811 The Naked Island

Discuss releases by Criterion and the films on them. Threads may contain spoilers!
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

811 The Naked Island

#1 Post by swo17 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 6:18 pm

The Naked Island

Image Image

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 KuronekoThe 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.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New, high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Video introduction by director Kaneto Shindo, recorded for a 2011 retrospective of his work
• Audio commentary recorded in 2000, featuring Shindo and composer Hikaru Hayashi
• New appreciation of the film by actor Benicio Del Toro
• New interview with film scholar Akira Mizuta Lippit
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by film scholar Haden Guest

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#2 Post by domino harvey » Tue Feb 16, 2016 6:28 pm

Any idea what Benicio Del Toro's relationship to the film is?

User avatar
The Narrator Returns
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 6:35 pm

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#3 Post by The Narrator Returns » Tue Feb 16, 2016 6:30 pm

I dunno, but I hope he does the interview in-character as Sauncho Smilax.

User avatar
PfR73
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:07 pm

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#4 Post by PfR73 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 6:51 pm

Google search indicates it's one of his favorite films, and he's either programmed it/introduced it/interviewed Shindo several times for various screenings.

User avatar
CSM126
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:22 am
Location: The Room
Contact:

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#5 Post by CSM126 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 7:53 pm

I'm guessing they just knew he liked the movie and had the chance to get some of his time. Sort of like Paul Giamatti's seemingly random appearance in the extras on The Naked Prey.

beamish13
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:31 am

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#6 Post by beamish13 » Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:21 pm

PfR73 wrote:Google search indicates it's one of his favorite films, and he's either programmed it/introduced it/interviewed Shindo several times for various screenings.
Correct. He selected it to screen at L.A.'s Cinefamily a few years ago and I believe he even payed for a new 35mm print or chipped in towards its restoration.

britcom68

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#7 Post by britcom68 » Wed Feb 17, 2016 7:58 am

Does anyone else know why Lucie Carra's The Inland Sea Voyager-era documentary from the Donald Richie book was not included with Naked Island release? Is it really likely that "Inland" would get its own spine?

User avatar
DeprongMori
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
Location: San Francisco

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#8 Post by DeprongMori » Wed Feb 17, 2016 3:37 pm

I'm very surprised by the lack of The Inland Sea as a supplement. Lucille Carra has had a phantom page for quite a while (https://www.criterion.com/people/122756-lucille-carra" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). As the doc is only an hour long, I'd be surprised if it gets its own spine. Is there anything else notable it can be paired with for a coherent release?

chucktatum
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 4:56 pm

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#9 Post by chucktatum » Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:00 am


User avatar
Manny Karp
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2016 5:22 am

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#10 Post by Manny Karp » Thu Apr 14, 2016 3:45 pm

DeprongMori wrote:I'm very surprised by the lack of The Inland Sea as a supplement. Lucille Carra has had a phantom page for quite a while (https://www.criterion.com/people/122756-lucille-carra" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). As the doc is only an hour long, I'd be surprised if it gets its own spine. Is there anything else notable it can be paired with for a coherent release?
Man, this is a hard film to find. I cannot locate it despite checking all the usual above- and underground channels. Ridiculous.

User avatar
Ashirg
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:10 am
Location: Atlanta

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#11 Post by Ashirg » Fri Apr 15, 2016 5:01 pm


User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#12 Post by domino harvey » Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:50 pm

I like the idea of bringing in a celeb to champion one of their favorite films, but Del Toro comes off as a pretty surface level viewer and his insights are slim here, though I did enjoy hearing him say the word "funky"

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#13 Post by knives » Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:28 am

I mostly liked it as the Man of Aran sort of film it is, but man is that score awful, repetitious, and just overused. It is almost as if Shindo was terrified to allow silence in his film. The score only seems to cut off when he wants to announce something noisy which pretty consistently undermines the moment like the drop and resulting violence about a third of the way through the movie. What a silly way to hurt your movie.

User avatar
Kat
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2016 8:53 am

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#14 Post by Kat » Thu Jan 12, 2017 9:39 am

I loved the score - I thought the repetition was entirely in keeping with the theme of repetitious labour. I can see how it could be seen as sentimental, but not overly so for me, properly so as the theme of these people, of their lives, some sentiment but simple beauty, but not dwelling on itself as beauty. A poetic rhythm of life.

I found the drop and violence hard to take, didn't notice effect of music on that, but yes, hard in this day and for me, but maybe true and if the music is interrupted or affected by that, would ave to check now, then rightly so.

But won't say more here, have to admit it was the MoC blu ray I saw. No easter egg, as far as I can see, but will go there to say anymore than that. I have Onibaba to watch. Know nothing of his other films (other than Kuroneko).

User avatar
swo17
Bloodthirsty Butcher
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:25 am
Location: SLC, UT

Re: 811 The Naked Island

#15 Post by swo17 » Thu Jan 12, 2017 11:33 am

I'm also a fan of the score.

Post Reply