In the Realm of the Senses (1977)

Nagisa Oshima's sensational, 1976 film concerns a woman (Eiko Matsuda) whose obsessive sexual relationship with her husband (Tatsuya Fuji) crosses the line from passion into the territory of life and death. One of the most sexually explicit films ever to play in mainstream theaters (though it did run into legal trouble both in the U.S. and Japan), it has an air of palpable doom, suggesting that sex can be a doorway to suicide. Lest this sound like grunge-era noodling over dreams of self-destruction, be assured that the Kyoto-born Oshima (Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence) takes a somewhat formal, middle-aged perspective on the conjunction of various mysteries of existence. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

BORING, distasteful, waste of your precious time!!!

i am by no means turned off by tastefully done sex scenes, but this movie was just a huge disappointment. i had been curious about it for a while, and when i finally got around to seeing it, it was almost entirely 104 minutes of meaningless, unhealthy, obsessive and unexciting sex. in my book, this movie IS a porn, as all the sex is as graphic as pornos, including oral sex and what follows the act, if you get my groove. although not a typical "money shot," this was surely another version of it, and which i could have gone elsewhere to watch if that's what i had wanted to see [and *ahem*, with well-endowed people, *ahem*.] given that the main woman is an ex-prostitute, perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised that she has limited pass-times and has allowed herself to become such an instrument with limited capabilities, but clearly I refuse to believe that every prostitute in the world is that mechanical and devoid of any substance not pertaining to sex. On a final note, I even watched this with a guy, and it did not take long for us to become bored with both the movie AND the sex [which are pretty much one and the same here], and the conclusion to it just made us feel like we'd wasted money renting this when we could have [and should have] watched something else. Would highly recommend anything... BUT this!! July 11, 2008

Work of Art in Double X

Not for the timid who blush at raw passion !!! I first saw the film in '77 at Detroit Institute of Art and still consider the film a masterpiece in the study of sensual pleasure without restraint. May 23, 2008

It took me five years to get a copy!

It took me five years to get a copy and I treasure it! You do not know how the human mind will go in search of sexual pleasure until you watch this movie. This movie is not for mentally disturbed people, it is not for minors, and not for the faint hearted people. This movie is used for psychology courses as a prime example of human sexuality and mental diseases. If you want to see real raw sex and a really interesting plot, try to get a copy. Good Luck! February 17, 2008

Ouch!

Don't get me wrong I can go for the erotic every now and then but this was ridiculous. The characters were to underdeveloped and from the beginning all you see is sex, sex, sex. I would have liked it more if they mentioned each characters background, especially what the wife thought about Sada. The scene when she was on her period, in my opinion was disgusting. and the part when she touched the filthy bum I wanted to throw up. The end shocked me because ole girl pulled a Bobbitt move that they actually showed. Not the best erotic film I have seen. Definitely not sensual enough. All the sex they were having got boring after awhile and there conversations were almost always the same. More like softcore porn. November 29, 2007

Intense

You know I have to say there is something about the Japanese when they make an erotic film, something different about it. Some may say it is pornography but if you are so offended by scenes in a film of a sexual nature then why on earth did you buy/rent this film in the first place? This was one of the first films to show full penetration and be left uncut by the film censors and now there are a few out there such as 9 songs, while 9 songs however in spite of its best efforts is just awful this is very different.

The film revolves around a married man who falls for an ex prostitute and begins an intense relationship that eventually becomes their downfall. The 2 of them reach a point where they never leave their room just constantly making love to one another to such an extent that other women begin to complain about first them then the smell (Yeh I know yuk!) The various sexual acts that they perform on one another just adds to the intensity of the film especially when Sada demands that he no longer have sex with his wife on threat of castration and even says she will be watching him and that she will 'know' if he does.

There are scenes which some may feel uncomfortable with (such as him grabbing a chubby maid and having sex with her much to the amusement of Sada or him having sex with an elderly Geisha in front of Sada at her request) Other scenes such as the sex while strangulation and scenes of penetration may also make some uncomfortable. For me though, the final scene of the film was the more disturbing rather than the rest of the content.

An intense and sometimes disturbing film but one to watch all the same. October 13, 2007

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