Post Description

HADAKA NO SHIMA (1960) 

AKAs:
Naked Island (International: English title) (literal title)



Masters of Cinema Collection # 12

DVD Release Date: July 25, 2005


Director: Kaneto Shindo

Description
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Filmed on the virtually deserted Setonaikai archipelago in south-west Japan, The Naked Island was made -- in the words of its director ? 'as a 'cinematic poem' to try and capture the life of human beings struggling like ants against the forces of nature'. Using one-tenth of the average budget, Shindo took one last impassioned risk to make this film. With his small crew, they relocated to an inn on the island of Mihari where, for two months in early 1960, they would make what they considered to be their last film.

The Naked Island tells the story of a small family unit and their subsistence as the only inhabitants of an arid, sun-baked island. Daily chores, captured as a series of cyclical events, result in a hypnotising, moving, and beautiful film harkening back to the silent era. With hardly any dialogue, Shindo combines the stark 'Scope cinematography of Kiyoshi Kuroda with the memorable score of his constant collaborator Hikaru Hayashi, to make a unique cinematic document.

It is now considered to be one of Shindo's major works, and its success saved his film company from bankruptcy. The experience of making The Naked Island led Shindo to appreciate 'collective film production', and has been his preferred method of making films ever since. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to release The Naked Island for the first time on home video in the UK.


Format: PAL

DVD Size: 5.37 GB -- Exact Untouched Copy

Runtime (main feature): 93 minutes

Type: Black and White

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 OAR

Sound (main feature): Japanease

Subtitles: optional English



DISC FEATURES:

# Newly restored transfer, anamorphic 2.35:1 OAR.
# Full-length audio commentary by director Kaneto Shindo and composer Hikaru Hayashi.
# Video introduction by Alex Cox.
# Optional English subtitles.
# Production stills gallery.
# 24-page booklet with a new essay by Acquarello, and a reprint of Joan Mellen?s interview with Shindo from Voices from the Japanese Cinema.



Posted in: a.b.dvd.classics
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