their own times. Renoir, working amidst the rise of Hitler and the Popular Front in France, had need to take license with the dark nature of Gorky's source material, softening its bleak outlook. Kurosawa, firmly situated in the postwar world, found little reason for hope. He remained faithful to the original with its focus on the conflict between illusion and reality—a theme he would return to over and over again. Working with their most celebrated actors (Gabin with Renoir; Mifune with Kurosawa), each film offers a unique look at cinematic adaptation—where social conditions and filmmaking styles converge to create unique masterpieces.
Original Release
09/17/1957
US Release
02/09/1962
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Toshirô Mifune | Sutekichi the Thief |
Isuzu Yamada | Osugi the Landlady |
Kyoko Kagawa | Okayo, Osugi's Sister |
Ganjiro Nakamura | Rokubei, Osugi's Husband |
Minoru Chiaki | Tonosama - the former Samurai / Former Samurai |
Kamatari Fujiwara | The Actor |
Akemi Negishi | Osen the Prostitute |
Nijiko Kiyokawa | Otaki the Candy-Seller |
Kôji Mitsui | Yoshisaburo the Gambler |
Eijirô Tôno | Tomekichi the Tinker |
Directors
Writers
Maxim Gorky, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Toshirô Mifune | Sutekichi the Thief |
Isuzu Yamada | Osugi the Landlady |
Kyoko Kagawa | Okayo, Osugi's Sister |
Ganjiro Nakamura | Rokubei, Osugi's Husband |
Minoru Chiaki | Tonosama - the former Samurai / Former Samurai |
Kamatari Fujiwara | The Actor |
Akemi Negishi | Osen the Prostitute |
Nijiko Kiyokawa | Otaki the Candy-Seller |
Kôji Mitsui | Yoshisaburo the Gambler |
Eijirô Tôno | Tomekichi the Tinker |
Haruo Tanaka | Tatsu |
Eiko Miyoshi | Asa, Tomekichi's Wife |
Bokuzen Hidari | Kahei the Pilgrim |
Atsushi Watanabe | Kuna |
Kichijirô Ueda | Shimazo the Police Agent |
Yû Fujiki | Unokichi |
Fujitayama | Tsugaru |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Akira Kurosawa | Producer |
Sôjirô Motoki | Producer |
Tomoyuki Tanaka | Producer |