#842: KUROSAWA, Akira: Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)

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KUROSAWA, Akira (Japan)
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams [1990]
Spine #842
Blu-ray


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 though 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.

120 minutes
Color
2.0 Surround
in Japanese
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2016
Director/Writer


Akira Kurosawa was 80 when he wrote and directed Akira Kurosawa's Dreams.

Eclipse Series 7: One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
#413: Drunken Angel (1948)
Eclipse Series 7: Scandal (1950)
Eclipse Series 7: The Idiot (1951)
#221: Ikiru (1952)
#2: Seven Samurai (1954)
Eclipse Series 7: I Live In Fear (1955)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

 The Booklet

Thirty-six page booklet featuring an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by production manager Teruyo Nogami.

Commentary

Featuring film scholar Stephen Prince.

Making of “Dreams” (1990)

A 150-minute documentary shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

Interview 1

With Nogami.

Interview 2

With assistant director Takashi Koizumi.

Kurosawa’s Way (2011)

A fifty-minute documentary by Kurosawa’s longtime translator Catherine Cadou, featuring interviews with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Martin Scorsese, Hayao Miyazaki, and others.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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