Akira Kurosawas Dreams (Criterion) 01/24 Blu-ray (Rental)

Unfolding in a series of mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Ran) brings eight of the beloved director s own nighttime visions, informed by tales from Japanese folklore, to cinematic life. In a visually sumptuous journey through the master s unconscious, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic visions: 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 art, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh (played by Martin Scorsese), Akira Kurosawa s Dreams is both a showcase for its maker s imagination at its most unbridled and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES - New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Masaharu Ueda, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack - New audio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen Prince - Making of Dreams (1990), a 150-minute documentary shot on-set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi - New interview with assistant director Takashi Koizumi - New interview with production manager Teruyo Nogami - Kurosawa s Way (2011), a fifty-minute documentary by director Akira Kurosawa s longtime translator Catherine Cadou, featuring interviews with filmmakers Theodoros Angelopoulos, Bernardo Bertolucci, Clint Eastwood, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Bong Joon-ho, Abbas Kiarostami, Hayao Miyazaki, Martin Scorsese, Julie Taymor, Shin ya Tsukamoto, and John Woo - Trailer - New English subtitle translation - PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami