- Director : Kaizo Hayashi
- Actors : Morio Agata, Kenji Endo, Fujiko Fukamizu
- Media Format : Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 23 minutes
- Release date : March 22, 2022
- Subtitles: : English
- Studio : Arrow Video
- Country of Origin : Japan
- Number of discs : 1
As a film critic, or even just someone who
watches far too many movies, I find that I am rarely ever surprised anymore. To
Sleep So as to Dream is the exception. This is the kind of film that can keep
even the most avid film viewer on their toes. At the same time, it is a film
made for film fans, specifically those familiar with the history of Japanese
cinema.
To Sleep So as
to Dream embraces the style of silent Japanese cinema, in a narrative that
seems to be set in the 1930s, despite the timeline suggesting it is actually
the 1960s. This is all in a movie made in the early 1980s. If this sounds like
a puzzle, that seems to be intentional given it is director Kaizo Hayashi’s take
on a detective narrative. In some ways the film is tongue-in-cheek, containing
a hard-boiled detective protagonist who constantly eats hardboiled eggs, with a
mystery that literally dives into the dreamlike world of silent cinema while
telling the story almost entirely without traditional dialogue. At the same
time, there is a loving nostalgia in the film’s references and casting choices.
When private eye
Uotsuka (Shiro Sano) and his skilled sidekick Kobayashi (Koji Otake) are hired
by an aging former actress (Fujiko Fukamizu) to find her missing daughter, they
discover the assignment is far more complicated than expected. Kidnappers have
ransom demands, but don’t comply even when they are met. Uotsuka and Kobayashi
find themselves pulled deeper into the mystery, which literally pulls them into
the world of movies. When the mystery is finally revealed, it is unexpected and
rewarding in ways that shouldn’t be spoiled.
To Sleep So as
to Dream is an entertaining exercise in film form even for those unaware of the
specifics of Japanese cinema but has additional layers for those who are. Not
only does the film contain stars from classic Japanese films, it also employs
the tradition of the benshi, live narrators used during silent cinema in Japan.
The main reason silent cinema lasted longer in Japan was to retain the job for
working benshi, and Hayashi’s film pays homage to this tradition.
Special
Features
· High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
· Original uncompressed mono audio
· Optional English subtitles
· Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film
experts Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
· Audio commentary with director Kaizo Hayashi
and lead actor Shiro Sano recorded in 2000
· How Many
Eggs? Actor Shiro Sano Talks, a brand new interview with the film’s
lead actor
· Talking
Silents: Benshi Midori Sawato Talks, a brand new interview on early
Japanese film culture and the art of the benshi silent film commentator
· Midori
Sawato Performs ‘The Eternal Mystery’, an exclusive benshi performance to
the film within the film
· The
Restoration of To Sleep So as to Dream featurette
· Fragments
from Japan’s Lost Silent Heyday, a selection of scenes from silent
jidai-geki films from the Kyoto Toy Museum archives
· Original Theatrical trailer and
English-language restored re-release trailers
· Image gallery
·
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by
David Downton
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8.5/10
Historical
Significance: 7/10
Special Features: 8/10
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