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Licensor Information
Toho Co.
Directed by: Kaneto Shindo
Director Kaneto Shindo’s documentary-like, dialogue-free portrayal of daily struggle is a work of stunning visual beauty and invention. The international breakthrough for one of Japan’s most innovative filmmakers—who went on to make such other marvelous movies as Onibaba and Kuroneko—The Naked Island follows a family whose home is on a tiny, remote island off the coast of Japan. They must row a great distance to another shore, collect water from a well in buckets, and row back to their island—a nearly backbreaking task essential for the survival of these people and their land. Featuring a phenomenal modernist score by Hikaru Hayashi, this is a truly hypnotic experience, with a rhythm unlike that of any other film.
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Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Disc:
DVD-9 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
1 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Audio Options:
Japanese Dolby Digital Mono 1.0
Resolution:
480p/29.97
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Introduction, Audio Commentary, Interview, Theatrical Trailer, Insert
- Video introduction by director Kaneto Shindo, recorded for a 2011 retrospective of his work
- Audio commentary recorded in 2000, featuring Kaneto Shindo and composer Hikaru Hayashi
- New appreciation of the film by actor Benicio Del Toro
- New interview with film scholar Akira Mizuta Lippit
- Trailer
- An essay by film scholar Haden Guest
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Release Notes on Restoration
The Naked Island
The Naked Island is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are normal for this format. This new high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from a new 35mm print struck from the original camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, and splices were removed using the MTI Film’s DRS, while Digital Vision’s Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, flicker, and jitter.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack positive. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube’s integrated workstation, and iZotope RX 4.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack positive. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, AudioCube’s integrated workstation, and iZotope RX 4.