Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams (The Criterion Collection)

Description

Unfolding in a series of eight mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa was inspired by the beloved director’s own nighttime visions, along with stories from Japanese folklore. In a visually sumptuous journey through the master’s imagination, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic apparitions: a young boy stumbles on a fox wedding in a forest; a soldier confronts the ghosts of the war dead; a power-plant meltdown smothers a seaside landscape in radioactive fumes. Interspersed with reflections on the redemptive power of creation, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh (who is played by Martin Scorsese), Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams is both a showcase for its maker’s artistry at its most unbridled and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance.4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES4K digital restoration, supervised by cinematographer Shoji Ueda, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrackOne 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special featuresAudio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen PrinceFeature-length documentary from 1990 shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko ObayashiInterviews with production manager Teruyo Nogami and assistant director Takashi KoizumiDocumentary from 2011 by director Akira Kurosawa’s longtime translator Catherine Cadou, featuring interviews with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Martin Scorsese, Hayao Miyazaki, and othersTrailerPLUS: An essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami Review: "....eye catching to watch; passionate, and certainly filmed in Japanese custom...." - . Kurosawa's 'Dreams' is an exciting film to watch for film goers in anticipation of originality, in creativeness of imagination of an interesting film; a joy....there are eight episodes of individual stories from what we might call art house filming from the very famous film director.... Dreams is a personal film by Akira Kurosawa, with Steven Spielberg as co-producer -and in one episode, Martin Scorsese stars as Vincent Van Gogh: The music in this episode may sound familiar if you have ever seen Margin Call with Kevin Spacey -who awakens promptly from his slumber in his nightmarish crash of City banking ( Chopin: 'Prelude no.15 in D flat major' ) It is an intriguing film; kaleidoscopic, and a bit surreal. I would say that the central theme cultivates itself on Japanese tradition with introspection of balance into passion from the sudden end of Japan's involvement in WWII -with the painful destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But the film also carries a message of hope and salvation of rebirth to survive. Retrospectively; a warning of the near destruction of life on Earth: save for a return to nature with basic materials. I have seen the film twice on its original release in a London cinema ( ....invited friends to watch on second viewing ) -and also much later on VHS video to share with a delightful friend, to enlighten and show how my inspiration was captured in a thought to express an idea of a deeper meaning to include in my own booklet -with ideas gathered in a notion from watching the first episode of the film: ( author: J. G. Pacific - 'Don't Push the Thought Before the Heart is Ready to Grow' ) Definitely one to watch, though I felt a like a lost soul after my very first viewing, but this may have been due to the sadness that the film conveys, but also to my young spirit of temperament and loneliness? The film may indeed disappoint because it is very strange and conveys a feeling of isolation, and fragments into episodes: I especially liked the very first one, 'Sunshine Through the Rain' with the fox ceremony in the forest; the fifth one, 'Crows' with Vincent Van Gogh; and the very last one: 'Village of the Watermills' that ends the film with lingering music played with orchestral melancholy ( 'In The Village' by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov ). Memorable; haunting - eye catching to watch; passionate, and certainly filmed in Japanese custom.....but in reflection, we are all very much like each other: in nature, love and life itself : Zen -and how are you, dear reader? Ps. There were only a few in the cinema that afternoon: we left the auditorium in silence: there was no applause, there was no personal contact. I paused for a minute in the foyer, and saw a girl in a pink top who read the magnified, film review that was posted on the billboard by the Observer newspaper: I puzzled myself too, but felt too polite to interrupt her quiet thoughts: I did not feel quite ready to hurry back home from Goodge Street, but I did have a tennis match booked early evening with Tibbs. Good manners prevented me not to turn up, and there was no mobile 'phone in those days to cancel. I could not shift my solemn mood during the game of tennis at all. All I could think was that I wished I hadn't left the cinema so soon: the film that haunted me like a phantom in the daytime, only wishing to revisit later at night-time: And so I did the following week, with two friends in tow, and had arranged afterwards to have supper at a Chinese restaurant to refresh and put that ghost to rest.... . Review: Different format to UK - Comes with deferents format and not UK formats.