Title from title frame ; statement of responsibility from English subtitles.

Originally released as a motion picture in 1990.

Special features: disc one. New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Shoji Ueda ; new audio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen Prince ; Kurosawa's Way (2011), a fifty-minute documentary by Kurosawa's longtime translator Catherine Cadou, featuring interviews with filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro G. Inarritu, Martin Scorsese, Hayao Miyazaki, and others ; trailer ; new English subtitle translation -- disc two. Making of "Dreams" (1990), a 150-minute documentary shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi ; new interview with production manager Teruyo Nogami ; new interview with assistant director Takashi Koizumi ; plus a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa's script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami.

Cinematography, Takao Saito, Shoji Ueda ; film editing, Tome Minami ; music, Shinichiro Ikebe ; executive producer, Steven Spielberg ; creative consultant, Ishiro Honda ; production manager, Teruyo Nogami ; assistant director, Takashi Koizumi ; lighting, Takeji Sano ; art direction, Yoshiro Muraki, Akira Sakuragi ; costume design, Emi Wada ; sound, Kenichi Benitani ; visual effects, Industrial Light & Magic, Sony ; choreographer, Michiyo Hata.

Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baisho, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada, Mitsunori Isaki, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi, Hisashi Igawa, Chosuke Ikariya, Chishu Ryu, Martin Scorsese, Misato Tate, Mieko Suzuki, Masayuki Yui, Shu Nakajima, Sakae Kimura, Tessho Yamashita.

Unfolding in a series of mythic vignettes, this late work by Akira Kurosawa brings eight of the beloved director's own nighttime visions, informed by tales from Japanese folklore, to cinematic life. As a visually sumptuous journey through the master's imagination, tales of childlike wonder give way to apocalyptic apparitions: a young boy stumbles on a fox wedding in a forest; a soldier confronts the ghosts of the war dead; a power plant meltdown smothers a seaside landscape in radioactive fumes. Interspersed with reflections on the redemptive power of creation, including a richly textured tribute to Vincent van Gogh, the film is both a showcase for its maker's artistry at its most unbridled and a deeply personal lament for a world at the mercy of human ignorance.

MPAA rating: PG.

DVD; region 1, NTSC; widescreen 16:9 presentation; Dolby Digital 2.0 surround.

Japanese dialogue; optional English subtitles ; titles and credits in Japanese.