The Lower Depths: Two Films by Kurosawa and Renoir with Toshiro Mifune: DVD Cover
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The Lower Depths: Two Films by Kurosawa and Renoir Director: Akira Kurosawa, Jean Renoir Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Jean Gabin

DVD - 2 Disc Set - Black & White / Mono Learn more

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  • DVD Release Date: 06/22/2004
  • Rating: Not Rated
  • Sales Rank: 6,485

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Features

Akira Kurosawa's The Lower Depths: New high-definition digital transfer with restored image and sound; audio commentary featuring Japanese-film expert Donald Richie; the making of the film from Toho Masterworks documentary series "Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create"; original theatrical trailer; new essay by Keiko McDonald and Thomas Rimer for the Kurosawa film; new and improved subtitle translation.
Jean Renoir's The Lower Depths: New high-definition digital transfer with restored image and sound; introduction by Jean Renoir; new essay by film scholar Alexander Sesonske, author of Jean Renoir: The French Films 1924-1939; new and improved subtitle translations.

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Scene Index

Side #1 -- The Lower Depths (Les Bas-Fonds) (1936) - Jean Renoir
1. Credits [2:26]
2. Troubles With Money [1:04]
3. A Secret Affair [3:32]
4. A Noisy Arrival [2:43]
5. Confrontation [3:48]
6. The Baron's Last Efforts [6:50]
7. The Baron & Pépel Meet [7:08]
8. Repossession [3:28]
9. Pépel's Release [5:53]
10. Kostylyov & the Lodgers [6:39]
11. No Suffering Here [5:46]
12. "Pleasure Isn't Enough" [5:53]
13. Doomed Love [5:01]
14. An Offer for the Inspector [6:00]
15. A Nice Place to Doze [3:46]
16. "I'd Move Mountains!" [8:50]
17. Help From Friends [5:31]
18. Harmony [5:49]
19. A New Beginning [2:23]
Side #2 -- The Lower Depths (Donzoko) (1957) - Akira Kurosawa
1. Truth & Lies [5:47]
2. Cleaning Day/The Tinker's Wife [8:02]
3. The Landlord Looks for His Lady [4:27]
4. Sutekichi & Okayo [6:27]
5. The Samurai [4:50]
6. Osugi Looks for Sutekichi [2:29]
7. Sibling Rivalry [6:02]
8. Gambling/Advice for the Actor [9:50]
9. Looking for Paradise [7:42]
10. Osugi Proposes a Bargain [4:03]
11. Trouble With Women [4:57]
12. Better Off Dead [3:37]
13. Life's Suffering [5:34]
14. Protestations of Love [6:40]
15. A Warning [7:15]
16. The Gambler's Story [2:16]
17. Okayo in Trouble [4:54]
18. Remembering the Pilgrim [7:28]
19. Solace in Drink [7:14]
20. Food & Drink for All [3:41]
21. Merrymaking... Interrupted [7:48]
1. The Theme of Illusion/"A Wretched Comedy" [5:47]
2. Theatrical Techniques/Adaptations [8:02]
3. "No Identification"/The Gambler's Role [4:27]
4. Performers & Performances/The Pilgrim's Role [6:27]
5. Cruelty [4:50]
6. Music as an Explication of Character [2:29]
7. Compositional Comments/Buddhism [6:02]
8. Editing & Writing [9:50]
9. Casting/Composition & Lighting [7:42]
10. Camera Movement/The Yakuza [4:03]
11. Completing His Studio Obligations/Character [4:57]
12. The Russian Influence on Kurosawa/Contrasts [3:37]
13. Reprising the Film's Main Theme/A Subtle Camera [5:34]
14. Visual Control [6:40]
15. Not a Crowd Pleaser [7:15]
16. Black & White vs. Color [2:16]
17. The Loss of Mifune [4:54]
18. Act Structure/Setting the Tone [7:28]
19. A Janus-Faced Picture [7:14]
20. A Different Kind of Kurosawa Film [3:41]
21. The Bakabayashi/Seeing Things Straight [7:48]
1. Setting [8:07]
2. Actors & Characterization [16:16]
3. Filming the Climax [4:46]
4. The Final Song [1:43]
5. Looking for Inspiration [2:02]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa transferred the setting of Maxim Gorky's play The Lower Depths from Imperial Russia to his own country's Edo Period -- which, like Gorky's 19th-century setting, was an era of great cultural advances, offset by the miseries of those who weren't in the aristocracy. Kurosawa's film concentrates on Toshiro Mifune, playing a crooked gambler who falls in love with the sister (Kyoko Kagawa) of his cruel landlady (Isuzu Yamada). Herself carrying a torch for Mifune, the landlady exacts a roundabout revenge by killing her own husband and pinning the blame on the gambler. As the landlady descends into madness, those whom she has treated wretchedly laugh at her plight. Originally titled Donzoko, The Lower Depths was renamed Les Bas-Fonds for its French release -- the same title bestowed upon Jean Renoir's 1937 adaptation of the Gorky play. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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