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Licensor Information
Toho Co.
Directed by: Kaneto Shindo
Filmed on the virtually deserted Setonaikai archipelago in south-west Japan, THE NAKED ISLAND was made - in the word of its director - "as a 'cinematic poem' to try and capture the life of human beings struggling like ants against the forces of nature."
THE NAKED ISLAND tells the story of a small family unit and their subsistence as the only inhabitants of an arid, sunbaked island. Daily chores, captured as a series of cyclical events, result in a hypnotising, moving, and beautiful film harkening back to the silent era.
Onibaba director Kaneto Shindo, who had worked with both Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa, shot to international fame with Children of Hiroshima (1952). Eight years later, the BAFTA-nominated THE NAKED ISLAND won the Grand Prix at Moscow International Film Festival (where Luchino Visconti was a jury member). It is now considered to be one of Shindo's major works, and its success saved his film company from bankruptcy. The Masters of Cinema Series is honoured to be able to present this majestic film on home video for the first time in the UK.
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Technical Specifications
Format:
DVD
Disc:
DVD-9 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
2 (DVD)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Audio Options:
Japanese Dolby Digital Mono 2.0
Resolution:
576p/25
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Audio Commentary, Introduction, Gallery, Booklet
- Full-length audio commentary by director Kaneto Shindo and composer Hikaru Hayashi
- Video introduction by Alex Cox
- Extensive production stills gallery
- 28-page booklet with a new essay by Acquarello, and a reprint of Joan Mellen's interview with Shindo from Voices from the Japanese Cinema
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