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Hakuchi / screenplay by Eijiro Hisaita and Akira Kurosawa ; based on the novel "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky ; associate producer, Takashi Koide ; produced by Shochiku Co. Ltd. ; directed by Akira Kurosawa.
LIBRA DVD/PAL 003 035 disc + booklet
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Video
- Author/Creator:
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881. Idiot, author.
- Series:
- Masters of cinema series ; 16.
- Language:
- English
- Japanese
- Subjects (All):
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881--Film adaptations.
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor.
- Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881.
- Mentally ill--Drama.
- Mentally ill.
- Man-woman relationships--Drama.
- Man-woman relationships.
- Motion pictures, Japanese.
- Genre:
- Drama.
- Feature films.
- Film adaptations.
- Video recordings.
- Physical Description:
- 1 videodisc (166 min.) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (35 pages ; 18 cm).
- monochrome
- Other Title:
- Idiot
- Place of Publication:
- [Place of publication not identified] : Eureka Video, [2005]
- Language Note:
- In Japanese with optional English subtitles.
- System Details:
- DVD PAL; Region 2; Dolby digital.
- digital
- optical
- mono
- Dolby
- PAL
- video file
- DVD video
- region 2
- Summary:
- Kurosawa's dramatisation of Dostoevsky's novel changes the setting from Russia in summer to a memorable, snowbound Hokkaido - the northern-most island of Japan. War criminal Kameda (Mori), reprieved from a death sentence, is fresh out of the asylum, mentally fragile, and prone to epileptic fits. In turn, his emotional involvement with two women (Hara and Kuga) and his new, increasingly volatile friend Akama (Mifune) lead him further into madness and gross tragedy. Never distributed in its full 266-minute form, the film was re-edited by the studio prior to release. This 166-minute version, the 1951 release print, is the longest known to be in existence.
- Participant:
- Masayuki Mori, Toshiro Mifune, Setsuko Hara, Takashi Shimura, Chieko Higashiyama, Chiyoko Fumiya, Eijiro Yanagi, Yoshiko Kuga, Minoru Chiaki, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Sengoku, Mitsuyo Akashi.
- Credits:
- Music, Fumio Hayasaka ; photography, Toshio Ubukata ; production designer, So Matsuyama ; set designer, Ushitaro Shimada ; editor, Akira Kurosawa.
- Notes:
- DVD video release of the film produced in 1951.
- Aspect ratio 4:3, 1.33:1.
- Special features: Newly restored high-definition transfer; Video introduction by Alex Cox; "Shochiku" production stills gallery; New English subtitles translation; booklet with a new essay by Daryl Chin.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George R. Fink Memorial Fund.
- OCLC:
- 70034721
- Publisher Number:
- EKA40101 Eureka Video
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