"Actor: Rentaro Mikuni"

• Kwaidan (Masters of Cinema) Standard Edition Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (14/09/2020) from £14.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, Kwaidan features four nightmarish tales adapted from Lafcadio Hearn's classic Japanese ghost stories about mortals caught up in forces beyond their comprehension when the supernatural world intervenes in their lives: The Black Hair, The Woman of the Snow, Hoichi the Earless, and In a Cup of Tea. Breathtakingly photographed entirely on hand-painted sets, the film is an abstract wash of luminescent colours from another world. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the complete 183-minute original Japanese cut of Masaki Kobayashi's masterpiece on Blu-ray. Special Features: 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from Criterion's 2K digital restoration of Kobayashi's original director's cut Original monaural Japanese soundtrack Optional English subtitles Kim Newman on Kwaidan a new interview with the film critic and writer Shadowings [35 mins] a new video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson Original trailers PLUS: A collector's booklet featuring reprints of Lafcadio Hearn's original ghost stories; a survey of the life and career of Masaki Kobayashi by Linda Hoaglund ; and a wide ranging interview with the filmmaker, the last he'd ever give

• The Burmese Harp | Unknown | (15/09/2025) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Burmese Harp An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close of World War II and finds harmony through song. A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa's The Burmese Harp is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema's most overwhelming antiwar sentiments, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan's wartime legacy. Japan 1956 116 minutes Black & White 1.37:1 Japanese, Burmese Spine #379 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: ¢ New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack ¢ One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features ¢ Interviews with director Kon Ichikawa and actor Rentaro Mikuni ¢ Trailer ¢ New English subtitle translation ¢ PLUS: An essay by critic and historian Tony Rayns

• Kwaidan | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan features four nightmarish tales adapted from Lafcadio Hearn's classic Japanese ghost stories. This lavish 'scope production drew extensively on Kobayashi's own training as a student of painting and fine arts. For the first time in the West The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the complete 183-minute original Japanese cut. Its poetic expression is said to be unmatched in all of Japanese cinema;

• Kwaidan (Masters of Cinema) Limited Edition Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (27/04/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, Kwaidan features four nightmarish tales adapted from Lafcadio Hearn's classic Japanese ghost stories about mortals caught up in forces beyond their comprehension when the supernatural world intervenes in their lives: The Black Hair, The Woman of the Snow, Hoichi the Earless, and In a Cup of Tea. Breathtakingly photographed entirely on hand-painted sets, the film is an abstract wash of luminescent colours from another world. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the complete 183-minute original Japanese cut of Masaki Kobayashi's masterpiece on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK. SPECIAL FEATURES Hardbound Slipcase 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from Criterion's 2K digital restoration of Kobayashi's original director's cut Original monaural Japanese soundtrack Optional English subtitles Kim Newman on Kwaidan a new interview with the film critic and writer Shadowings [35 mins] a new video essay by David Cairns and Fiona Watson Original trailers PLUS 100-PAGE Perfect Bound Illustrated Collector's book featuring reprints of Lafcadio Hearn's original ghost stories; a survey of the life and career of Masaki Kobayashi by Linda Hoaglund; and a wide ranging interview with the film maker the last he'd ever give

• Profound Desires of the Gods - Dual Format (Blu-ray+DVD) | Blu Ray | (24/10/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The culmination of Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades.Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island, the film centres on the disgraced, superstitious, interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways.A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce, Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses.

• The Burmese Harps | Blu Ray | (30/08/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  A rhapsodic celebration of song a brutal condemnation of wartime mentality and a lyrical statement of hope within darkness; even amongst the riches of 1950s' Japanese cinema The Burmese Harp directed by Kon Ichikawa (Alone Across the Pacific Tokyo Olympiad) stands as one of the finest achievements of its era. At the close of World War II a Japanese army regiment in Burma surrenders to the British. Private Mizushima is sent on a lone mission to persuade a trapped Japanese battalion to surrender also. When the outcome is a failure he disguises himself in the robes of a Buddhist monk in hope of temporary anonymity as he journeys across the landscape - but he underestimates the power of his assumed role. A visually extraordinary and deeply moving vision of horror necessity and redemption in the aftermath of war Ichikawa's breakthrough film is one of the great humanitarian affirmations of the cinema. Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar and honoured at the Venice Film Festival The Burmese Harp is one of cinema's great anti-war classics alongside La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir) Grave Of The Fireflies (Isao Takahata/Studio Ghibli) Paths Of Glory (Stanley Kubrick) All Quiet On The Western Front (Lewis Milestone) and The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin) The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present The Burmese Harp.

• Burmese Harp, the | DVD | (21/02/2011) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A rhapsodic celebration of song a brutal condemnation of wartime mentality and a lyrical statement of hope within darkness; even amongst the riches of 1950s' Japanese cinema The Burmese Harp directed by Kon Ichikawa (Alone Across the Pacific Tokyo Olympiad) stands as one of the finest achievements of its era. At the close of World War II a Japanese army regiment in Burma surrenders to the British. Private Mizushima is sent on a lone mission to persuade a trapped Japanese battalion to surrender also. When the outcome is a failure he disguises himself in the robes of a Buddhist monk in hope of temporary anonymity as he journeys across the landscape - but he underestimates the power of his assumed role. A visually extraordinary and deeply moving vision of horror necessity and redemption in the aftermath of war Ichikawa's breakthrough film is one of the great humanitarian affirmations of the cinema.

• Kiju Yoshida: Love + Anarchism (3-Disc Special Edition) | Blu Ray | (06/07/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Profound Desires of the Gods | Blu Ray | (21/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The culmination of Shohei Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades. Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island the film centres on the disgraced superstitious interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways. A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses.

• Profound Desires of the Gods | DVD | (21/02/2011) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The culmination of Shohei Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades. Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island the film centres on the disgraced superstitious interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways. A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses. From the director of Vengeance is Mine and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present this unforgettable work for the first time in the UK on DVD in an exclusively restored high-definition transfer released on 21 February 2011.