Julie Taymor's amazing film of Stravinsky's opera-oratorio 'Oedipus Rex' won many awards, following its staging at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan in 1992. Julie Taymor (designer and director of 'The Lion King') both directed the production and designed the costumes, basing the unique look of the production on early Japanese Haniwa and European Cycladic sculpture (3200-2200 BC), and assisted by a strking set design from George Tsypin and clay make-up from Reiko Kruk.

With the great English tenor Philip Langridge in the ill-fated title role, an imperious Jessye Norman as Jocasta, and a young Bryn Terfel as Creon, this was an ideal cast, delivering powerful performances of Stravinsky's archaic drama of disease, corruption, murder, suicide and, finally, self-inflicted blinding. The speaking role is taken by the Japanese actor Min Tanaka, with an all-Japanese male chorus and dancer (as Oedipus's double). The polished Saito Kinen Orchestra was conducted by maestro Seiji Ozawa.

The DVD features optional subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
The two soundtracks are PCM stereo and 5.1 DTS Surround.

The DVD also features substantial bonus features:
1 Conversations with Julie Taymor (60 mins, featuring interviews with Jessye Norman, Seiji Ozawa and George Tsypin)
2 A Picture Gallery of 187 rehearsal and performance photos
3 Julie Taymor's Directors Note (1500 words)
4 DVD showreel (showcasing Decca/Philips other DVD releases)