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Uniform Title Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Motion picture)
Title Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence / a Jeremy Thomas production ; a Nagisa Oshima film ; screenplay by Nagisa Oshima with Paul Mayersberg ; producer, Jeremy Thomas ; directed by Nagisa Oshima ; National Film Trustee Company ; made in association with Antares-Nova N.V., Recorded Picture Company, Oshima Productions, Asahi National Broadcasting Co. Ltd. and Broadbank Investments Limited.

Imprint [Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, ©2010.

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Newington, Lucy Robbins Welles Library - Adult Department  AD DVD MERRY DISC 1-2    Check Shelf
 South Windsor Public Library - Audio-Visual Materials  DVD MERRY CHRISTMAS MR LAWRENCE DISC 1-2    Check Shelf
Edition Widescreen.
Description 2 videodiscs (123 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (28 pages : color illustrations ; 19 cm) inserted in container.
Series The Criterion collection ; 535
Criterion collection ; 535.
System Details DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby digital surround 2.0 stereo; widescreen presentation, preserving the 1.78:1 aspect ratio of the original theatrical exhibition, enhanced for 16:9 televisions.
Language In English and Japanese with optional subtitles in English.
Note Based on the novel "The seed and the sower" by Sir Laurens Van der Post.
Cast David Bowie (Celliers), Tom Conti (Lawrence), Ryuichi Sakamoto (Yonoi), Takeshi [Kitano] (Hara), Jack Thompson (Hicksley).
Credits Director of photography, Toichiro Narushima ; production designer, Jusho Toda ; music, Ryuichi Sakamoto ; editor, Tomoyo Oshima ; interpreter, Didi Dickson.
Note Originally produced as a motion picture in 1983.
Summary In a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942, two British officers, John Lawrence and Jack Celliers, encounter camp commander Yonoi and his sergeant Hara. Things had been going pretty well, until charismatic, rebellious Celliers arrived. Yonoi is a devotee of the samurai ideal; neither he nor Hara can understand the stoic way in which the British prisoners accept their situation of defeat. Lawrence speaks Japanese, and ceaselessly tries to mediate between the prisoners and their overseers, translating both the words and the values of the two races. Celliers' attitude, however, is more comprehensible to Yonoi. He and Celliers arrive at a sort of détente, based on an admiration for the other, but this eventually turns into a contest of wills as the camp's carefully nurtured equilibrium is destroyed.
Contents Disc one. The film Opening sequence -- Disgraceful incident -- "A bloody farce" -- Firing squad -- New prisoner -- "We want to win" -- "Do you feel uneasy?" -- "We're all wrong" -- Flowers and food -- Escape -- "We must punish someone" -- "Something's changed" -- "Ride right through the day" -- Father Christmas -- "Go back!" -- "Things will be different now" -- 1946 -- Closing credits -- Color bars (1982) (123 min.); Trailer (3 min.).
Disc two. The supplements: Featurettes The Oshima gang: the making of 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence' / Mr. Lawrence Productions (2005) (30 min.) -- Paul Mayersberg: On the screenplay (2010) (28 min.) -- Conti, Sakamoto, and Thomas: On location (2010) (40 min.) -- Ryuichi Sakamoto: On the music (2010) (18 min.) -- Hasten slowly: The journey of Sir Laurens van der Post / Lemle Pictures presents ; a film by Mickey Lemle ; produced and directed by Mickey Lemle ; produced by Lemle Pictures, Inc. in association with South African Broadcasting Co. (1996) (55 min.); Booklet contains the essays "Lawrence of Shinjuki" by Chuck Stephens, "Oshima: Sex, militarism, and empire" an interview of Nagisa Oshima by Tadao Sato, and "Ten questions for Kitano on Oshima" translated from the Japanese by Fumiko Takagi.
Subject Van der Post, Laurens -- Film adaptations.
Van der Post, Laurens. (OCoLC)fst00033435
World War (1939-1945) (OCoLC)fst01180924
World War, 1939-1945 -- Drama.
Prisoners of war -- Drama.
Soldiers -- Psychology -- Drama.
War -- Psychological aspects -- Drama.
Prisoners of war -- Great Britain -- Drama.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Japanese -- Drama.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Indonesia -- Java -- Drama.
Java (Indonesia) -- Drama.
Concentration camps. (OCoLC)fst00872933
Prisoners of war. (OCoLC)fst01077227
Soldiers -- Psychology. (OCoLC)fst01125290
War -- Psychological aspects. (OCoLC)fst01170363
Great Britain. (OCoLC)fst01204623
Indonesia -- Java. (OCoLC)fst01244461
Chronological Term 1939-1945
Genre/Form Motion pictures, Japanese.
War films.
Biographical films.
Historical films.
Feature films.
Video recordings for the hearing impaired.
Fiction films.
Film adaptations.
Biographical films. (OCoLC)fst01710277
Drama. (OCoLC)fst01423879
Feature films. (OCoLC)fst01710384
Fiction films. (OCoLC)fst01710264
Film adaptations. (OCoLC)fst01710491
Historical films. (OCoLC)fst01710314
Video recordings for the hearing impaired. (OCoLC)fst01710450
War films. (OCoLC)fst01710402
War films.
Biographical films.
Historical films.
Feature films.
Added Author Thomas, Jeremy. Producer.
Ōshima, Nagisa, 1932-2013. Screenwriter. Director.
Mayersberg, Paul. Screenwriter.
Bowie, David. Actor.
Conti, Tom. Actor.
Sakamoto, Ryūichi, 1952-2023. Actor. Composer.
Bīto Takeshi. Actor.
Thompson, Jack, 1940- Actor.
Lemle, Mickey. Director. Producer.
Van der Post, Laurens. Seed and the sower.
Lemle Pictures, Inc.
South African Broadcasting Corporation.
National Film Trustee Company.
Antares-Nova N.V.
Recorded Picture Company.
Ōshima Nagisa Purodakushon.
BS Asahi (Firm)
Broadbank Investments Limited.
Criterion Collection (Firm)
ISBN 1604653159
9781604653151
Standard No. 715515061919
Music No. CC1928D The Criterion Collection
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