Dreams (1990)

A collection of tales based upon the actual dreams of director Akira Kurosawa.

Directors:

Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda (uncredited)

Writer:

Akira Kurosawa

Stars:

Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Terao	...	I
Mitsuko Baishô	...	Mother of 'I'
Toshie Negishi	...	Mother carrying child
Mieko Harada	...	The Snow Fairy
Mitsunori Isaki	...	'I' as a boy
Toshihiko Nakano	...	'I' as a young child
Yoshitaka Zushi	...	Pvt. Noguchi
Hisashi Igawa	...	Nuclear Plant Worker
Chôsuke Ikariya	...	The crying demon
Chishû Ryû	...	Old Man
Martin Scorsese	...	Vincent Van Gogh
Masayuki Yui	...	Member of climbing team
Tessho Yamashita
Misato Tate
Catherine Cadou

Storyline

This is essentially eight separate short films, though with some overlaps in terms of characters and thematic material - chiefly that of man's relationship with his environment. 'Sunshine Through The Rain': a young boy is told not to go out on the day when both weather conditions occur, because that's when the foxes hold their wedding procession, which could have fatal consequences for those who witness it. 'The Peach Orchard': the same young boy encounters the spirits of the peach trees that have been cut down by heartless humans. 'The Blizzard': a team of mountaineers are saved from a blizzard by spiritual intervention. 'The Tunnel': a man encounters the ghosts of an army platoon, whose deaths he was responsible for. 'Crows': an art student encounters 'Vincent Van Gogh' and enters the world of his paintings. 'Mount Fuji in Red': nuclear meltdown threatens the devastation of Japan. 'The Weeping Demon': a portrait of a post-nuclear world populated by human mutations. 'Village of the ...

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Plot Keywords:

japanese boy | japanese woman | japanese mother | mother son relationship | sandal | 

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Taglines:

The past, present, and future. The thoughts and images of one man... for all men. One man's dreams... for every dreamer.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese French English

Release Date:

24 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

Filming Locations:

Daio Wasabi Farm, Azumino, Nagano, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,963,207

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Akira Kurosawa USA

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Dreams" was the first film Kurosawa had written by himself without a collaborator since "Those Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail" forty five years earlier.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mother of 'I': You're staying home. The sun is shining but it's raining.

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Connections

References Jû jin yuki otoko (1955)

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Soundtracks

Prelude Op. 28, No. 15
Composed by Frédéric Chopin
[Used in the sequence "Crows"]

User Reviews

So I'm not the only one with weird dreams

Going back to what made Akira Kurosawa a star, Dreams is a film driven by a completely original concept. Like Rashomon, this is something that had never been done before. To my knowledge, nobody since has had the skill or guts to make a movie that accurately captures the spirit of........ bizarre Dreams. These stories are filmed and written just like real dreams. They're full of strange events that most of the time make no sense, yet everyone in the story totally believes it to be normal.

My favourite segments are "The Tunnel", as story where a former military commander encounters the ghosts of all the soldiers who died under his command. The Commander explaining why his soldiers died is hands down the best acting in the movie. My second favourite wold be "The Peach Orchard". This is about a young boy that finds a group of living dolls in the fields. The dolls are furious that the boy's family have destroyed all the peach tress in the Orchard. This segment was the most dreamlike. My third favourite would be "Mount Fuji In Red". In that there is a nuclear meltdown. Panic spreads and a few survivors contemplate whether or not to end their lives.

In traditional Kurosawa fashion, this movie is visually breathtaking. Kurosawa films don't just look great, they look unique and interesting. The visuals in Dreams helps create the hypnotic dream-like state. In the "Crows" story, a man enters the world of a Van Gogh painting. Parts of the scenery here are natural landscapes, and parts are made to look like a painting. In "Blizzard" mountain climbers are on the verge of death. They're rescued by a snow spirit. The blinding snow and the sort of slow motion effect when you see the Snow Fairy makes this segment perhaps the most hypnotic images Kurosawa has ever produced.

I wouldn't want anyone to get the idea that this is just a bunch of unconnected segments. Several characters appear in various segments, and some are meant to play back to back. I have to say that Dreams may not be for everyone. I'd recommend everyone alive check it out, though. Some may love it, some may not understand it. I'm on the side of this being one of the last brilliant works of the World's greatest Director.