Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA

Source: The Criterion Collection
Special Thanks to Courtney Ott

The Criterion Collection has announced that FIRES ON THE PLAIN and THE BURMESE HARP, two powerful works from Kon Ichikawa, one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers, will both be released this August in a 2-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray sets, as well as Blu-ray editions.

 

FIRES ON THE PLAIN (野火, Nobi)

Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA

An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s FIRES ON THE PLAIN is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Philippine landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give in to the most terrifying craving of all.

Grisly yet poetic, FIRES ON THE PLAIN is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers.

 

1959 • 104 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 2.39:1 aspect ratio

 

4K UHD + BLU-RAY COMBO EDITION

SRP: $49.95

STREET: 8/5/25

CAT. NO.: CC3706UHDBD

ISBN: 979-8-88607-309-6

UPC: 7-15515-31681-1

 

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

 

BLU-RAY EDITION

SRP: $39.95

STREET: 8/5/25

CAT. NO.: CC3707BD

ISBN: 979-8-88607-310-2

UPC: 7-15515-31691-0

 

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA

Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA

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THE BURMESE HARP (ビルマの竪琴, Biruma no Tategoto)

Photo courtesy of the Criterion Collection. © KADOKAWA

An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close of World War II and finds harmony through song. A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment.

Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa’s THE BURMESE HARP is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema’s most overwhelming antiwar sentiments, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan’s wartime legacy.

 

1956 • 116 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Japanese and Burmese with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio 

 

4K UHD + BLU-RAY COMBO EDITION

SRP: $49.95

STREET: 8/5/25

CAT. NO.: CC3708UHDBD

ISBN: 979-8-88607-311-9

UPC: 7-15515-31701-6

 

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

 

 

BLU-RAY EDITION

SRP: $39.95  

STREET: 8/5/25

CAT. NO.: CC3709BD

ISBN: 979-8-88607-312-6

UPC: 7-15515-31711-5

 

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES