Japanese director Akira Kurosawa has made some of the finest motion pictures in history, including The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Derzu Uzala, Kagemusha, and Ran. Dreams, Kurosawa's 28th film, is not one of his better efforts. Comprised of eight tangentially related episodes, the dreamlike sequences focus on war, the loss of nature, the threat of nuclear annihilation, and the transcendent power of art. Good subjects, true, which are explored in cryptic parables whose epiphany-like endings owe more to special effects created by George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic, than to any sublime interpretations by Kurosawa. In the opening sequence, for example, a young boy goes into the forest during a rainstorm, after being expressly forbidden to leave the house by his mother. In the forest, he witnesses a ritual dance performed by actors wearing fox head makeup. Upon returning home, his mother tells him he cannot enter the house, but must go to where the foxes live under the rainbow and seek their forgiveness. The story "ends" with the boy seeing a giant rainbow superimposed across the sky. Or, in "Crows," a young Japanese man (Akira Terao, who appears in six of the eight episodes), steps into a Van Gogh painting, has a somewhat ridiculous conversation with the artist (portrayed by Martin Scorsese), and then gaily traipses through huge Van Gogh landscapes before coming to the artist's "Crows," where a full screen's worth of sfx birds flit through the air (again, pretty, but to what purpose?). Although Kurosawa's narrative power occasionally shines through--notably in "The Tunnel," where a commander faces his dead platoon--Dreams, while offering a whole art gallery's worth of wondrous images, moves at a sedated snail's pace, and is likely to send most viewers off to the land of their own dreamy dreams. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review--March 25, 2003--Warner, 120 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, PG, $19.98--One major plus--Warner's lovely digital transfer in a widescreen format--can't overcome the lethargic pace of this otherwise extra-less oblique effort from Japanese master Kurosawa. Bottom line: for Kurosawa completists only.] [DVD Review—Oct. 11, 2011—Warner, 120 min., PG, $26.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD, 1990's Akira Kurosawa's Dreams features a solid transfer and Dolby Digital surround sound. DVD extras include cast and crew bios and a text list of awards. Bottom line: lesser Kurosawa, although larger cinema collections will want to add.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Nov. 15, 2016—Criterion, 120 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, R, DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, 1990’s Dreams boasts a superb transfer and a DTS-HD 2.0 soundtrack on the Blu-ray release. Extras include audio commentary by film scholar Stephen Prince, a 'making-of' documentary (150 min.), a featurette on 'Kurosawa’s Way' (52 min.), interviews with production manager Teruyo Nogami (18 min.) and assistant director Takashi Koizumi (16 min.), a trailer, and a booklet featuring an essay by film Bilge Ebiri, as well as Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream. Bottom line: Kurosawa’s visually impressive late-career film looks splendid on Blu-ray.]
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
color. 120 min. In Japanese w/English subtitles and English. Warner Home Video. (1990). $92.95. Rated: PG Library Journal
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: