NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (August 2019): Criterion transfer the 56-minute documentary on a dual-layered Blu-ray disc with the feature taking up around 17- Gigabytes of the disc. It is advertised as a "New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Hiro Narita and approved by director Lucille Carra". The 1.66:1 1080p image also has a maxed-out bitrate. There is a fair amount of discernible detail within the frame, showing a moderate amount of clarity. Any issues with the image would most likely be due to whatever film stock was used in filming (the credits do not help to elaborate on this subject). An authentic Blu-ray transfer from Criterion.

Criterion thankfully tend to include (when they can) an original, uncompressed, 24-bit linear PCM audio track, this time in 2.0. Though the film has no score to speak of (though features Sinatra's "Stardust" and Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot), the narration and various diegetic sounds (such as the percussive instruments at the temple) are well articulated and represented here on this PCM track. There are optional English SDH subtitles on this Region 'A' Blu-ray from Criterion.

"Lucille Carra" features the director spending 17-minutes talking about the making of The Inland Sea, in an all-new interview recorded by Criterion. "Paul Schrader and Ian Bururma" is a conversation recorded for the Criterion Collection in 2019, between filmmaker Schrader and cultural critic Buruma. This 15-minute discussion has the two discussing the life and legacy of their close friend Donald Richie, whose 1971 travelogue of the same name inspired The Inland Sea. "Donald Richie", an interview with author and film historian Richie, was shot by director Lucille Carra in 1991 and is included here thanks to Criterion. In this fascinating yet brief interview, he discusses his seminal book The Inland Sea and reflects on his reputation as a leading Western authority on Japanese culture. There are some liner notes with an essay by author Arturo Silva.

Though some may balk at the rather slim running time of the documentary, or the lack of a commentary (which is a silly argument given that the film is in itself a commentary of sorts), this is another fine release from Criterion. Though not entirely my cup of tea, I would easily recommended this to fans of contemplative, documentary cinema. The Criterion Blu-ray is a solid package.  

Colin Zavitz