'Dreams' Director: Akira Kurosawa (1990) Criterion Collection 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray | 4K cinematographer-approved digital restoration | Japanese w/ English subtitles

Unfolding in a series of eight mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa was inspired by the beloved director’s own night-time visions, along with stories from Japanese folklore.

In a visually sumptuous journey through the master’s imagination, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic apparitions: a young boy stumbles on a fox wedding in a forest; a soldier confronts the ghosts of the war dead; a power-plant meltdown smothers a seaside landscape in radioactive fumes. 

Interspersed with reflections on the redemptive power of creation, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh (who is played by Martin Scorsese), Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams is both a showcase for its maker’s artistry at its most unbridled and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance.

Special features include:
- Audio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen Prince
- Feature-length documentary from 1990 shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi
- Interviews with production manager Teruyo Nogami and assistant director Takashi Koizumi
- Documentary from 2011 by director Akira Kurosawa’s longtime translator Catherine Cadou, featuring interviews with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Hayao Miyazaki, Martin Scorsese, and others
- Essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami