We value your privacy

We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our site, provide personalised content and advertising, analyse our traffic, and ensure you see more of what you love. For more details see our Cookie Policy page.

Accept all cookies Set cookie preferences

Skip to content

The Big Sale
Get 20% Off Your Next Shop
Vinyl 3 for £66 Offer
Find a store or venue
Trustpilot
Back to Blu-ray
  • To Sleep So As to Dream - 1
    View
  • To Sleep So As to Dream - 2
    View
  • To Sleep So As to Dream - 3
    View

To Sleep So As to Dream

£17.99

Released: 21st March 2022. Two private detectives hunt for an actress trapped within the reel of a silent ninja film in the dreamlike debut of Kaizo Hayashi (Circus Boys, Zipang), a magical double-handed cinephilic homage to the movie worlds of the 1910s and 1950s. When private eye Uotsuka (Shiro Sano, Violent Cop, Shin Godzilla) and his sidekick Kobayashi are approached by an aged former actress, Madame Cherryblossom, to go in search of her kidnapped daughter Bellflower, their investigations lead them to the studios of the mysterious M. Pathe company. Here Uotsuka has a strange vision in which he comes face to face with the beautiful star of a 1915 chanbara film that appears to have no ending. From then on, things begin to get a little strange… Among the most impressive and critically regarded Japanese films of the 1980s, To Sleep so as To Dream finally makes its home-video debut outside of Japan in a brand new restoration supervised by the director himself. Drifting between illusion and allusion, it is chockfull of references to Japan’s rich cinematic heritage and features cameos from a host of veteran talent and baroque sets created by Takeo Kimura, the Nikkatsu art designer fondly remembered for his flamboyant work with Seijun Suzuki in the 1960s. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS - 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 FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Aaron Gerow

More info

Format

Blu-ray

There was an error adding this product to your basket. Please try again.

Ring & Reserve

*Availability subject to change.

To reserve this item in store, call: 03333 230 667

Delivery to the UK only
*Free UK delivery on orders over £20
(exclusions apply)
Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Click & Collect
Get it delivered to a store near you with FREE Click & Collect available on this product.
⠀
⠀

  • Details

    Released:
    21st March 2022
    Category:
    World Cinema
    Studio:
    Arrow Video
    Format:
    Blu-ray
    Barcode:
    5027035024165

  • Description

    Two private detectives hunt for an actress trapped within the reel of a silent ninja film in the dreamlike debut of Kaizo Hayashi (Circus Boys, Zipang), a magical double-handed cinephilic homage to the movie worlds of the 1910s and 1950s.

    When private eye Uotsuka (Shiro Sano, Violent Cop, Shin Godzilla) and his sidekick Kobayashi are approached by an aged former actress, Madame Cherryblossom, to go in search of her kidnapped daughter Bellflower, their investigations lead them to the studios of the mysterious M. Pathe company. Here Uotsuka has a strange vision in which he comes face to face with the beautiful star of a 1915 chanbara film that appears to have no ending. From then on, things begin to get a little strange…

    Among the most impressive and critically regarded Japanese films of the 1980s, To Sleep so as To Dream finally makes its home-video debut outside of Japan in a brand new restoration supervised by the director himself. Drifting between illusion and allusion, it is chockfull of references to Japan’s rich cinematic heritage and features cameos from a host of veteran talent and baroque sets created by Takeo Kimura, the Nikkatsu art designer fondly remembered for his flamboyant work with Seijun Suzuki in the 1960s.

    SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
    - 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

    FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Aaron Gerow
    Region Code:
    Region B
    Duration:
    81 minutes
    Original Language:
    Japanese
    Extras:
    Language(s): Japanese, Subtitles: English, Interactive Menu

  • Delivery and Returns

    Delivery charges

    • Orders under £20 - £2.99 postage fee
    • Orders £20 and over - FREE*
    • Click & Collect - FREE**
    • Express Delivery - £5.99
    *Selected items are only available for shipping via a dedicated delivery service for a charge.
    **Selected items are only available for delivery using Click & Collect to an hmv or FOPP store of your choice.

    For more information, please visit the Delivery section of our Help Centre.


    When will my order arrive?

    • We aim to dispatch orders within 24 hours* 
    • Standard delivery is a Royal Mail Tracked 48® service and usually arrives within 2-5 working days, including Saturdays. 
    • Express delivery is either a Royal Mail Tracked 24® or DPD service, for delivery within two working days (if ordered by 2pm, Monday to Friday - excluding public holidays).
    • We’ll aim to dispatch pre-orders so that you receive them on the release date.
    *Please be advised that due to the busy season, there are a few delays to our usual dispatch times. We'll send you an email to let you know as soon as your order is on the way, thank you for your patience. 

    *Items must be in stock to be dispatched within these timeframes. Where an item is 'Back in stock soon', we'll aim to receive more stock within a week and will dispatch orders once the stock has arrived.

    For more information, please visit the Delivery section of our Help Centre.

    Will you tell me when my order is on its way?

    • We’ll send you a dispatch email when your items are on their way, but you can also check the status of your order in your account.
    • We don’t always ship everything together so check your dispatch email for more details - we’ll send you a dispatch email per parcel.
    • If your order contains items that are out of stock, we’ll ship the in-stock items as soon as we can and will dispatch the out-of-stock items as soon as we’ve received more stock.
    For more information, please visit the Delivery section of our Help Centre.


    Trusted Suppliers

    Products labelled '*item fulfilled by Exertis on behalf of hmv' will be supplied to you directly by Exertis via their approved couriers. When you place an order for an item that is fulfilled by Exertis, your details shall be forwarded to them so that they can fulfil the order, and to their courier so that they can deliver the item.


    Returns

    • We're happy to accept returns for unwanted items provided that they're returned within 14 days of receipt; unopened, unused and in perfect condition.
    • Some exclusions apply, please visit the Returns section of our Help Centre for more details. 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Sign-up for emails

Sign-up for emails

Sign-up for emails

I'd love to hear about offers and promotions from hmv*