In the Realm of the Senses [Criterion Collection]

"In 1976, Nagisa Oshima's Ai No Corrida (aka In The Realm Of The Senses) became an international succ?s de scandale largely thanks to its extensive and explicit sex scenes, which caused some legal trouble in Germany and the United States and courted controversy wherever it played (the film has yet to receive an uncut release in Japan, where it was filmed). However, while Oshima was one of the first filmmakers of note to feature frank and clearly unsimulated erotic scenes in a ""mainstream"" motion picture, the subsequent appearance of movies like Romance, Baise-Moi, Intimacy, The Brown Bunny and Shortbus has blunted some of the shock of In The Realm Of The Senses, and it's a bit easier now to observe and appreciate the film's other qualities -- the political subtext of the story, the excellent performances by Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda, the carefully controlled visual style -- which were often overlooked during its initial release. The Criterion Collection's 2009 DVD release of In The Realm Of The Senses is easily the best looking and most thorough presentation this movie has received in North America, and should help the film to find a more appreciative and discerning audience. In The Realm Of The Senses has been transferred to disc in its preferred widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1; the image is letterboxed on conventional televisions and enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16x9 monitors. The quality of the transfer is nearly flawless, with sharper detail than the film's previous video editions and a rich, satisfying color palate. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono retaining the original mix, and while the improvement in the sound quality isn't as impressive as the picture, the clarity and detail is inarguably impressive. The dialogue is in Japanese, with optional English subtitles but no multiple language options. As one would expect from Criterion, this release includes a number of impressive bonus features, most notably a commentary track from film historian Tony Rayns, who delivers an intelligent appraisal of the film's style and approach, the work of director Oshima, the true story that inspired the picture and sex in Japanese cinema. The disc also includes a short 2003 documentary on the making of the film (featuring interviews with a number of key production personnel), a 1976 television interview with Oshima, Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda, a new interview with Fuji conducted for this release, a handful of brief scenes cut from the film, and the original U.S. release trailer. Finally, the thick and beautifully designed booklet that comes with this set contains a thoughtful, literate essay from Japanese film historian Donald Richie and highlights from a 1983 magazine interview with Nagisa Oshima. In The Realm Of The Senses is far more than ""just a sex film,"" and this DVD release offers a splendid opportunity to investigate its fusion of the sensual and the philosophical."