Erogotoshi-tachi yori: Jinruigaku nyûmon (1966)

Director:

Shohei Imamura

Writers:

Shohei Imamura (writer)
Akiyuki Nosaka (novel)

Release Date:

August 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Mr. Ogata lives a complicated life: he's is a pornographer making two skin flicks per day and trying...

Plot Keywords:

Barbershop | Carp | 1960s | 8mm | Fishbowl

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Shoichi Ozawa	...	Yoshimoto 'Sub' Ogata
Sumiko Sakamoto	...	Haru Masuda
Masaomi Kondo	...	Koichi
Keiko Sagawa	...	Keiko
Ganjiro Nakamura	...	Elderly Client
Chocho Miyako
Haruo Tanaka
Shinichi Nakano
Kô Nishimura
Ichirô Sugai

Also Known As:

The Amorists (USA)
The Pornographer (UK)
The Pornographers (USA) (reissue title)
The Pornographers: Introduction to Anthropology (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

128 min | USA:120 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Québec)

Company:

Imamura Productions

Trivia:

An English-subtitled print included among the opening credits the phrase, approximately, "presented by Phyllis and Eberhardt Kronhausen" - the well-known sexologists.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007)

Hard to believe this was made in 1966

Watching this I find that it's kind of hard to believe it was made in 1966, and I can't imagine exactly how it was received back then, but seen today this is still an amazing film and while I enjoyed it a lot I think I'd have to watch it again to see if I can pick up a bit more. Mr. Ogata is the main character, and he and his cronies make pornographic films, and what wonderful casts & crews they seem to round up. For anyone that thinks Japan is a polite society where everyone is well mannered, etc., think again. We even have a young woman cast as a school girl who's a bit "slow" says her dad, well, no, she's retarded. Of course they use her anyway because she's "the right age". This is a dark black comedy, and features a woman and her two children that Mr. Ogata lives with and supports, and none of them would apparently be the bedrocks of mental health, either. The young man has a thing for his mom, the young girl is rather "wild", and the woman is not very well, either mentally or physically, it would seem, and keeps the reincarnated spirit of her dead husband in a tank, because he came back as a carp. Mr. Ogata goes about his life in a rather stoic, matter-of-fact way that's so deadpan that it makes the humor in this even better. I did have a bit of trouble keeping up with who was who on occasion because this also jumps time periods a few times as well. There are a few scenes in this that were quite "arty", I guess you'd say, and the use of music and the stark way they were presented makes them really stand out in my mind. I liked this a lot, but I couldn't say I understood all that was happening or what I was seeing, but with a more careful watch I suppose I would like it even better. I would recommend this to fans of Asian cinema, and maybe even a few more adventurous types. 8 out of 10.