The culmination of Shôhei Imamura’s extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, Profound Desires of the Gods [Kamigami no fukaki yokubô] was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary — albeit least seen — Japanese films of recent decades.
Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island, the film centres on the disgraced, superstitious, interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well — an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways.
A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce, Imamura’s merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour ‘Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this unforgettable work in an exclusively restored high-definition 1080p transfer on Blu-ray only.
Special Features
- Spectacular new 1080p HD encode in the film’s original aspect ratio
- New and improved optional English subtitle translation
- New video introduction by film scholar Tony Rayns
- Original Japanese theatrical trailer (in 1080p)
- 44-page booklet with a new essay by Tony Rayns (to accompany his introduction); rare production stills; two statements from Imamura; and a transcript of Imamura’s introduction and Q&A session at the 1994 Edinburgh International Film Festival’s screening of the film
