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Release: February 20, 2018

$7.99

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A uniquely prolific and chameleonic figure of world cinema, Kon Ichikawa delivered a burst of stylistic bravado with this intricate tale of betrayal and retribution. Set in the cloistered world of nineteenth-century kabuki theater, the film charts a female impersonator s attempts to avenge the deaths of his parents, who were driven to insanity and suicide by a trio of corrupt men. Ichikawa takes the conventions of melodrama and turns them on their head, bringing the hero s fractured psyche to life in boldly experimental widescreen compositions infused with kaleidoscopic color, pop-art influences, and meticulous choreography. Anchored by a magnificently androgynous performance by Kazuo Hasegawa, reprising a role he had played on-screen three decades earlier, An Actor's Revenge is an eye-popping examination of how the illusions of art intersect with life. BLU-RAY EDITION FEATURES - New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack - Rare 1999 Directors Guild of Japan interview with director Kon Ichikawa, conducted by critic and filmmaker Yuki Mori - New interview with critic, filmmaker, and festival programmer Tony Rayns - New English subtitle translation - PLUS: An essay by critic Michael Sragow

$7.99

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War/Drama

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War/Drama

Release: August 5, 2025

$6.99

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An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Philippine landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give in to the most terrifying craving of all. Grisly yet poetic, Fires on the Plain is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers. 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 Introduction by Japanese-film scholar Donald Richie Program featuring interviews with director Kon Ichikawa and actor Mickey Curtis New English subtitle translation PLUS: An essay by critic Chuck Stephens

Release: August 5, 2025

$7.99

Description

An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Philippine landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give in to the most terrifying craving of all. Grisly yet poetic, Fires on the Plain is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers. 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 Introduction by Japanese-film scholar Donald Richie Program featuring interviews with director Kon Ichikawa and actor Mickey Curtis New English subtitle translation PLUS: An essay by critic Chuck Stephens

Release: June 14, 2011

$6.99

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This lyrical adaptation of the beloved Japanese novel by Junichiro Tanizaki was a late-career triumph for world-class director Kon Ichikawa (The Burmese Harp, Fires on the Plain). Revolving around the changing of the seasons, The Makioka Sisters (Sasame-yuki) follows the lives of four sisters who have taken on their family’s kimono manufacturing business, over the course of a number of years leading up to the Pacific War. The two oldest have been married for some time, but according to tradition, the rebellious youngest sister cannot wed until the third, conservative and terribly shy, finds a husband.

Release: August 18, 2026

$7.99

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A television executive's nine mistresses conspire with his wife to have him killed. A television executive's nine mistresses conspire with his wife to have him killed. When Miwako, one of the mistresses, tells him of the plot, he decides to fake his own death in front of them all. The women panic and deny that they were ever serious about the murder, while Miwako even takes her own life in remorse. But when they find out the man is still alive, they put their original plan back into action. Given complete creative freedom, Kon Ichikawa made this dark satire that is one of the undiscovered gems of Japan's cinematic Golden Age. Featuring a stunning cast of Daiei studio divas and striking monochrome photography by Setsuo Kobayashi (Blind Beast), this is a merciless dissection of social relations and gender roles in affluent post-war Japan, scripted by Natto Wada. Bonus Materials 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures Original uncompressed mono audio The Kon Ichikawa Story: a feature-length documentary directed by Shunji Iwai, featuring Ichikawa and his wife and screenwriter, Natto Wada Trailer New and improved English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original posters Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Yuka Kimbara Cast & Crew Actors: Fujiko Yamamoto Mariko Miyagi Tamao Nakamura Director: Kon Ichikawa Ten Women In Black Ten Women In Black About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews

Release: June 23, 2020

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A spectacle of magnificent proportions and remarkable intimacy, Kon Ichikawa’s Tokyo Olympiad remains one of the greatest films ever made about sports. Supervising a team of hundreds of technicians using more than a thousand cameras, Ichikawa captured the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo in glorious widescreen images, using cutting-edge telephoto lenses and exquisite slow motion to create lyrical, idiosyncratic poetry from the athletic drama surging all around him. Drawn equally to the psychology of losers and winners—including legendary Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila, who receives the film’s most exalted tribute—Ichikawa captures the triumph, passion, and suffering of competition with a singular humanistic vision, and in doing so effects a transformative influence on the art of documentary filmmaking. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • Audio commentary from 2001 by film historian Peter Cowie • New introduction to the film by Cowie • Eighty minutes of additional material from the Tokyo Games, with a new introduction by Cowie • Archival interviews with director Kon Ichikawa • New documentary about Ichikawa featuring interviews with cameraman Masuo Yamaguchi, longtime Ichikawa collaborator Chizuko Osaka, and the director’s son Tatsumi Ichikawa • Trailers • New English subtitle translation • PLUS: An essay by film scholar James Quandt

Release: June 22, 2021

$7.99

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In Munich in 1972, eight renowned filmmakers each brought their singular artistry to the spectacle of the Olympic Games—the joy and pain of competition, the kinetic thrill of bodies in motion—for an aesthetically adventurous sports film unlike any other. Made to document the Olympic Summer Games—an event that was ultimately overshadowed by the tragedy of a terrorist attack—Visions of Eight features contributions from Miloš Forman, Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch, Juri Ozerov, Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar, John Schlesinger, and Mai Zetterling, each given carte blanche to create a short focusing on any aspect of the Games that captured his or her imagination. The resulting films—ranging from the arresting abstraction of Penn’s pure cinema study of pole-vaulters to the playful irreverence of Forman’s musical take on the decathlon to Schlesinger’s haunting portrait of the single-minded solitude of a marathon runner—are triumphs of personal, poetic vision applied to one of the pinnacles of human achievement. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack • New audio commentary by podcasters Amanda Dobbins, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan of the website the Ringer • New documentary featuring director Claude Lelouch; supervising editor Robert K. Lambert; Ousmane Sembène biographer Samba Gadjigo; Munich Olympic Games historian David Clay Large; producer David L. Wolper’s son, Mark Wolper; and director Arthur Penn’s son Matthew Penn, which also includes behind-the-scenes footage from the film and material from Sembène’s uncompleted short film • On Location with “Visions of Eight,” a short promotional film • Trailer • New English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • PLUS: A 1973 article by author George Plimpton, excerpts from David L. Wolper’s 2003 memoir, and a new reflection on the film by novelist Sam Lipsyte Top About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews Visions of Eight (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]