IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES

(A.k.a. AI NO KORIDA; AI NO CORRIDA; EMPIRE OF THE SENSES) Following an incredibly chequered history of controversy and censorship, Nagisa Oshima’s classic 1976 film finally comes to the UK in a BBFC-sanctioned uncut release.

It opens with Abe (Eiko Matsuda) arriving on the scene of Japanese businessman Ishida’s (Tatsuya Fuji) abode just prior to the First World War. He’s a wealthy married man, and has several female ‘assistants’: Abe, after witnessing him fucking his missus through a gap in their bedroom partitions, also wants to be one.

And so she strives to ingratiate herself with the other assistants, to the point where she laughs in the face of a tramp they pass on the street when he claims to recognise her from a brothel he used to frequent in Osaka. Later that night, when her new ‘friends’ have retired for the evening, she creeps back out onto the street to satisfy her old client ...

From there, she begins working as a maid at Ishida’s home and soon becomes his mistress. Whether guzzling his cum or ‘laying an egg’, she’s up for all sorts of action – sometimes even in front of her colleagues. This appears to turn Ishida on and doesn’t seem to upset Abe none. The only thing that upsets her is the notion that he may still appreciate sex from his wife ...

It’s a strangulated sexual affair from the start, for these two. Even if he does have the smallest cock you’ve ever seen.

Where’s this all leading? Well, a pivotal – hugely controversial – scene involving Abe sharing a seemingly frivolous moment with two children gives a fair indication of how depraved she is. And Ishida’s not too far behind.

Amazingly based on real events, this is a gloriously vivid and controlled film. Oshima directs with consummate style and respect for the tone of every single scene. Performances are candid, authentic and natural. Lighting and editing are superb: this is a genuinely brilliant film, for those looking for a technical triumph.

But it transcends that by also being an intelligent, emotionally involving and occasionally shocking film too. Sure, the hardcore sex segments – blowjobs, vaginal penetrations, wanking etc – are going to raise eyebrows even in this day and age – but it’s the attitudes of the protagonists and the almost fateful misfortune that awaits them, that truly hit home. Oshima gives us graphic sex, but focuses almost subliminally on the politics, the social mores and odd character quirks of the time.

This is a great film, pure and simple, building towards an iconically grim finale. But you most likely know all of this already.

SENSES looks mighty fine on this region B-encoded blu-ray disc. Colours are incredibly bold compared to previous standard definition releases, and some scenes that in the past seemed to have been filmed at dusk now literally pop with brightness and clarity. Just look at the definition of the early snowy scenes, for example.

The added detail and texture will be a revelation to anyone who hasn’t seen this film in some time. It’s also a satisfying upgrade to Criterion’s Region 1 DVD from 2009. However, although this transfer seems to be culled from the same print (same French titles etc), it has to be said that Criterion’s blu-ray release (also 2009) outdoes Optimum’s efforts in terms of sharpness and general film-like impressiveness. When I first saw the Criterion blu-ray (unfortunately Region A) I was astounded ... and this release, while impressive, simply isn’t quite there.

But potential punters shouldn’t be dismayed: this is an excellent, faithful HD rendition of the film – the fact that it’s up against one of the finest blu-rays I’ve ever seen is unfortunate for Optimum.

Amazingly, the film is fully uncensored here too. Again, it’s not the explicit sex that’s a surprise here (although there is more than I recall). It’s that aforementioned scene where Abe is playing with the kids. What happens in this scene has always been optically censored due to UK laws surrounding child abuse etc. So I’m baffled as to how the BBFC can now pass this scene uncensored, but then place a ban on a work of pure fantasy such as HUMAN CENTIPEDE: FULL SEQUENCE.

Still, we get SENSES uncut now – for better or worse – and it looks good.

Japanese audio is provided in DTS-HD Master stereo audio and is very good indeed, as are the optional English subtitles. Dialogue and sound design are clean, clear and consistent; Minori Muki’s annoyingly repetitive and ultimately catchy score is supremely served.

A static main menu page bears the same design as the excellent cover art, while pop-up menus include a scene-selection menu allowing access to SENSES via 8 chapters.

And then we get to some hugely appreciated extras:

"Once Upon A Time" is a 52-minute episode of Serge July and Marie Genin’s retrospective series, ‘A Film & Its Era’. This is a fascinating documentary about both the film and how Oshima’s career arrived at it.

It mixes film clips and new interviews with critics, peers etc, with archive interview of Oshima from the time (looking very young considering he was 42 when he made the film). All told, this an excellent, really professionally produced documentary which makes for a brilliant addition to this disc – exploring not only the making of SENSES, but its place in 70s cinema among other permissive films of the time such LAST TANGO IN PARIS and even LA BETE. The narration is English; the interview segments come in their original languages, with English subtitles.

Next up is "Recalling The Film", a 2003 programme that also featured on Criterion’s disc. This windowboxed French production opens to an interview with Oshima’s consultive producer Hayao Shibata, describing how the alliance with French company Argos (who co-produced SENSES) was first established. Oshima’s sometime distributor Yoko Asakura and assistant director Yoichi Sai contribute further, while Koji Wakamatsu – the film’s executive producer – offers more direct anecdotal memories about how he felt when he heard Oshima had taken the mantle to direct this film. These talking heads continue to provide decent first-hand accounts of Oshima’s approach to making and selling the film, over the course of this 38-minute offering. It’s presented in Japanese with English subtitles.

57 minutes of footage from a panel discussion recorded at Birbeck College follow. This isn’t just any old panel, either – the participants are Julian Ross (film historian), Jasper Sharp (author of ‘Behind The Pink Curtain: The Complete History Of Japanese Sex Cinema’), Roland Domenig (Japanese film scholar) and fellow scholar Mathieu Capel.

Ross is a surprisingly young-looking moderator as the four discuss the film at length, covering its notoriety and its many themes. Sharp comes across especially well, ingratiating himself from the start by revealing himself to be a video nasty collector in the 1980s – and stumbling across this film at the time, as I’m sure many of us also did, purely because the UK Virgin video release became controversial alongside all of those supposedly dodgy horrors that the DPP didn’t want us to see.

This is the best extra on the disc for me: a fantastic appraisal of the film that covers both nostalgia and a really insightful exploration of what the film is about. There does feel to be a bit of one-upmanship going on, but it’s fascinating to watch regardless.

Finally, we get 12 minutes of deleted footage. Taking their cue from the Criterion release, Optimum present these in HD, and furnish us with completed scenes – the deleted sequences being distinguished from what made the final cut by being presented in black-and-white. These scenes come with Japanese audio and are subtitled in English.

Optimum have really done a great job with this release. They’ve taken a seminal film, possibly changed UK law forever with the BBFC’s subsequent passing of it totally uncensored, given it a great HD rendering, and provided the best set of extras I’ve yet seen for it.

Criterion maintain the edge in terms of picture quality, but only slightly. Unless you’re Region A equipped, I wouldn’t even worry about it: this is a fantastic release.

This blu-ray set comes complete with a DVD disc of the film.

Buy with confidence.

Review by Stuart Willis