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The unknown films of Akira Kurosawa.
Released on DVD for the first time in the UK, these six films from legendary auteur Akira Kurosawa were made at the start of his career and demonstrate the emergence of a profoundly influential directorial vision, whose endless admirers range from Fellini and Bertolucci to Spielberg and Lucas.
This fascinating collection, which contains six films across four DVDs, spans 1943 to 1947 and features Sanshuro Sugata, Sanshuro Sugata Part Two, The Most Beautiful, They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail, No Regrets For Our Youth and One Wonderful Sunday. The films have been transferred to High Definition from the best available film elements and are packaged with a fully illustrated booklet featuring essays by Philip Kemp.
Disc One
Sanshuro Sugata (Sugata Sanshiro), 1943, 79 mins
Kurosawa's assured debut about a young man's spiritual journey through the study and practice of judo.
Sanshuro Sugata Part Two (Zoku Sugata Sanshiro), 1945, 83 mins
This sequel reunites most of the principal cast from the original and follows Sanshiro face a new set of enemies whilst continuing his quest to become a judo master.
Disc Two
The Most Beautiful (Ichiban utsukushiku), 1944, 85 mins
An artful propaganda film that anticipates the social realism of Kurosawa's post-war films, The Most Beautiful provides a fascinating portrait of female volunteer workers in an optics factory manufacturing lenses for binoculars and gunsights.
They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail (Tora no o o fumu otokotachi), 1945, 58 mins
Adapted from Noh and Kabuki theatre, this classic tale of deception sees a lord and his bodyguard disguise themselves as monks to bypass an enemy roadblock.
Disc Three
No Regrets For Our Youth (Waga seishun ni kuinashi), 1946, 110 mins
Kurosawa's first post-war film stars Ozu regular Setsuko Hara as Yukie, a privileged daughter of a professor who takes a soul-searching journey through rural Japan and comes to question her values.
Disc Four
One Wonderful Sunday (Subarashiki nichiyobi), 1947, 108 mins
A bitter-sweet story of young love set in the devastation of post-war Tokyo reminiscent of Frank Capra's social realist comedies.
Release date: 28 March 2011
RRP: £39.99 / cat. no. BFIV905 / Cert 12 TBC / 4-disc box set
Japan / 1943-1947 / black & white / Japanese with English subtitles / 523 mins /
original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / region 2
Available from DVD retailers & BFI Filmstore Tel: 020 7815 1350 or www.bfi.org.uk/filmstore