Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic, Visual Symphony!
Review: I love this movie, Kurosawa is such a master, so able to bring life to the screen. His fantastic use of color and placement along with the mysteries of the ancient Japanese culture make for a delightful viewing experience. Very dreamlike in its progress, this movie follows the changes of Kurosawa's dreams from youth to old age.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece by the Master
Review: The ageing creator of classics like Roshomon, Ran, The Seven Samaurai, and Throne of blood, treats us to a tour de force of directorial virtuosity. This visually stunning masterpiece consists of eight dreams with an environmental sub plot. The last of these, The Village of Watermills is one of the most moving pieces of art I have ever encountered. Everything about this film is perfect The costumes the colour balance, the forms and the music. Akira Kurasawa demonstrates why he is one of the greatest artists of all time
Rating: 
Summary: "Image Poetry"
Review: Nuggets of beauty.
Polished marbles of untainted wide-eyed wonder.
Frank, innocent, child-like eye for beauty."pieces of dream" that can be stored away and held onto forever. Like wondrous capsules each containing a vivid memory. . .
poetic imagery. etheral substance-ing
of a "moment" poetic memory.
Rating:
Summary: Dreamy cinematic art...
Review: A kaleidoscope of eight dreams where each dream leaves the audience with an open ending triggers thoughts and reflections shadowed by the audience's knowledge, values, and believes. The beauty of each dream offers several different meanings for each individual viewer, which provides personal impact on the audience. The dreams also present many similar notions, yet, each notion has its unique symbolism formed by the viewers own collective knowledge, beliefs, and values, which in the end offers an absolutely exceptional cinematic experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Well filmed, but very heavy-handed
Review: Dreams was very well filmed, but the message was horribly heavy-handed and not feasable. Being at one with nature is nice, but ignoring the realities of modern life and its luxuries is foolish. I was bored during the first half and offended during the second.
Rating:
Summary: A monumental waste of time
Review: My first recommendation is to rent it first - undoubtedly it will not be what you expect, good or bad. This movie obviously has high production values, but the ultimate message of "one with nature" is really rather cheesily portrayed. The same characters are seen in all the different episodes, which lessens the effect, and the acting is on a low-budget level. Most of the time is spent watching people walk around and look around. The cinematography can be impressive, but so much time is spent on each scene, that after so many number of camera angles it isn't as effective. Some portions are so silly that I would be embarrassed to watch this with a group. For example, the "Fox wedding" has a bunch of people dressed up with "fox moustaches" and the like. Ultimately, the shortcomings make it too hard to enjoy and the whole effort is tiresome to sit through.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Masterpiece!
Review: A brilliant film. The movie is composed of eight dreams, however it flows very nicely, so there is never a sense of hesitation between each of the transitions. It was beautifully filmed and directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa and probably one of his best works ever. I highly recommend this film!
Rating: 
Summary: Visual Treat
Review: I read & heard so much about Akira's last masterpiece. I watched his earlier offering in the form of "Ran" & many of my friends told me that "Dreams" was heaps better as it's a more personal & heart-felt works of the Director. Compounded by the fact that this is also Akira's last work, I told myself that this is a must-have collector's item. When I watched this movie, I could understand why Steven Spielberg & Martin Scorcese liked Akira's work so much for its subtle & abstracted messages that screamed out quietly "Humanity". All the short stories were beautifully taken & at times, I would gaze at them with bewilderment. At times, the scenes seemed to drag on forever but perhaps, that's Akira's intention to captivate our attention through the protracted silence with anticipation. I found the experience exhilarating & puzzling at the same time. The only downside of this movie would be that the final four short stories all talked about the same topic, about our callous nature that eventually destroyed nature & civilisation. Furthermore, I questioned Akira's idea of using the same actor for different short stories. It's quite interesting to see Martin playing the part of Van Gogh instead of directing a movie. All I can say is that watch this movie with an open-mind. For visual treat, don't miss this but if you expect a fast pace & direct movie, you would be disappointed. A definite must-see for Akira's fan!
Rating:
Summary: Powerful dreams
Review: Eight dream-like stories that touches on everything from a childhood fantasy about a witnessing a fox wedding in the forest to post-apocalyptic nightmare of mutants and cannibals. Some very powerful stuff but a couple of episodes got too preachy when Mr. Kurosawa is exploring his nuclear-war anxieties. Some of my favorite pieces: The Tunnel: A weary Japanese officer is walking home from a POW camp at the end of WWII. On the road, he comes upon a dark gaping tunnel, from which the ghosts of his dead soldiers emerge and haunt his conscience. It is hard to forget the image and the sound of a platoon of dead soldiers marching with relentless military precision, gradually emerging from the inky depth of the tunnel like bad memories welling up unbidden. Sun Under the Rain: A boy ignores his mother's admonitions to stay in doors on a day when rain is falling on clear sunny sky. He ventures to the woods and witness an odd procession of fox spirits. It may sounds like fairy-tale yet the story takes a disquieting turn. The last images of a rainbow striding across a lush valley are beautiful almost beyond belief, but all that beauty is tempered by the uncertain fate of the little boy. Crows: An art lover step into Van Gogh's paintings. Your eyes will think they died and went to heaven.
Rating:
Summary: In Dreams I walk with you
Review: Akira Kurosawa's dreams are better than mine. If this is what he saw when he closed his eyes, then I can understand how from that mind sprang the Seven Samurai and the rest. "Dreams" is maybe the most personal, most "Japanese" of Kurosawa's films, and along with that it is perhaps the most difficult one for Western audiences to appreciate. This is saying nothing against Western audiences, but many of the themes and myths on display may not be familiar, and the imagery and metaphors may be lost without the appropriate background. I definitely appreciated it more after living in Japan, and becoming familiar with the countries folklore and literary story-telling style. Hina Dolls, the Yuki Onna, the mountain villiges like islands of tradition amongst concrete modern Japan... "Dreams" is beautiful, on a purely visual level. The cinematography is exquisite and the colors and light are displayed with the eye of a painter. It is appropriate that Van Gogh plays a role in one of the many dreams. Like Van Gogh, the stories in "Dreams" are expressionistic and vivid, yet with the subdued emotions that is the hallmark of Japanese literature. This is not the wild, raw statement of a younger Kurosawa. Story-wise, the dreams play with the themes of death and loss, both human and of nature. The displacement of Japanese forests, the lack of safety standards at nuclear power plants, the loss of traditional Japan, the pointless loss of lives in war...melancholy themes at best. Yet at the end, hope is offered, in a small nook and cranny, like a flower blooming amongst concrete. The DVD itself is a small disappointment, and I would rather have this belong to the Criterion Collection, but better to have it than not have it.
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