Directed by Nagisa Oshima • 1976 • Japan

Still censored in its own country, In the Realm of the Senses (Ai no corrida), by Japanese director Nagisa Ōshima, remains one of the most controversial films of all time. A graphic portrayal of insatiable sexual desire, Ōshima's film, set in 1936 and based on a true incident, depicts a man and a woman (Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda) consumed by a transcendent, destructive love while living in an era of ever escalating imperialism and governmental control. Less a work of pornography than of politics, In the Realm of the Senses is a brave, taboo-breaking milestone. WARNING: THIS FILM IS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT