THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD

Source: The Criterion Collection, Image Entertainment Official Site: criterion.com/the-ballad-of-narayama On February 5th, 2013, Keisuke Kinoshita`s THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA (????, Narayama Bushiko, 1958) will be released in digitally restored DVD and Blu-ray editions by The Criterion Collection.

This haunting, kabuki-inflected version of a Japanese folk legend is set in a remote mountain village where food is scarce and tradition dictates that citizens who have reached their seventieth year must be carried to the summit of Mount Narayama and left there to die. The sacrificial elder at the center of the tale is Orin (UGETSU`s Kinuyo Tanaka), a dignified and dutiful woman who spends her dwindling days securing the happiness of her loyal widowed son with a respectable new wife. Filmed almost entirely on cunningly designed studio sets, in brilliant color and widescreen, THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA is a stylish and vividly formal work from Japan’s cinematic golden age, directed by the dynamic Keisuke Kinoshita (TWENTY-FOUR EYES). Cast Orin: Kinuyo Tanaka Tatsuhei: Teiji Takahashi Tama: Yuko Mochizuki Kesakichi: Danshi Ichikawa Mata: Seiji Miyaguchi Mata’s son: Yunosuke Ito Matsu: Keiko Ogasawara Teru: Ken Mitsuda The messenger: Eijiro Tono Crew Director: Keisuke Kinoshita Written by: Keisuke Kinoshita Produced by: Masaharu Kokaji Based on the novel by: Shichiro Fukazawa Cinematography: Hiroyuki Kusuda Production design: Kisaku Ito and Chiyoo Umeda Editor: Yoshi Sugihara Naguta music: Rokuzaemon Kineya Joruri music: Matsunosuke Nozawa 1958 • 98 minutes • Color • PCM Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 2.35:1 aspect ratio Genres: Foreign Drama, Myths / Legends Rating: Not Rated Number of Discs: 1 Color Format: Black & White Audio: PCM Mono Language: Japanese Closed Captions: No Subtitle: English Special Features: • New 4K digital master from the 2011 restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition • Trailer and teaser • New English subtitle translation • A booklet featuring an essay by critic Philip Kemp BLU-RAY EDITION Catalog #: CC2228BD UPC: 715515102513 SRP: $29.95 Release Date: 2/5/2013 DVD EDITION Catalog #: CC2229DDVD UPC: 715515102612 SRP: $19.95 Release Date: 2/5/2013 SPINE #645

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