Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Strap in for Takeshi Kitano's Explosive Cinematic Masterpiece "HANA-BI" on Blu-ray 9/19 for the Very First Time!



"Frequently surprising... sure to keep an audience on its toes." -- Janet Maslin, The New York Times

"Bracing and original... a personal film that speaks to everyone." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

THIS SEPTEMBER, STRAP IN FOR THE HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF TAKESHI KITANO'S NEWLY-RESTORED CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE, AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NORTH AMERICA

"HANA-BI (FIREWORKS)"


Winner of 19 International Awards, Including the Prestigious Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Int'l Film Festival, The Exclusive Collector's Release from Film Movement Classics Includes Commentary from Rolling Stone Film Critic David Fear, a "Making of Hana-Bi" Featurette and a Collector's Book

Beautifully Restored in HD, This Highly Original Crime Drama Will be Available on Blu-ray ($39.95srp) and DVD ($29.95srp) on September 19, 2017

SYNOPSIS
Feeling responsible for the shattered lives of his loved ones, beleaguered police detective Nishi (Takeshi Kitano, Ghost in the Shell, Brother, Violent Cop, Boiling Point) takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows money from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.  The yakuza, however, are not so easily bought off, sending Nishi down a road paved with nihilism and violence. Considered Kitano's first true cinematic masterpiece, HANA-BI demonstrates the auteur's immense talents both in front of and behind the camera.

Available for the first time on Blu-ray in North America, this new digital HD restoration from Film Movement Classics offers cinema buffs a singular viewing experience of the film that Entertainment Weekly calls a "rich and visually beautiful work that, for all its stylized violence, manages to convey stillness, sweetness, and affecting emotional depth."

WATCH THE TRAILER


BONUS FEATURES
Commentary by Rolling Stone Film Critic David Fear
"Making-of Hana-bi" featurette
Collector's booklet featuring a new essay from film writer Jasper Sharp

CAST
Takeshi Kitano (as Yoshitaka Nishi)
Ren Osugi (as Horibe)
Kayoko Kishimoto (Nishi's wife)
Susumu Terajima (as Nakamura)
Tetsu Watanabe (as Junkyard Owner)

AWARDS
Awards of the Japanese Academy (1999) - Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Music Score
Blue Ribbon Awards (1999) - Best Film, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director
Camerimage (1998) - Silver Frog (Hideo Yamamoto)
European Film Awards (1997) - Screen International Award
Film Critics Circle of Australia (1997) - Best Foreign Language Film
French Syndicate of Cinema Critics (1998) Best Foreign Film
Grand Prix de I'UCC (1999)
Hochi Film Award (1998) - Best Film, Best Supporting Actor
Kinema Junpo Awards (1999) - Best Film, Reader's Choice Award/Best Film
Mainichi Film Concours (1999) - Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography
Nikkan Sports Film Award - Ishihara Yujiro Award, Best Supporting Actor
Russian Guild of Film Critics (1999) - Best Foreign Actor
São Paulo International Film Festival (1997) - Critics' Award
Venice Film Festival (1997) - Golden Lion for Best Film
Yokohama Film Festival (1999) - Best Supporting Actor

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Type:  Blu-ray/DVD
Running Time: 103 mins. + extras
Rating:  N/A
Genre:  Crime/Drama
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio:  Stereo
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles

About Film Movement
Celebrating its 15th year, Film Movement is a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City.  Film Movement has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide, and last year it had its first Academy Award-nominated film, Naji Abu Nowar's THEEB. Film Movement's theatrical distribution strategy has evolved to include promising American independent films, documentaries, and an even stronger slate of foreign art house titles.  Its catalog includes titles by directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner, Andrei Konchalovsky, Andrzej Wajda, Diane Kurys, Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, and Ettore Scola. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com

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