The Shape of Night

A young woman from the countryside falls in love with a handsome hoodlum who pushes her into a life of prostitution

A young woman from the countryside (Miyuki Kuwano of Oshima's Cruel Story of Youth) falls in love with a handsome hoodlum (Mikijiro Hira, Sword of the Beast), who pushes her into a life of prostitution. When his sleazy superiors catch sight of her, she finds herself trapped inside the gaudy maze of city nightlife.

Directed by Noburo Nakamura, a veteran of the Shochiku studio's signature Golden Age family dramas, The Shape of Night was made as a reaction to the radical film styles of the Japanese New Wave. With its lush cinematography full of saturated colors, a lyrical tone and its story of love leading to inescapable tragedy, it has been compared to the films of Douglas Sirk, while also acting as a precursor to the work of Wong Kar-wai.

Bonus Materials

• SPECIAL FEATURES:
• High-Definition digital transfer
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• New interview with Yoshio Nakamura, son of director Noboru Nakamura (2024, 16 mins)
• Major Changes - a visual essay on the artistic upheavals at Shochiku studios during the 1960s by Tom Mes (2024, 13 mins)
• Easter Egg (2024, 5 mins)
• New and improved English subtitle translation