Another slow year for Japanese film but there were some great highlights.
Read MoreCriterion Collection
Blu-Review: Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Criterion gives this late masterpiece a superb edition with over four hours of special features including a behind the scenes film by Nobuhiko Obayashi.
Read MoreBlu-Review: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1939) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Criterion bring the new restoration of Mizoguchi's masterpiece to the US in the form of this barely non-bare-bones presentation.
Read MoreBlu-Review: Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Criterion brings this Sisyphean classic to high definition along with accompanying short films and essays.
Read MoreBlu-Review: Burroughs: The Movie (Howard Brookner, 1983) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
The best documentary on William S. Burroughs arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
Read MoreBlu-Review: Jellyfish Eyes (Takashi Murakami, 2013) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Instead of bringing more Naruse to the West, Criterion gives us what we really need despite not wanting ever.
Read MoreBlu-Review: Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Another welcome high-definition upgrade to an essential Kurosawa film.
Read MoreBlu-Review: Kwaidan (Masaki Kobayashi, 1964) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Produced by the Ninjin Club, a production group established by the three actresses Keiko Kishi (who appears in the film as the Yuki-onna), Yoshiko Kuga, and Ineko Arima, Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan was a major undertaking. At three hours in length, Kobayashi presents four kaidan, strange period tales involving ghosts.
Read MoreBlu-Review: The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979) - Criterion Collection
in Blu-ray/DVD
Criterion tackles Cronenberg's pre-Scanners film and have us hungering for more Oliver Reed.
Read MoreFilm Review: Kaisha Monogatari: Memories of You (Jun Ichikawa, 1988)
in Film Reviews
Once Kaisha Monogatari: Memories of You, Jun Ichikawa's 2nd feature, is over, a feeling consumed me. This feeling is the same one felt after watching Tony Takitani (2005) for the first time: wanting to see more films from Ichikawa. Unfortunately for English speaking audiences there seems to be few releases abroad that can satisfy. Apart from a few Hong Kong DVDs and some from Japan, the man's work has very few chances of reaching an audience.
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