Title | Best |
Crucified Lovers, The (Chikamatsu monogatari) (Directors Suite) | R2UK |
The Crucified Lovers has been released in Region 2 in the United Kingdom by Masters of Cinema under its traditional Japanese title, Chikamatsu monogatari. This comes in a two-disc release with Uwasa no onna. The extras include video discussions on both films by Tony Rayns which run for 12-13 minutes each, original trailers and a 56-page booklet containing an essay by Mark le Fanu on Chikamatsu monogatari, English translations of Ihara Saikaku's 1686 'What the Seasons Bought the Almanac Maker' and the opening section of Chikamatsu Monzaemon's 'The Almanac of Love', an extract from Keiko L. McDonald's long out-of-print book, Mizoguchi, looks at Uwasa no onna and states that the work is a long way from Mizoguchi at his best. In my opinion, the video discussions by Tony Rayns and the booklet, together with the inclusion of Uwasa no onna, makes the Region 2 Masters of Cinema release the best available on DVD. |