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.
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Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Audio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen Prince
- Feature-length documentary from 1990 shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi
- Interview with assistant director Takashi Koizumi
- Interview with production manager Teruyo Nogami
- Documentary 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 others
- Trailer
- A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami
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Restoration Information
Release Notes on Restoration
The 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35 mm magnetic track. Please be sure to enable Dolby Pro Logic decoding on your receiver to properly play the Dolby 2.0 surround soundtrack
On the 4K Ultra HD disc, the feature is presented in HDR (high dynamic range). On the Blu-ray it is presented in high-definition SDR (standard dynamic range).