"Director: Shôhei Imamura"

• Vengeance is Mine | Blu Ray | (13/02/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the true story of Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) and his murderous rampage which sparked a 78-day nationwide manhunt, Shhei Imamura’s disturbing gem 'Vengeance Is Mine' won every major award in Japan on the year of its release. Both seducing and repelling with its unusual story and grisly humour, mamura uncovers a seedy underbelly of civilised Japanese society. Unfolding through multiple flashbacks, Ogata delivers a career-defining performance as a day-labourer and smalltime con-artist who, after killing two of his co-workers, embarks on a psychopathic spree of rape and murder. Eluding the police and public, Japan’s infamous “King of Criminals” passes himself off as a Kyoto University professor, only to become entangled with an innkeeper and her perverted mother. Five years in the making, 'Vengeance Is Mine' transcends the imitations of run-of-the-mill criminal studies by presenting a portrait of a killer imbued with a poignant, tragic banality. Special Features: New 1080p Blu-ray encode in the film’s original aspect ratio New and improved optional English subtitle translation Audio commentary by noted critic and filmmaker Tony Rayns Video introduction by film director Alex Cox Original Japanese theatrical teaser and trailer (Blu-ray only) 56-Page Booklet featuring a 1994 interview with Imamura by Tichi Nakata, original promotional material, and a director’s statement

• Survivor Ballads: Three Films by Shohei Imamura Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (07/12/2020) from £44.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Throughout the 1980s, Shohei Imamura (The Pornographers, Profound Desires of the Gods), a leading figure of the Japanese New Wave era of the 1960s, cemented his international reputation as one of the most important directors of his generation with a series of films that all competed at Cannes to great critical acclaim. This exclusive box set from Arrow Academy presents restored versions of three late career classics from the legendary filmmaker. Based on an ancient folktale, The Ballad of Narayama (1983) was the first of two works from the director to win the prestigious Cannes Palme d'Or. Imamura's magnum opus depicts the members of an extended farming family eking out their existence in the mountainous north of Japan against the backdrop of the changing seasons before village lore decrees they make the sacrifice of abandoning their aged mother on the top of a nearby mountain when she reaches her seventieth year. Making its HD debut, Zegen (1987) takes a satirical look at Japan's prewar colonial expansion through the unscrupulous eyes of its flesh-peddler antihero as he establishes a prostitution enterprise across Southeast Asia. Finally, the harrowing Black Rain (1989) details the precarious existence of a household of atomic bomb survivors as, five years after being caught in the blast of Hiroshima, they struggle to find a husband for their 25-year-old niece. These three works epitomise the director's almost documentary style of filmmaking, exposing the vulgar yet vibrant and instinctive underbelly of Japanese society through a sympathetic focus on peasants, prostitutes, criminal lowlife and other marginalised figures to explore the schism between the country's timeless premodern traditions and the modern face it projects to the world. LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS Restored High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all three films Original lossless Japanese PCM 1.0 mono soundtracks Optional English subtitles Brand new audio commentaries on all three films by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp Brand new, in-depth appreciations of all three films by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns Alternate colour ending to Black Rain, shot by Imamura but removed from the film shortly before its release Archival interviews on Black Rain with actress Yoshiko Tanaka and assistant director Takashi Miike Multiple trailers and image galleries Original Japanese press kits for The Ballad of Narayama and Black Rain (BD-ROM content) Limited edition 60-page booklet containing new writing by Tom Mes Limited edition packaging featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella

• THE SHOHEI IMAMURA MASTERPIECE COLLECTION (Masters of Cinema) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) Box Set | Blu Ray | (19/10/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £47.99

  From his first film through to one of his last, this collection brings together eight masterpieces of Japanese cinema from the career of Shohei Imamura that spans more than forty years, presented in a deluxe box set featuring Vengeance is Mine, The Ballad of Narayama, Profound Desires of the Gods, The Insect Woman, Nishi-Ginza Station, Pigs & Battleships, Stolen Desire and A Man Vanishes. Vengeance is Mine - Based on the true story of Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) and his murderous rampage which sparked a 78-day nationwide manhunt, Shohei Imamura’s disturbing gem Vengeance Is Mine won every major award in Japan on the year of its release. Both seducing and repelling with its unusual story and grisly humour, Imamura uncovers a seedy underbelly of civilised Japanese society. (Blu-ray & DVD) The Ballad of Narayama - A vividly realised inverse image of “civilised” society, The Ballad of Narayama presents a bracingly unsentimental rumination on mortality and an engrossing study of a community’s struggles against the natural elements. It is one of the legendary director’s deepest, richest works (for which he won his first Palme D’or), and ranks among the finest films of its decade. (Blu-ray & DVD) Profound Desires of the Gods - The culmination of Imamura’s extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary — albeit least seen — Japanese films of recent decades. (Blu-ray & DVD) The Insect Woman - Comparing his heroine, Tome Matsuki (played by Sachiko Hidari, who won the “Best Actress” award at the 1964 Berlin Film Festival for the role) to the restlessness and survival instincts of worker insects, the film is an unsparing study of working-class female life. Beginning with Tome’s birth in 1918, it follows her through five decades of social change, several improvised careers, and male-inflicted cruelty. (Blu-ray & DVD) Nishi-Ginza Station - Serving as a vehicle for popular singer Frank Nagai, Nishi Ginza Station tells a whimsical story about a conservative man who daydreams about romancing a native woman on a deserted island. In reality, he works at a drugstore owned by his wife. The film is one of the earlier comedies directed by Shohei Imamura. (Blu-ray & DVD) Pigs & Battleships - Imamura finally answered his true calling as Japanese cinema’s most dedicated and brilliant chronicler of society’s underbelly with the astonishing Pigs and Battleships [Buta to gunkan]. A riotous portrait of sub-Yakuza gangsters battling for control of the local pork business in the U.S. Navy-occupied coastal town of Yokosuka, Imamura conjures a chaotic world of petty thugs, young love, tough-headed women, and underworld hypochondria, with one of the most unforgettable climaxes ever filmed. (Blu-ray & DVD) Stolen Desire - This cinematic gem is Shohei Imamura's first feature film. In this rambunctious story adapted from Toko Kon's novel Tent Theatre, a troupe of actors travel from town to town, putting on shows for the local community. They reel in crowds with strip shows, but the company's passion lies with the theatre. (Blu-ray & DVD) A Man Vanishes - It is difficult to summarise Shôhei Imamura’s legendary 1967 film, the first picture produced by Japan’s countercultural Art Theatre Guild (ATG). Is it a documentary that turns into a fiction? A narrative film from beginning to end? A record of improvisation populated with actors or non-actors (and in what proportion)? Is it the investigation into a true disappearance, or a work merely inspired by actual events? Even at the conclusion of its final movement, A Man Vanishes [Ningen jôhatsu, or The Unexplained Disappearance of a Human Being] mirrors its subject in deflecting inquiries into the precise nature of its own being. (DVD only)

• Pigs & Battleships / Stolen Desire | Blu Ray | (27/06/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  With this his fifth film Shhei Imamura finally answered his true calling as Japanese cinema's most dedicated and brilliant chronicler of society's underbelly with the astonishing Pigs and Battleships [Buta to gunkan]. A riotous portrait of sub-Yakuza gangsters battling for control of the local pork business in a U.S. Navy-occupied coastal town (Yokosuka) Imamura conjures a chaotic world of petty thugs young love tough-headed women and underworld hypochondria with one of the most unforgettable climaxes ever to grace the screen. Featuring dynamic black-and-white 'Scope cinematography the director's typically sly sense of social commentary and a host of outstanding performances (including Jitsuko Yoshimura from Onibaba) Pigs and Battleships immediately became a cornerstone of the Japanese New Wave and remains perhaps Imamura's most sheerly entertaining work.

• Warm Water Under A Red Bridge | DVD | (25/08/2003) from £10.87   |  Saving you £10.88 (119.43%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the novel by Henmi Yo this is the story of Yosuke who finds himself down on his luck after he loses his job and is separated from his wife. He is told that a priceless item is to be found at a house on the Noto Peninsula and travels there to retrieve it. On his arrival at the house he is welcomed by a young lady called Saeko who has a very strange secret....

• The Eel | DVD | (12/03/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  After an eight-year prison sentence for murder Tajuro chooses to start a new life as a barber in a small town which offers perfect isolation from his fears. As a favour to the town priest he agrees to help a young woman with a troubled past by offering her job as his assistant. However when he least expects it her past is about to colllide with his. Winner of the 1997 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

• The Ballad of Narayama (1983) (Masters of Cinema) | Blu Ray | (24/10/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Cinematic anthropologist extraordinaire Shohei Imamura won his first Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival for The Ballad of Narayama [Narayama bushiko], his transcendent adaptation of two classic stories by Shichiro Fukazawa. In a small village in a remote valley where the harshness of life dictates that survival overrules compassion, elderly widow Orin is approaching her 70th birthday -- the age when village law says she must go up to the mythic Mount Narayama to die. But there are several loose ends within her own family to tie up first. Creating a vividly realised inverse image of civilised society with typical directness and black humour, Imamura presents a bracingly unsentimental rumination on mortality and an engrossing study of a community's struggles against the natural elements. Handled with a masterful control and simplicity, moving effortlessly between the comic and the horrific, The Ballad of Narayama is one of the legendary director's deepest, richest works, and ranks among the finest films of its decade.

• The Insect Woman/ Nishi-Ginza Station - Dual Format (Blu-ray+DVD) | Blu Ray | (20/02/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  My heroines are true to life - just look around you at Japanese women. They are strong, and they outlive men, director Shhei Imamura once observed. And so an audacious, anthropological approach to filmmaking came into full maturity with the director's vast 1963 chronicle of pre- and post-war Japan, The Insect Woman (Nippon-konchki, or An Account of Japanese Insects).Comparing his heroine, Tome Matsuki (played by Sachiko Hidari, who won the Best Actress award at the 1964 Berlin Film Festival for the role) to the restlessness and survival instincts of worker insects, the film is an unsparing study of working-class female life. Beginning with Tome's birth in 1918, it follows her through five decades of social change, several improvised careers, and male-inflicted cruelty.Elliptically plotted, brimming over with black humour and taboo material, and immaculately staged in crystalline NikkatsuScope, The Insect Woman is arguably Imamura's most radical and emphatic testament to female resilience.

• Vengeance Is Mine | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the true story of Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) and his murderous rampage which sparked a 78-day nationwide manhunt Shohei Imamura's disturbing gem won every major award in Japan on the year of its release. Both seducing and repelling with its unusual story and grisly humour Imamura uncovers a seedy underbelly of civilised Japanese society. Unfolding through multiple flashbacks Ogata delivers a career-defining performance as a day-labourer and smalltime con-artist who after

• A Man Vanishes (1967) (Masters of Cinema) | DVD | (24/10/2011) from £18.88   |  Saving you £1.11 (5.88%)   |  RRP £19.99

  It is difficult to summarise Shohei Imamura's legendary 1967 film, the first picture produced by Japan's countercultural Art Theatre Guild (ATG). Is it a documentary that turns into a fiction? A narrative film from beginning to end? A record of improvisation populated with actors or non-actors (and in what proportion)? Is it the investigation into a true disappearance, or a work merely inspired by actual events? Even at the conclusion of its final movement, A Man Vanishes [Ningen johatsu, or The Unexplained Disappearance of a Human Being] mirrors its subject in deflecting inquiries into the precise nature of its own being. A middle-class salaryman has gone missing - possibly of his own accord - and a film crew has set out to assemble a record of the man and the events surrounding his disappearance. As the crew meticulously builds a cachet of interviews with the man's family and lovers, their subject and his motivations become progressively more elusive - until the impossibility of the endeavour seems to transform the very film itself. Long unavailable anywhere on home video, Imamura's A Man Vanishes remains a unique and crucial entry in a provocative filmmaker's body of work, daring as it does to ask the big questions: what is reality, and what is a man?

• Profound Desires of the Gods - Dual Format (Blu-ray+DVD) | Blu Ray | (24/10/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The culmination of Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s, Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release, but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades.Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island, the film centres on the disgraced, superstitious, interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways.A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce, Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses.

• Profound Desires of the Gods | Blu Ray | (21/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The culmination of Shohei Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades. Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island the film centres on the disgraced superstitious interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways. A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses.

• Vengeance Is Mine | Blu Ray | (02/08/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Based on the true story of Iwao Enokizu (Ken Ogata) and his murderous rampage which sparked a 78-day nationwide manhunt Shohei Imamura's disturbing gem Vengeance Is Mine won every major award in Japan on the year of its release. Both seducing and repelling with its unusual story and grisly humour Imamura uncovers a seedy underbelly of civilised Japanese society. Unfolding through multiple flashbacks Ogata delivers a career-defining performance as a day-labourer and smalltime con-artist who after killing two of his co-workers embarks on a psychopathic spree of rape and murder. Eluding the police and public Japan's infamous King of Criminals passes himself off as a Kyoto University professor only to become entangled with an innkeeper and her perverted mother. Five years in the making Vengeance Is Mine transcends the limitations of run-of-the-mill criminal studies by presenting a portrait of a killer imbued with a poignant tragic banality.

• Profound Desires of the Gods | DVD | (21/02/2011) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The culmination of Shohei Imamura's extraordinary examinations of the fringes of Japanese society throughout the 1960s Profound Desires of the Gods was an 18-month super-production which failed to make an impression at the time of its release but has since risen in stature to become one of the most legendary - albeit least seen - Japanese films of recent decades. Presenting a vast chronicle of life on the remote Kurage Island the film centres on the disgraced superstitious interbred Futori family and the Tokyo engineer sent to supervise the creation of a new well - an encounter which leads to both conflict and complicity in strange and powerful ways. A tragic view of a passing epoch that teeters on the edge of grotesque farce Imamura's merciless gaze combines with spectacular colour 'Scope photography to create a mythic saga convulsing with earthly impulses. From the director of Vengeance is Mine and Warm Water Under a Red Bridge the Masters of Cinema series is proud to present this unforgettable work for the first time in the UK on DVD in an exclusively restored high-definition transfer released on 21 February 2011.