Every month, The Criterion Collection announces a new batch of films that are getting the special edition treatment. And for the upcoming month of August, you can’t do much better than a new release of an Akira Kurosawa film.
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Leading the way in August from the Criterion Collection is Akira Kurosawa’s “Dreams.” The anthology film was released in 1990 and marks one of the final works from one of the greatest filmmakers to ever live. This is a rare anthology from Kurosawa inspired by his nighttime visions. The 4K UHD release of “Dreams” sports a 4K transfer (naturally), as well as a feature-length documentary filmed during the making of the film by director Nobuhiko Obayashi. In addition, there’s a second documentary, from 2011, which details the impact that Kurosawa had on the industry.
But that’s not all that Criterion has to offer in August. In addition, there’s Wayne Wang’s acclaimed feature, “Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart.” The 1985 film is yet another spotlight on San Francisco’s Chinese American community from the filmmaker. The film stars real-life mother/daughter duo, Kim and Laureen Chew. Adding even more excitement to this release is that the film will feature a new transfer of the brand-new director’s cut of the film. In addition, there’s a new special feature discussion that has Wang speaking with film scholar, Arthur Dong.
Rounding out the list of August releases from Criterion, there’s a special collection called “Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema.” As the name implies, the collection of four films showcases the career of the ‘60s filmmaker. There’s also a new release of “Drylongso,” from filmmaker Cauleen Smith.
You can pre-order any or all of these at the Criterion site.