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 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. Although the set was purposefully filthy, Kurosawa walked on it only in his indoor shoes, to the surprise of cast and crew; he explained that dirty though it was, it was still "home" to his characters. Themes The film explores the Nietzschean theme that Buddhism (and religiousness in general) verges on nihilism by presenting two archetypal characters, the pilgrim and the gambler, who share a contentment that contrasts with the self-conscious existentialism of the other characters. The pilgrim’s grace derives from believing that nothing on Earth matters because rewards are found in the afterlife; the gambler also believes nothing matters, but rather because he rejects religion and morality, seeking pleasure from life rather than purpose. Because both belief systems reject earthly matters and result in contentment, philosophers sometimes link Buddhism with nihilism; in Kurosawa’s plot arc, the nihilistic gambler succeeds in outlasting the pilgrim, whose promises are unfulfilled and result in a character’s suicide, which the gambler mocks. This fatalistic tone contrasts with Kurosawa’s more humanistic approach in other films, and is regarded as a reason for the film's mixed response upon its release in Japan. In addition, such overt representation of downtrodden, hopeless characters (albeit from a different era) was rare in early post-occupation Japan's popular media, which attempted to downplay allusions to an underclass struggling with societal changes wrought by the war and its aftermath. Release The Lower Depths received a roadshow theatrical release on September 17, 1957 by Toho. It received general release in Japan on 1 October 1957. The film was released by Brandon Films with English subtitles in the United States on 9 February 1962. Awards Isuzu Yamada won Kinema Junpo'''s award for Best Actress of the Year (for this film, Downtown, and Throne of Blood). Toshiro Mifune won the Mainichi Film Concours Best Actor award (also for Downtown). Kōji Mitsui won both the Blue Ribbon Award and Mainichi Film Concours awards for Best Supporting