Where to watch Ikiru in the United States
Ikiru (1952) is streaming on Max. Also available on Kanopy with a participating library card.
U.S. availability last verified
Ikiru
There are eight million stories in the Naked City.
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Included with subscription on Max
HD · Included
About
You can watch Ikiru (1952) on Kanopy with a participating library card.
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Instead of a standard tragedy, this film finds profound, quiet joy in the struggle to leave a small mark on a rigid world. A lifetime of bureaucratic numbness dissolves into a frantic, beautiful pursuit of purpose against a ticking clock.
Trailer
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Cast
Takashi Shimura, Haruo Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Bokuzen Hidari, Miki Odagiri, Shinichi Himori, Minoru Chiaki, Minosuke Yamada, Kamatari Fujiwara, Makoto Kobori
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Best way to watch
3 options ranked by value · 🇺🇸 United States
With a library card
Included with subscription
Last verified 18 hours ago
Ikiru
There are eight million stories in the Naked City.
You can watch Ikiru (1952) on Kanopy with a participating library card.
IMDb
8.3/10
Metacritic
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Cast
Takashi Shimura, Haruo Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Bokuzen Hidari, Miki Odagiri, Shinichi Himori, Minoru Chiaki, Minosuke Yamada, Kamatari Fujiwara, Makoto Kobori
3 options ranked by value · 🇺🇸 United States
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Ikiru is streaming on Max. Watch Ikiru on Kanopy with a participating library card. Ikiru is streaming on Criterion Channel. We have not verified a current option on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+. Availability last verified October 18, 2026.