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The Pornographers - Criterion Collection

The Pornographers - Criterion Collection

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Classic Imamura which surpasses his most well-known works.
Review: Before Todd Solondz and Tarantino, there was Shohei Imamura. Of course, much of the taboo material is implied rather than shown, but the comedy is indeed just as black. But perhaps the most precious aspect of this film is Imamura's style. Jump cuts, freeze frames, and other New Wave cliches missing in his later works are here in full force, contributing to the eerie beauty resulting from some interesting lighting schemes (this is a black and white film). The story concerns a middle-aged barber(think of The Eel,1997)who makes 8mm pornos. Not surprisingly, his homelife is as unconventional as his artistic endeavors, and much of the comedy stems from the follies of the latter component while tension builds form the former(his wife slowly goes insane). It is Imamura's great talent to shuttle between the two, and his later works never achieved the same level of deftness.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I did not get it
Review: I had to watch this in a class. I thought this was one of the worst movies ever. The movie was over long. I guess i'm just a dumb college student but i did not get this movie at all. The weird camera work made the movie even more confuseing. Like the shot looking though a fish bowl. The move seems to be about and old pervert that likes to make porn and try to sleep with his girlfriends daughter. Then he becomes frustrated with women and trys to desgin the perfect doll, i got this part of the movie and it was down right discusting and i'm not a partically moral person. I hated every minute of this movie, don't waste your time or money its long borring and discusting. sorry for the misspellings and bad grammar

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I did not get it
Review: I would not recommend this movie if you are not a fan of either Imamura or Japanese new wave. Like most Imamura films this movie is so completely bizarre that it keeps your interest through utter fascination. Imamura says "I am interested in the lower structure of society and the lower part of the human body." This is a good summary of this movie. The lead, a pornographer believes that he is doing a favor to society by creating 16mm B&W black market porns. The most incredible scene I have ever seen on film is in this movie, a dream like sequence with surf music and a insane woman in a mental hospital are a brief description. To see this one scene is reason enough to buy this.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another great from Imamura
Review: I would not recommend this movie if you are not a fan of either Imamura or Japanese new wave. Like most Imamura films this movie is so completely bizarre that it keeps your interest through utter fascination. Imamura says "I am interested in the lower structure of society and the lower part of the human body." This is a good summary of this movie. The lead, a pornographer believes that he is doing a favor to society by creating 16mm B&W black market porns. The most incredible scene I have ever seen on film is in this movie, a dream like sequence with surf music and a insane woman in a mental hospital are a brief description. To see this one scene is reason enough to buy this.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: NO SKIN FLICK
Review: Love'em or hate 'em, idiosyncratic films that dabble with subversive notions and stories of fringe people make some viewers uncomfortable. You either get it or not. For those who do, there are rewards.

Shohei Imamura's THE PORNOGRAPHERS (Home Vision Entertainment) is about "public service" amateur porn filmmaker Subu. He supports and sleeps with landlady Haru, who thinks her disapproving dead husband has returned as a carp. But really, Sabu lusts after Haru's daughter. Voyeurism and incest is kinky comic fodder for Imamura, who said he's interested in "lower human society and the lower parts of the human body." Not for every taste, but way ahead of it's time. If you liked this one, see if you can find "Down and Dirty."

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: NO SKIN FLICK
Review: Love'em or hate 'em, idiosyncratic films that dabble with subversive notions and stories of fringe people make some viewers uncomfortable. You either get it or not. For those who do, there are rewards.

Shohei Imamura's THE PORNOGRAPHERS (Home Vision Entertainment) is about "public service" amateur porn filmmaker Subu. He supports and sleeps with landlady Haru, who thinks her disapproving dead husband has returned as a carp. But really, Sabu lusts after Haru's daughter. Voyeurism and incest is kinky comic fodder for Imamura, who said he's interested in "lower human society and the lower parts of the human body." Not for every taste, but way ahead of it's time. If you liked this one, see if you can find "Down and Dirty."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: More fun than I ever expected...
Review: The Pornographers explores fetishism and unusual sexual arrangements with the bravado of a contemporary film designed to titillate the jaded bourgeoisie at Cannes, albeit with significantly less nudity. It's real, quirky, humorous, and it has a heart - in addition to dealing thoughtfully with the racy topics at hand. Even the choppily edited dream sequences seem to add to rather than detract from the overall experience.

An artful and engaging piece of cinema far ahead of its time.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Quaint and Silly.
Review: There is a case for decrepit cinematic 'crud' being universal. This is it. Get Ozu's "Tokyo Story" instead (out on Criterion). That is a piece of timeless lyrical cinema. This film merely confirms that risque cinema quickly loses its potency (losing it in favour of a ephemeral revolutionary stance). A Waste.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Quaint and Silly.
Review: There is a case for decrepit cinematic 'crud' being universal. This is it. Get Ozu's "Tokyo Story" instead (out on Criterion). That is a piece of timeless lyrical cinema. This film merely confirms that risque cinema quickly loses its potency (losing it in favour of a ephemeral revolutionary stance). A Waste.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: a very young work
Review: This is a film that shows the potential of Shohei Imamura, but im afraid it does not fulfill it. The film trys to hard to be arty:the jump cuts and "creative" camera movement serve only to confuse and alienate the viewer.

Imamura is a master film maker, and this isnt a horrible film, but if you want to see his best, get "the Eel" or "warm water under a red bridge"


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