ADDITION: Criterion Region 'A' - Blu-ray - October 2016: Criterion's 1080P transfer is a advertised as a "New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Shoji Ueda". The film has always has some of the most gorgeous visuals in all of cinema. And now Criterion does the Blu-ray - from 4K - supervised by the cinematographer. It looks, as you might expect, outstanding - better in motion - than via the static captures below. Yes, some colors shift from the, also strong, Warner DVD. It gains richness, seems brighter and the higher resolution layers the contrast exquisitely. The Van Gogh works are so stunning - in fact the entire film is mesmerizing on this Blu-ray. I found myself just staring hypnotically - I called my wife over to watch some of it - same result. It puts you in a trance! Absolutely riveting image quality - kudos, of course, to the film and the par-excellent transfer. Visually; the ultimate...   

Criterion use a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 2033 kbps (24-bit) in the original Japanese. There are effects - the winter wind etc. plus the score is by revered Shinichirô Ikebe (Shôhei Imamura's The Eel, Vengeance is Mine and his The Ballad of Narayama, as well as Kurosaw's Rhapsody in August, Maadadayo and Kagemusha to name a few of his credits.) and , it too, carries depth matching the succulent video in every sequence. There are optional English subtitles on the Region 'A' Blu-ray disc - but this is being released in region 'B' Blu-ray one week later.

Wonderful new audio commentary featuring film scholar Stephen Prince - he's as professional, and a shade 'dry', as always and delves into many aspect of the production as well as Kurosawa. I found it rewarding. The Making of “Dreams” (1990), is a 150-minute documentary shot on set and directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi (House). It's a very complete documentary with plenty of input from Akira Kurosawa and so much behind-the-scenes footage - shot over 2-years - and, for that alone, is highly interesting. It is in Japanese with English subtitles and the quality varies. Criterion produce a new interview with production manager Teruyo Nogami - for over 17-minutes - she worked closely with Kurosawa as his script supervisor for more than 40 years. In this interview she recalls her relationship with the great director and the difficult process of bringing Dreams to fruition. We also get a new, 16-minute, interview with assistant director Takashi Koizumi who worked alongside Kurosawa on the filmmakers last 5 films. Kurosawa’s Way (2011), is a fifty-minute documentary by Kurosawa’s longtime translator Catherine Cadou, who interviews 11 major film directors on how Kurosawa films have influenced their own work including Bernardo Bertolucci, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Martin Scorsese, Hayao Miyazaki, Scorsese (who also discusses playing the role of Vincent van Gough in Dreams) and others. There is also a trailer and the package contains a liner notes booklet featuring an essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri and Kurosawa’s script for a never-filmed ninth dream, introduced by Nogami.