Details by Film
Pigs and Battleships
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The Insect Woman
Streaming Options
Intentions of Murder
Streaming Options
Pigs and Battleships
A dazzling, unruly portrait of postwar Japan, Pigs and Battleships details, with escalating absurdity, the desperate power struggles between small-time gangsters in the port town of Yokosuka. Shot in gorgeously composed, bustling CinemaScope, the film follows a young couple as they try to navigate Yokosuka’s corrupt businessmen, chimpira, and their own unsure future together. With its breakneck pacing and constantly inventive cinematography, this film marked Shohei Imamura as a major voice in Japanese cinema.
The Insect Woman
Born in a rural farming village in 1918, Tomé survives decades of Japanese social upheaval, as well as abuse and servitude at the hands of various men. Yet Shohei Imamura, ever the cinematic “entomologist,” refuses to make a victim of her, instead observing Tomé (played by the extraordinary Sachiko Hidari) as a fascinating, pragmatic creature of twentieth-century Japan. A portrait of opportunism and resilience in three generations of women, The Insect Woman is Imamura’s most expansive film, and Tomé his ultimate heroine.
Intentions of Murder
Sadako (Masumi Harukawa), cursed by generations before her and neglected by her common-law husband, falls prey to a brutal home intruder. But rather than become a victim, she forges a path to her own awakening. This disturbing and pitiless evocation of domestic drudgery and sexual violence is also a fascinating, unsentimental account of one woman’s determination. Filled with director Shohei Imamura’s characteristic flashbacks and dream sequences, Intentions of Murder is a gripping, audacious portrait of a woman coming into her own in a man’s world.
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Supplements
- “Imamura: the Freethinker,” a 1995 episode of the French television series Cinéma de notre temps
- Conversation between Shohei Imamura and critic Tadao Sato about the film
- Conversation between Shohei Imamura and critic Tadao Sato about the film
- Interview with critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with critic and historian Tony Rayns
- Interview with critic and historian Tony Rayns
- A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Audie Bock
- A booklet featuring an essay by film critics Dennis Lim
- A booklet featuring an essay by film critic James Quandt
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Release Notes on Restoration
Presented in its original monaural format, the soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack print. Pops, crackle, hiss, and hum were reduced with an array of audio restoration techniques.
Presented in its original monaural format, the soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack print. Pops, crackle, hiss, and hum were reduced with an array of audio restoration techniques.
Presented in its original monaural format, the soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from a 35mm optical soundtrack print. Pops, crackle, hiss, and hum were reduced with an array of audio restoration techniques.