In 1985, Mamoru Oshii released Angel’s Egg, the Japanese animation auteur’s densely allegorical, experimental post-apocalyptic O.V.A. (original video animation). The film—boldly lacking narrative yet heavy with Biblical and Jungian symbology—has remained one of anime’s most confounding objects. This year in honor of its 40th anniversary, a new 4K restoration of this vexing masterpiece was selected to debut at the Cannes Film Festival. For New Yorkers, beginning November 15, the Metrograph is programming Mamoru Oshii Restored: Origins and Inspirations, which brings both Angel’s Egg and The Red Spectacles—Oshii’s 1987 live action sci-fi neo-noir, also recently restored—to their screen. Additionally, they’ve invited “ravenous cinephile” Oshii to curate a selection of films that have heavily influenced his work. These include Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville (1965), Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982/2007), Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill (1967), Atsushi Yamatoya’s Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands (1967), and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (1979). —Spike Carter