The Dark Corner

Since its inception in 1984, The Criterion Collection has built a reputation for releasing exceptional classic and contemporary films. With a strong focus on both technical quality, and original supplemental material, they have continued to excite and enrapture film buffs worldwide. Their latest release is the Nikkatsu Noir collection, a celebration of Japan's oldest major movie studio. Famed director Akira Kurasawa began his career at Nikkatsu in the 1930s as an assistant director, and throughout the years the studio saw many famous names come and go. By the 50s and 60s, the studio countered Western imports by releasing what they dubbed mukokeseki akushun (borderless action) films. Full of the raw action and adventure, the films found success in Japan, and hopefully will now find their way into American hands. The Nikkatsu Noir collection includes five films, which showcase a ten year period (1957-1967) of Japanese cinema. From the film that started it all, Koreyoshi Kurahara's 'I Am Waiting', to Takashi Nomura's 'A Colt Is My Passport', the collection is a true representation of the emergence and success of this edgy facet of Japanese cinema.

Via FlavorWire