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Product Description A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife. Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio's signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colours, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai. LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES: High-Definition digital transfer Uncompressed mono PCM audio Visual essay on the artistic upheavals at Shochiku studios during the 1960s by Tom Mes Trailer New and improved English subtitle translation Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Chuck Stephens Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings Review ★★★★★ A lyrical, nearly Wong Kar-wai-like counterpart to ardent work by Oshima or Imamura. --Film Comment The camera angles and movements, the color scheme and editing all work brilliantly to illustrate her constant sacrifice and lead us to emotionally internalize the gaudy city as a dazzling parade that always leads her back to her situation. --Nick James, Sight & Sound Top About this item Similar From the Brand Reviews The Shape Of Night [Blu-ray]

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This first film by the legendary Hideo Gosha (Sword of the Beast) is among the most canonized chambara (sword-fighting) films. An origin-story offshoot of a Japanese television series phenomenon of the same name, Three Outlaw Samurai is a classic in its own right. In it, a wandering, seen-it-all ronin (Tetsuro Tamba) becomes entangled in the dangerous business of two other samurai (Isamu Nagato and Mikijiro Hira), hired to execute a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of a corrupt magistrate. With remarkable storytelling economy and thrilling action scenes, this is an expertly mounted tale of revenge and loyalty.