"Actor: Sachiko Hidari"

• Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters | Blu Ray | (11/06/2018) from £32.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Paul Schrader's dazzlingly unconventional biopic, with a celebrated score by Philip Glass. In this visually stunning, collagelike portrait of the acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Vengeance Is Mine's KEN OGATA), PAUL SCHRADER (American Gigolo) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted the impossible task of finding harmony among self, art, and society. Taking place on Mishima's last day, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer's life as well as by gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by JOHN BAILEY, exquisite sets and costumes by EIKO ISHIOKA, and unforgettable, highly influential score by PHILIP GLASS, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right. Features: DIRECTORAPPROVED BLURAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New, restored 4K digital transfer of the director's cut, supervised and approved by director Paul Schrader and cinematographer John Bailey, with 2.0 surround DTSHD Master Audio soundtrack Two optional English narrations, including one by actor Roy Scheider Audio commentary from 2008 featuring Schrader and producer Alan Poul Interviews from 2007 and 2008 with Bailey, producers Tom Luddy and Mata Yamamoto, composer Philip Glass, and production designer Eiko Ishioka Interviews from 2008 with Mishima biographer John Nathan and friend Donald Richie Audio interview from 2008 with coscreenwriter Chieko Schrader Interview excerpt from 1966 featuring Mishima talking about writing The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima, a 55minute documentary from 1985 about the author Trailer PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Kevin Jackson, a piece on the film's censorship in Japan, and photographs of Ishioka's sets

• BAKUMATSU TAIYÔ-DEN (Masters of Cinema) (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (22/04/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Voted one of the top five Japanese films ever made in a critic's poll by Japan's leading cinema publication Kinema Junp, yet barely known in the West, Yz Kawashima's richly funny multi-levelled portrait of Japanese society Bakumatsu taiy-den [A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era] is a glorious rediscovery. When man-about-town Saheiji (the beloved comedian Frankie Sakai) finds himself unable to pay for a bill at a brothel, he is forced to remain there to work off his debt. However he finds his wit and resourcefulness enable him to turn this situation to his advantage, as he interacts with a whole range of characters, from rivalling courtesans to political activists. Co-scripted by Shhei Imamura (Vengeance Is Mine), it sharply and comically demonstrates the constants of human nature just as it delineates the tumultuous political times (the 1860s, leading up to the Meiji Restoration) in which they lived. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this classic in a new high-definition restoration. Special Features: Gorgeous new Nikkatsu restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio, presented in 1080p HD on the Blu-ray New and improved English subtitles A booklet including Shhei Imamura's tribute to Yuzo Kawashima, and more

• The Insect Woman/ Nishi-Ginza Station - Dual Format (Blu-ray+DVD) | Blu Ray | (20/02/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  My heroines are true to life - just look around you at Japanese women. They are strong, and they outlive men, director Shhei Imamura once observed. And so an audacious, anthropological approach to filmmaking came into full maturity with the director's vast 1963 chronicle of pre- and post-war Japan, The Insect Woman (Nippon-konchki, or An Account of Japanese Insects).Comparing his heroine, Tome Matsuki (played by Sachiko Hidari, who won the Best Actress award at the 1964 Berlin Film Festival for the role) to the restlessness and survival instincts of worker insects, the film is an unsparing study of working-class female life. Beginning with Tome's birth in 1918, it follows her through five decades of social change, several improvised careers, and male-inflicted cruelty.Elliptically plotted, brimming over with black humour and taboo material, and immaculately staged in crystalline NikkatsuScope, The Insect Woman is arguably Imamura's most radical and emphatic testament to female resilience.

• BAKUMATSU TAIYÔ-DEN (Masters of Cinema) (DVD) | DVD | (22/04/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Voted one of the top five Japanese films ever made in a critic's poll by Japan's leading cinema publication Kinema Junp, yet barely known in the West, Yz Kawashima's richly funny multi-levelled portrait of Japanese society Bakumatsu taiy-den [A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era] is a glorious rediscovery. When man-about-town Saheiji (the beloved comedian Frankie Sakai) finds himself unable to pay for a bill at a brothel, he is forced to remain there to work off his debt. However he finds his wit and resourcefulness enable him to turn this situation to his advantage, as he interacts with a whole range of characters, from rivalling courtesans to political activists. Co-scripted by Shhei Imamura (Vengeance Is Mine), it sharply and comically demonstrates the constants of human nature just as it delineates the tumultuous political times (the 1860s, leading up to the Meiji Restoration) in which they lived. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this classic in a new high-definition restoration. Special Features: Gorgeous new Nikkatsu restoration of the film in its original aspect ratio New and improved English subtitles A booklet including Shhei Imamura's tribute to Yuzo Kawashima, and more