Nakadai, Tatsuya

High and Low - Criterion Collection

Ran - Criterion Collection

As critic Roger Ebert observed in his original review of Ran, this epic tragedy might have been attempted by a younger director, but only the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who made the film at age 75, could bring the requisite experience and maturity to this stunning interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's a film for the ages--one of the few genuine screen masterpieces--and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director's career. In this version of the Shakespeare tragedy, the king is a 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora) who decides to retire and divide his kingdom evenly among his three sons. When one son defiantly objects out of loyalty to his father and warns of inevitable sibling rivalry, he is banished and the kingdom is awarded to his compliant siblings. The loyal son's fears are valid: a duplicitous power struggle ensues and the aging warlord witnesses a maelstrom of horrifying death and destruction. Although the film is slow to establish its story, it's clear that Kurosawa, who planned and painstakingly designed the production for 10 years before filming began, was charting a meticulous and tightly formalized dramatic strategy. As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (the title is the Japanese character for "chaos" or "rebellion") reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequences on film. --Jeff Shannon

Yojimbo & Sanjuro - Two Films By Akira Kurosawa - Criterion Collection

Thanks to perhaps the most indelible character in Akira Kurosawa's oeuvre Yojimbo surpassed even Seven Samurai in popularity when it was released. The masterless samurai Sanjuro who slyly manipulates two warring clans to his own advantage in a small dusty village was so entertainingly embodied by the brilliant Toshiro Mifune that it was only a matter of time before he returned in a sequel. Made just one year later Sanjuro matches Yojimbo?s storytelling dexterity yet adds a layer of world-weary pragmatism that brings the duo to a thrilling and unforgettable conclusion. Criterion is proud to present this pair of Kurosawa masterworks in new high-definition anamorphic digital transfers.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/LATIN Rating: NR UPC: 715515021524 Manufacturer No: CC1669DDVD

After Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo was released in 1961, the samurai film would never be the same. It's difficult for latter-day Western audiences to fully appreciate just how revolutionary Kurosawa's film was in its time; it had the same kind of popular impact that Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction had 33 years later, which is to say, it completely revolutionized its genre, and its influence continues to this day. With an emphasis on dark, delicious comedy, Kurosawa deliberately set out to overturn the conventions of chambara--or swordplay film--and he began by casting the great Toshiro Mifune in the role that would define his career. Unlike the samurai of previous films (including Kurosawa's own masterpiece, Seven Samurai), Sanjuro was an unkempt, down-and-out drifter, a masterless ronin and with time on his hands and nowhere to go. When he chances upon a corrupt, terror-stricken village where clashing merchants are engaged in a ruthless range war, Sanjuro amuses himself by playing both ends against the middle, offering his services as yojimbo (bodyguard) to both sides, then standing back to watch all hell break loose. It's a perfect game of wily deception, hugely popular with Japanese moviegoers as Mifune's performance gained iconic status. Yojimbo's international success was no less impressive; it eventually inspired two noteworthy remakes (Sergio Leone's spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars in 1964, and Walter Hill's mobster interpretation, Last Man Standing, in 1996), and remains one of Kurosawa's most popular classics.

A sequel was inevitable, and Kurosawa responded to public demand as only a true artist would, with the equally impressive Sanjuro, quite different from Yojimbo while allowing Mifune to reprise his signature role with a lighter comedic touch. This time, Sanjuro is recruited by a group of young, idealistic samurai to eliminate corruption in their clan, and in the process he completely subverts their overly reverent notions of "proper" samurai behavior. And while both Yojimbo and Sanjuro were milestones in movie violence (featuring the spurting geysers of arterial blood that would become a staple of chambara from this point forward), the calmer, more comically subdued Sanjuro actually boasts a higher body count, and both films rank among the finest examples of Kurosawa's peerless mastery of action.

The Criterion Collection's double-disc set is a must-have for any serious cinephile. Both films (also available separately) are presented with all-new, fully restored high-definition digital transfers, representing (as in the case of Seven Samurai) a significant improvement over Criterion's previous DVD releases. Both films feature full-length commentaries by Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince (with eloquent emphasis on camera movement and composition) in addition to retrospective documentaries culled from the priceless Japanese Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create, featuring illuminating interviews with many of Kurosawa's closest collaborators. Theatrical trailers and behind-the-scenes photo galleries are also included, along with new-and-improved subtitles, insightful booklet essays by critics Michael Sragow and Alexander Sesonske, and rarely seen production notes by Kurosawa and members of his casts & crew. With this two-disc reissue, Criterion's previous releases of Yojimbo and Sanjuro should now be considered officially obsolete. --Jeff Shannon

Kagemusha - Criterion Collection

The 1970s were difficult years for the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Following the box-office failure of his 1970 film Dodes'ka-den and an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Kurosawa was unable to find financial backing in Japan, and he made his acclaimed 1975 film Dersu Uzala in Siberia with Russian financing. With only partial Japanese backing for his epic project Kagemusha, the 70-year-old master then found American support from George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, who served as coexecutive producers (through 20th Century Fox) for this magnificent 1980 production--to that date the most expensive film in Japanese history. Set in the late 16th century, Kagemusha centers on the Takeda clan, one of three warlord clans battling for control of Japan at the end of the feudal period. When Lord Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai), head of the Takeda clan, is mortally wounded in battle and near death, he orders that his death be kept secret and that his "kagemusha"--or "shadow warrior"--take his place for a period of three years to prevent clan disruption and enemy takeover. The identical double is a petty thief (also played by Nakadai) spared from execution due to his uncanny resemblance to Lord Shingen--but his true identity cannot prevent the tides of fate from rising over the Takeda clan in a climactic scene of battlefield devastation. Through stunning visuals and meticulous attention to every physical and stylistic detail, Kurosawa made a film that restored his status as Japan's greatest filmmaker, and the success of Kagemusha enabled the director to make his 1985 masterpiece, Ran. --Jeff Shannon

In his late color masterpiece Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) director Akira Kurosawa returned to the samurai film and to a primary theme of his celebrated career—the play between illusion and reality. Sumptuously reconstructing the splendor of feudal Japan and pageantry of war, Kurosawa creates a soaring historical epic that is also a somber meditation on the nature of power. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Kagemusha for the first time in its full-length version.

Kwaidan - Criterion Collection

A masterpiece of filmmaking artifice and mood-setting atmosphere, Kwaidan consists of four ghost stories adapted from the fiction of Greek-born Lafcadio Hearn (a.k.a. Yakumo Koizumi, 1850-1904), who assimilated into Japanese culture so thoroughly that his writings reveal no evidence of Western influence. So it is that these four cinematic interpretations--perhaps more accurately described as tales of spectral visitation--are sublimely Japanese in tone and texture, created entirely in a studio with frequently stunning results. There are painterly images here that remain the most beautiful and haunting in all of Japanese cinema, presented with the purity of silent film, sparsely accompanied by post-synchronized sounds and music (by Toru Takemitsu) that enhance the otherworldly effect of director Masaki Kobayashi's meticulous imagery. When viewed in a receptive frame of mind, Kwaidan can be intensely hypnotic.

Each of the four stories find their protagonists confronted by spirits that compel them to (respectively) make amends for past mistakes, maintain vows of silence, satisfy the yearnings of the undead, or capture phantoms that remain frightfully elusive. As each tale progresses, their supernatural elements grow increasingly intense and distant from the confines of reality. With careful use of glorious color and wide-screen composition, Kwaidan exists in a netherworld that is both real and imagined, its characters never quite sure they can trust what they've seen and heard. Vastly different from the more overt shocks of Western horror, the film casts a supernatural spell that remains timelessly effective. --Jeff Shannon

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, Kwaidan features four nightmarish tales in which terror thrives and demons lurk. Adapted from traditional Japanese ghost stories, this lavish, widescreen production drew extensively on Kobayashi's own training as a student of painting and fine arts. Criterion is proud to present Kwaidan in a new ravishing color transfer.

Battle of Okinawa

Beverly Hills hasn't been the same since the Clampetts moved to town! Now you can own 20 classic episodes of this hit show which remained in the top ten for nine straight seasons. These hilarious hillbillies will keep you laughing hours with their backwoods antics. And you thought your family was crazy!System Requirements:Running Time: 149 Mins. Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 737187011504 Manufacturer No: ANM-DV1150

The Sword of Doom - Criterion Collection

Boasting some of the most impressive swordplay in the history of samurai epics, Sword of Doom is a visceral masterpiece of violent style and powerful substance. Illustrating the timeless adage that "an evil soul wields an evil sword," this highly stylized classic is driven by the fierce and fearsome performance of Tatsuya Nakadai as Ryunosuke, a sociopathic samurai whose soul--and sword--are vicious instruments of evil. Having mastered a highly unconventional style of fencing, Ryunosuke welcomes an exhibition match at a fencing school run by master swordsman Shimada (Toshirô Mifune, in a small but pivotal role), where he kills his opponent after promising not to. Flagrantly violating all codes of honor, Ryunosuke eventually finds himself challenged from all sides; even his own henchmen rally against him, and director Kihachi Okamoto stages confrontations that are as beautiful as they are graphically violent. As Ryunosuke descends into pure, bloodthirsty insanity, Sword of Doom ends with a freeze-frame that's unforgettably intense. --Jeff Shannon

Wandering samurai Ryunosuke lives his life in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman—plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule—he kills without remorse, without mercy.

Harakiri - Criterion Collection

Dramatically compelling and emotionally intense, Harakiri is a certified classic of Japanese film, and a riveting study of samurai codes of honor. Unlike Kurosawa's rousing samurai epics, this is an uncompromisingly tragic tale, exposing the hypocrisy of 17th-century Japanese society with its story of a family destroyed by the cruelty of feudalism toward warriors in peacetime. The film is truly Shakespearean in its emotional scope, embodied by the unforgettable performance of Tatsuya Nakadai (star of Kurosawa's Ran) as an elder warrior seeking revenge for the unnecessary seppuku (ritual suicide) of his beloved son-in-law. Director Masaki Kobayashi begins at story's end, then recounts the narrative (adapted from a novel by Yasuhiko Takiguchi) as told by Nakadai's character. The effect is almost unbearably suspenseful, leading to an explosive climax of supreme defiance and samurai swordplay, erupting from a battle of wills, called bluffs, and hotly defended honor. For connoisseurs of samurai action, Harakiri is not to be missed. --Jeff Shannon

Following the collapse of his clan, unemployed samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to commit ritual suicide on his property. Iyi's clans men, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for charity, try to force him to eviscerate himself - but they have underestimated his honor and his past. Winner of the 1963 Cannes Film Festival's Special Jury Prize, Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri is a scathing denouncement of feudal authority and hypocrisy.

Ran (Masterworks Edition)

As critic Roger Ebert observed in his original review of Ran, this epic tragedy might have been attempted by a younger director, but only the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who made the film at age 75, could bring the requisite experience and maturity to this stunning interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's a film for the ages--one of the few genuine screen masterpieces--and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director's career. In this version of the Shakespeare tragedy, the king is a 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora) who decides to retire and divide his kingdom evenly among his three sons. When one son defiantly objects out of loyalty to his father and warns of inevitable sibling rivalry, he is banished and the kingdom is awarded to his compliant siblings. The loyal son's fears are valid: a duplicitous power struggle ensues and the aging warlord witnesses a maelstrom of horrifying death and destruction. Although the film is slow to establish its story, it's clear that Kurosawa, who planned and painstakingly designed the production for 10 years before filming began, was charting a meticulous and tightly formalized dramatic strategy. As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (the title is the Japanese character for "chaos" or "rebellion") reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequences on film. --Jeff Shannon

Samurai Rebellion - Criterion Collection

Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord's mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family's surprise, the young couple fall in love.