Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)

During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.

Director:

Nagisa Ôshima

Writers:

Laurens van der Post (novel), Nagisa Ôshima (screenplay)

Stars:

David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Bowie	...	Maj. Jack 'Strafer' Celliers
Tom Conti	...	Col. John Lawrence
Ryuichi Sakamoto	...	Capt. Yonoi (as Ryûichi Sakamoto)
Takeshi Kitano	...	Sgt. Gengo Hara (as Takeshi)
Jack Thompson	...	Group Capt. Hicksley
Johnny Ohkura	...	Kanemoto
Alistair Browning	...	De Jong
James Malcolm	...	Celliers' Brother
Chris Broun	...	Celliers aged 12
Yûya Uchida	...	Commandant of Military Prison
Ryûnosuke Kaneda	...	President of the Court
Takashi Naitô	...	Lt. Iwata
Tamio Ishikura	...	Prosecutor
Rokkô Toura	...	Interpreter
Kan Mikami	...	Lt. Ito

Storyline

In 1942 British soldier Jack Celliers comes to a Japanese prison camp. The camp is run by Yonoi, who has a firm belief in discipline, honor and glory. In his view, the allied prisoners are cowards when they chose to surrender instead of committing suicide. One of the prisoners, interpreter John Lawrence, tries to explain the Japanese way of thinking, but is considered a traitor.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese soldier | briton abroad | japanese military | japanese culture | homoeroticism | 

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Taglines:

Java, 1942 - A clash of cultures, a test of the human spirit.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK Japan New Zealand

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

2 September 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Furyo

Filming Locations:

Wanganui, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Trustees, Cineventure Productions London, Recorded Picture Company (RPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First English language movie to feature Takeshi Kitano

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Goofs

In the final scene in the prison cell, the cross belt of Lt Col Lawrence's Sam Browne is fitted back to front.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] Wake up, Lawrence.
Colonel Lawrence: [in Japanese] What is it? Why so early, Sergeant Hara?
Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] Hurry up!
Group Capt. Hicksley: What does he want?
Colonel Lawrence: [in English] I'll find out?
Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] What?
Group Capt. Hicksley: You don't have to take orders from this man, you know, Lawrence.
Colonel Lawrence: Well, I'm the liaison officer, so I'm liaising.
Sgt. Gengo Hara: [in Japanese] What did he say?
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Vedro: All You Could Possibly Want for Christmas and New Year (2016)

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Soundtracks

Forbidden Colours
(uncredited)
Composed and Performed by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Sung by David Sylvian

User Reviews

Very good

this movie is so underrated it should be a crime, this film is a master piece when watched fully (the amount of people who must have watched the first 10 minutes and switched off must be many) but trust me, you have to watch it all, the thing that hits me the most about this movie is its strong morals (especially with Jack celliers played by David Bowie, and his flashbacks, and these also play a part later in story-watch it and you will see what i mean) and the way in which the human spirit works, really all i can say is you will NEVER understand until you watch the film FULLY, remember DON'T: 1. Be put of that David Bowie stars (you don't notice its him anyway, you believe him as his character) 2. Don't think it is going to be boring and switch off in first 10 minutes this is a great film and personally i think the greatest movie of all time, it is very underrated.