Brimful with brooding psychological torment, Kokoro (1955) is vintage Kon Ichikawa, a director probably best known in the West for his 1963 film An Actor's Revenge (Yukinojo henge). Based on a novel by celebrated Japanese author Natsume Soseki, the director foregrounds its themes of individual isolation and social estrangement, most notably in a central protagonist stricken by existential demons and stranded by changing times.

Why does Nobuchi (Masayuki Mori) visit the grave of his old friend Kaji (Tatsuya Mihashi)? Why is he so secretive with his wife Shizu (Michiyo Aratama)? And how does Nobuchi's friendship with the young student Hioki (Shoji Yasui) – for whom the older man acts as reluctant sensei – relate to his time with Kaji? As the Meiji Era draws to a close with the emperor's death and the suicide of General Nogi, a fateful tale of tainted love, failed friendship, and redemptive honour unravels with tragic consequences.

Though sometimes overlooked in the director's impressive oeuvre, Ichikawa's profoundly beautiful rendering of Soseki's novel is a considerable work of cinema in its own right.

Kokoro will be released on UK DVD, its first ever release on any home viewing format in the UK, by Eureka as part of the Masters of Cinema series on 23rd February 2008 at the RRP of £19.99. Boasting a new high definition digital transfer and new and improved optional English subtitles, the disc will be accompanied by a lavish 48-page booklet with with archival publicity stills, a newly written essay by Tony Rayns, and an extended interview with Kon Ichikawa by Yuki Mori (author of The Films of Kon Ichikawa) on the beginnings of the director's involvement in cinema.

Kon Ichikawa's 1963 Alone Across the Pacific is to be simultaneously released on Masters of Cinema DVD, while his 1985 The Burmese Harp is is to follow soon afterwards.