Woman in the Dunes - Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida, Koji Mitsui (Blu-ray - 08/23/2016) [The Criterion Collection / Special Edition]

When entomologist Jumpei (Eiji Okada) travels to sand dunes on an expedition, he is met by a group of people who offer him a place to spend the night. They soon lead him to a house at the bottom of a sandpit. Upon climbing into the pit, he finds a young widow (Kyoko Kishida) living alone. Placed there by the villagers, her task is to dig sand out of the pit -- not only so that they can avoid getting buried, but so that the locals can use it for construction. The next morning, when Jumpei attempts to leave, he finds that the ladder which brought him into the pit is no longer there and the villagers inform him that he must stay and help the woman dig. After trying to get out of the pit, Jumpei takes his anger out on the woman--only to soon become her lover. After some time, he slowly gives in to accepting his predicament. This interesting story takes a simple yet effective route in philosophical allegory, focusing upon the couple's oppressive confinement and the force of their physical attraction to each other in spite of--or because of--their situation. Taken from the novel by Kobo Abe, director/producer Hiroshi Teshigahara completed this visually stunning feature on a budget of only $100,000. Winning a Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1964, the poetic Woman in the Dunes would go on to be nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Foreign Film (1964) and Best Director (1965).

Condition:NEW.

Product details:
Actors: Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida
Directors: Hiroshi Teshigahara
Format: Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR Not Rated
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Release Date: August 23, 2016
Run Time: 147 minutes

Special Features:
Video essay on the film from 2007 by film scholar James Quandt Four short films from director Hiroshi Teshigahara's early career: Hokusai (1953) Ikebana (1956) Tokyo 1958 (1958) Ako (1965) Teshigahara and Abe, a 2007 documentary examining the collaboration between Teshigahara and novelist Kobo Abe, featuring interviews with film scholars Donald Richie and Tadao Sato, film programmer Richard Peña, set designer Arata Isozaki, producer Noriko Nomura, and screenwriter John Nathan Trailer

Cast & Crew:
Eiji Okada Niki Jumpei
Kyoko Kishida Woman
Koji Mitsui Actor
Hiroko Ito Jumpei's Wife
Sen Yano Actor
Ginzo Sekigushi Actor

Technical Credits:
Hiroshi Teshigahara Director
Kobo Abe Screenwriter
Hiroshi Segawa Cinematographer
Toru Takemitsu Score Composer