has killed Taeko. He does not want her corpse to start to smell, so the two men do not light a fire and spend the night huddled around candles and bundled under blankets before they both, seemingly, die the next morning. Upon hearing this news, Ayako remarks that she is the idiot for not having been able to love without hatred, like Kameda did. Cast Production background The film is in black and white at an aspect ratio of 1.37:1. This was Kurosawa's second film for the Shochiku studio, after Scandal (1950). It was originally intended to be a two-part film with a running time of 265 minutes. After a single, poorly received, screening of the full-length version, the film was severely cut at the request of the studio. This was against Kurosawa's wishes. When the re-edited version was also deemed too long by the studio, Kurosawa sardonically suggested the film be cut lengthwise instead. According to Japanese film scholar Donald Richie, there are no existing prints of the original 265-minute version. Kurosawa would return to Shochiku later to make Rhapsody in August (1991), and, according to Alex Cox, is said to have searched the Shochiku archives for the original cut of the film to no avail. The Idiot was the first feature film to depict the Sapporo Snow Festival, an annual event in Sapporo, Hokkaido that began in 1950. In the movie, Kameda and Ayako visit the festival and see its large snow sculptures. Reception Rotten Tomatoes reports 70% approval for The Idiot among ten critics, with an average rating of 6.9/10. See also List of incomplete or partially lost films References External links 1951 films 1951 drama films Japanese drama films 1950s Japanese-language films Japanese black-and-white films Films based on The Idiot Films directed by Akira Kurosawa Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa Shochiku films Films scored by Fumio Hayasaka Films set in Hokkaido Films set in Sapporo 1950s Japanese films