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Taboo (Gohatto) Nagisa Oshima The first feature directed in 13 years by the legendary Nagisa Oshima (In the Realm of the Senses) is a gorgeously photographed and curious film that might be classified as a historical drama, a romantic melodrama, or a subtle sexual comedy, but its overall tone ultimately defies categorization. It takes place in Kyoto in 1865, during the sunset of the traditional samurai era. The arrival of an androgynous, too-beautiful young recruit (Ryuhei Matsuda) sends several of his fellow samurai into fits of passion that prove to be divisive and destructive. Takeshi "Beat" Kitano shines as a senior instructor trying to keep things in check. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1999, 100 mins. DVD $44.95
Empire of Passion (In the Realm of Passion) Nagisa Oshima Oshima follows up his notorious In the Realm of the Senses with the story of a peasant woman who, with the help of her lover, kills her husband. Their future hopes wither, however, when the injured party returns from the dead to haunt and endlessly torment them. This sad tale of two lovers consumed by the very passion that they seek is presented to the viewer amidst a somber landscape of embattled moods and emotions, tragic cruelty and overwhelming calm--and the forceful performances and superb photography of this gripping film are unified under Oshima's remarkable lyrical style. Empire of Passion earned him the award of Best Director at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. Starring Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Tatsuya Fuji and Takuzo Kawatani. Japanese with yellow English subtitles. Japan, 1978, 110 mins. DVD $37.95
In the Realm of the Senses Nagisa Oshima A scandal when it was seized by the New York customs and refused entry into the United States, and the sensation of the New York Film Festival, In the Realm of the Senses is, in the words of the Los Angeles Times, "probably the most thoughtful work of and on eroticism ever created." Explicit in its depiction of sex, and a film about the literally consuming passions of two people, the film is most infamous for its final castration sequence. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1976, 100 mins. Videocassette $37.95
Max Mon Amour Nagisa Oshima A strange sexual farce, this film shows an unhappy housewife who finds an uncomplicated love in the arms of someone new. Only this strong, silent lover is an ape, a chimpanzee to be more specific. The woman's husband, Higgins the diplomat, is quite understanding and even invites the chimp to move in. It's a comedy of manners with a twist. In French with English subtitles. France, 1986, 94 mins. DVD $37.95
Night and Fog in Japan Nagisa Oshima Night and Fog in Japan, Nagisa Oshima's bitter cinematic essay against the Japanese Communist Party's failure to stop 1960's controversial U.S. - Japan Security Treaty, was pulled from circulation three days after its release, prompting the director to leave Shochiku Ofuna Studio and start his own production company. The film follows a young man and woman who meet and fall in love during the demonstrations against the treaty. Soon married, the couple finds marriage difficult as their political views threaten to dissolve their love. DVD includes Chinese subtitles, a collectible hardbill and a director's biography and filmography. In Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1960, 107 mins. DVD $69.95
The Sun's Burial Nagisa Oshima Oshima's most blatantly amoral and extravagantly violent version of the juvenile delinquency drama, set in a world of rival teenage gangs, pimps and prostitutes. Set in a hellish Osaka where an exquisitely cruel femme fatale vies for control of the area's most profitable business with the gangs. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1960, 87 mins. Videocassette $44.95
Violence at Noon Nagisa Oshima After investigating the case history of a rapist, Nagisa Oshima created one of the most effective crime films while transcending the genre. The story unfolds through the recollections of two women--the criminal's wife and one of his victims--strangely united in an effort to protect the rapist from capture. Their despair is linked to that of the rapist himself, and ultimately to the failure of the socialist movement in postwar Japan. Oshima masterfully demonstrates the ways in which the compulsion to crime and self-destruction reflects the pathology of the society in which the criminal and victim lives. With Saeda Kawaguchi, Akiko Koyama, Kei Sato and Matsuhiro Toura. Japanese with English subtitles. Japan, 1966, 100 mins. Videocassette $44.95