View Larger Image |
In the Realm of the Senses Actors: Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda Director: Nagisa Oshima Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Pan & Scan Format: Color Audience Rating: X (Mature Audiences Only) Running Time: 105 minutes Studio: Fox Lorber Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2002-07-23 Buy from Amazon |
 "fox lorber ???? ha ha ha ha"Very good film but Fox Lorber never never never never never.  "The Bullring of Love"By now everyone knows this film is about a sexually-obsessed woman who strangles and then cuts off her lover's willie (the extent to which her lover shared in the extremety of her obsession is somewhat debatable...). That notwithstanding, the film is well-acted, visually stylish, and manages to convey a genuine feeling for the passion which drove the characters. It's also succinct (at 96 minutes) and has some fabulous sex scenes. The real-life case of 'Abe Sada' (Abe is the family name) was very well known in Japan, occurring almost 40 years before Oshima made this film. There are at least two other cinematic versions of the events. If anything, reality was even a bit stranger than fiction: in the real-life case Abe was arrested whilst carrying around the severed member in her kimono sash. I saw a photograph of her once, taken just after her arrest: you have never seen a more haunted-looking woman. The original Japanese title of the film is 'Ai no Corrida,' 'Ai' means 'love', but, interestingly, 'Corrida' is not a Japanese word at all: it's a Spanish word meaning 'dash' 'sprint' or 'spurt', and is most often used in the expression 'Corrida de Toros' -- i.e. bullfight -- strongly alluding to the brutal (and inevitable) death of the bull at the end. This puts quite a different complexion on the theme of the film than does the Western distributor's title of 'In the Realm of the Senses' which seems to imply sensual pleasure which has perhaps unintentionally got out of hand. Oshima's stock-in-trade has always been the 'shocking' film, usually made with the aim of confronting 'bourgeous' sensibilities or an accepted view of society or history. In the 1960's they were more of the socio-political variety (e.g. 'The Sun's Burial,' 'Cruel Story of Youth'); but the success of this film firmly added the sexual element to his repertoire; you can see this continues even up to the recent film 'Gohatto.' In my mind, however, 'Ai no Corrida' is the only one of his films that really works. A quibble with the DVD version (I don't have the American Fox-Lorber one that so many have bitterly complained about, but the European one by Nouveau Entertainment) is that it appears to be a transfer from VHS: the English subtitles are part of the film image and not selectable (i.e. you can't turn them off). That is frankly very poor in a DVD.  "A Shameful Transfer From A Shameful Company"Fox Lorber should have a clue that they are in fact releasing some of the most important films ever made. They seem to destroy the essence of the work by directly transfering their videos directly to DVD. This film is no exception, and by all means stay away from it. Sure, it might look nice in your collection, people coming over and saying, "Wow! You have 'In The Realm Of The Senses" on DVD!" But after they see how bad the transfer and the delayed subtitles are, they know that you just bought yourself an expensive drink coaster. My copy is currently in a used bin at a local record store. I think I'll wait for a better transfer, or buy the Region 2 Japanese release. (25 years later, finally available in Japan) Beware, I warned you, and so did many others on this page. "FOX LORBER IS THE WORST DVD COMPANY ALL OVER THE WORLD"Please edit this review to prevent some people of throw out money. It is not the first time ihave a bad expireance with this company. Once i had STELLA a Greek title .It was just for throw it .Please save your coustomers.  "ASTOUNDING EROTICA....."This is an amazing film to watch. Not only is it beautifully filmed but the atmosphere is quite vivid in its' depiction of a Japanese servant girl who becomes mistress of the master of the house and sexually obsessed with their relationship. She leads him deeper into the sexual realm until it becomes the focus of both their lives. Their relationship becomes so intense that it can only lead to destruction. Film is extremely sexually graphic and to be honest, I wasn't even aware that I was watching "pornography" because the acting and story were so mesmerizing. By then, I didn't care because it wasn't offensive---just honest. The two leads are wonderful actors and they made me forget I was watching a supposedly one-time controversial film. The film is supposedly based on a true incident. The ending is shocking and depressing but that's allegedly what happened. I consider this film a classic and a must see for foreign film buffs. It's one of the most beautiful erotic love stories ever made and one of the most disturbing. |
