Ryuichi Sakamoto Concert Doc ‘Opus’ to Premiere With Live Streaming Event on the Criterion Channel (EXCLUSIVE)

Todd Gilchrist
·2 min read
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“Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus,” director Neo Sora’s posthumous documentary about Japanese musical luminary Ryuichi Sakamoto, will premiere online as a live event on The Criterion Channel.

On Sunday, June 30 at 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. EST, Criterion will broadcast the film live via its streaming service. Following the premiere, the concert doc will stream exclusively on the Criterion Channel beginning July 1.

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Featuring Sakamoto’s final recorded concert before his death in March 2023, “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus” first premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2023. Sora, Sakamoto’s son, shot the film in black and white, capturing 20 selections personally selected by his father from across his 45-year musical career, from “Tong Poo” (from Yellow Magic Orchestra’s 1978 debut album) to his themes for the films “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” and “The Last Emperor” to “20220302 – Sarabande” from his final solo studio album “12.”

“A document of Sakamoto’s final performance before his death from cancer last March, the film provides no commentary or context for the enormity of his body of work, yet somehow encompasses it all as he performs a curated set list in a Japanese recording studio for an audience of one — himself,” Variety described in its September 2023 review.

Speaking to Variety in March ahead of the theatrical release of “Opus,” Sora discussed his aim to “record this performance in amber” after his father had announced that he was undergoing cancer treatment. “As soon as the filmmaking process started, I definitely [felt] the burden of making sure to have all the technical aspects correct, because it is a performance, especially in his physical condition, was something that we can only capture one time.”

Upon its addition to the streaming service’s programming library, Criterion will also premiere a new interview with Sora and cinematographer Bill Kirstein, the latest installment in their “Meet the Filmmakers” series.

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