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 Shindô (Onibaba Kuroneko) made the film with his own production company Kindaï Eiga Kyôkai who were facing financial ruin at the time. Using one-tenth of the average budget Shindô 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 Shindô combines the stark 'Scope cinematography of Kiyoshi Kuroda with the memorable score of his constant collaborator Hikaru Hayashi to make a unique cinematic document. Shindô 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 Shindô’s major works and its success saved his film company from bankruptcy. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to release The Naked Island for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Special Features: Newly restored 1080p transfer in its 2.35:1 original aspect ratio Full-length audio commentary by director Kaneto Shindô 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 Shindô from Voices from the Japanese Cinema [show more]
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Japanese drama from film-maker Kaneto Shindô. Set on a minuscule island almost entirely cut off from the Japanese mainland, the film focuses on a self-sufficient farming family who seem content with the relative hardship of their lives. When the eldest son dies from an illness, however, the tragedy threatens to tear the family apart.
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