Empire of Passion (1978) ( Ai no borei ) ( Empire of the Passions (In the Realm of Passion) )

Empire of Passion (1978) (Blu-Ray) (*)

Out of Stock

Original Title: Ai no borei
Alternate Title: Empire of the Passions (In the Realm of Passion)
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Cannes Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Japanese ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Japanese ( DTS-HD Master Audio )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
105 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.66:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1978 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Japan ( India, Eastern Asia )

Directed By:
Nagisa Oshima

Written By:
Itoko Namura
Nagisa Oshima

Actors:
Tatsuya Fuji ..... Toyoji
Kazuko Yoshiyuki ..... Seki
Takahiro Tamura ..... Gisaburo
Takuzo Kawatani ..... Inspector Hotta
Akyoshi Fujiwara ..... Oshin
Masami Hasegawa ..... Mother of Landowner
Kenzo Kawarazaki ..... Odame
Tatsuya Kimura ..... Toichiro
Eizo Kitamura
Akiko Koyama
Sumie Sasaki
Takaki Sugiura
Taiji Tonoyama

Synopsis:

With an arresting mix of eroticism and horror, Oshima plunges the viewer into a nightmarish tale of guilt and retribution in Empire of Passion (Ai no borei). Set in a Japanese village at the end of the nineteenth century, the film details the emotional and physical downfall of a married woman and her younger lover following their decision to murder her husband and dump his body in a well. Empire of Passion was Oshima's only true kaidan (Japanese ghost story), and the film, a savage, unrelenting experience, earned him the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1895, in a small village in Japan, the wife of the litter carrier Gisaburo (Takahiro Tamura), Seki (Kazuko Yoshiyuki), has an affair with a man twenty-six years younger, Toyiji (Tatsuya Fuji). Toyiji becomes jealous of Gisaburo and plots with Seki to kill him. They strangle Gisaburo and dump his body inside a well in the woods, and Seki tells the locals that Gisaburo moved to Tokyo to work. Three years later, the locals gossip about the fate of Gisaburo, and Seki is haunted by his ghost. The situation becomes unbearable to Seki and Toyiji when a police authority comes to the village to investigate the disappearance of Gisaburo.

A young man has an affair with an older woman. He is very jealous of her husband and decides that they should kill him. One night, after the husband had plenty of sake to drink and was in bed, they strangle him and dump his body down a well. To avert any suspicions, she pretends her husband has gone off to Tokyo to work. For three years the wife and her lover secretly see each other. Finally, suspicions become very strong and people begin to gossip. To make matters worse, her husband's ghost begins to haunt her and the law arrives to investigate her husband's disappearance.

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 30 October, 2011.