British distributors Eureka Entertainment have officially announced and detailed their upcoming Blu-ray release of Japanese director Kaneto Shindo's The Naked Island (1960), starring Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, and Shinji Tanaka. The release will be available for purchase on June 17th.
Filmed on the virtually deserted Setonaikai archipelago in south-west Japan, The Naked Island [Hadaka no shima] 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". Kaneto Shindō (Onibaba, Kuroneko) made the film with his own production company, Kindaļ Eiga Kyōkai, who were facing financial ruin at the time. Using one-tenth of the average budget, Shindō 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, Shindō combines the stark 'Scope cinematography of Kiyoshi Kuroda with the memorable score of his constant collaborator Hikaru Hayashi, to make a unique cinematic document.
Shindō, who had worked with both Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa, shot to international fame in 1952 with the astounding Children of Hiroshima. Eight years later, the BAFTA-nominated The Naked Island won the Grand Prix at the Moscow International Film Festival (where Luchino Visconti was a jury member). It is now considered to be one of Shindō's major works, and its success saved his film company from bankruptcy.
Special Features:
Newly restored 1080p transfer, in its 2.35:1 original aspect ratio
Full-length audio commentary by director Kaneto Shindō and composer Hikaru Hayashi
Video introduction by Alex Cox
Optional English subtitles
24-page booklet with an essay by Acquarello, and a reprint of Joan Mellen's interview with Shindō from Voices from the Japanese Cinema