In the Realm of the Senses is an erotic art film directed and written by Nagisa Ōshima. An international coproduction of France and Japan, the film generated great controversy during its initial release. The film had the involvement of pink film luminary Kōji Wakamatsu as co-screenwriter and assistant producer.
Censorship[]
Australian censorship[]
- The film was banned in 1977 for its sexual and violent content. It was initially played uncut at Sydney and Melbourne film festivals in that year, but was refused uncut for wide release. It was passed cut later that same year. The uncut version was banned again in 1981, and several VHS releases in the 1980s were cut.
Belgian censorship[]
- The film is banned in Belgium due to its excessive sexual, violent, and gory content.
Israeli censorship[]
- The film was banned in Israel in 1987 due to its pornographic content.
Japanese censorship[]
- This film was banned in Japan for its graphic sex scenes.
Portuguese censorship[]
- This film, while not banned in Portugal, caused major controversy after for its airing on the state-owned network RTP in 1991 due to its sexual themes and explicit scenes as it was screened during the watershed slot. The film aired again on RTP2 with little fanfare.
Where to find it uncensored[]
Any other country has this film available.
In Japan, after the court ruled in favor of the director Nagisa Ōshima in 1982, the film is still available in Japan, but only in a censored cut.
The film was finally passed uncut in Australia in October 2000 and released in August 2001 after decision regarding Romance. In 2008, it was re-released by Umbrella, using the slightly censored UK DVD version, but has since been allowed uncut, with a R 18+ classification.