Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
Criterion Collection Edition #535
Directed by Nagisa Oshima • 1983 • Japan
Starring David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tom Conti
In this captivating, skewed World War II drama from Nagisa Oshima, David Bowie regally embodies Celliers, a British officer interned by the Japanese as a POW. Rock star Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed this film’s hypnotic score) plays the camp commander, obsessed with the mysterious blond major, while Tom Conti is the British lieutenant colonel Lawrence, who tries to bridge the emotional and language divides between captor and prisoner. Also featuring actor-director Takeshi Kitano in his first dramatic role, MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE is a multilayered, brutal, at times erotic tale of culture clash, and one of Oshima’s greatest successes.
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Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
Directed by Nagisa Oshima • 1983 • Japan
Starring David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tom ContiIn this captivating, skewed World War II drama from Nagisa Oshima, David Bowie regally embodies Celliers, a British officer interned by the Japanese as a POW. Rock star Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed ...
Extras
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MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE Edition Intro
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The Oshima Gang
This behind-the-scenes featurette was produced in 1983 and includes interviews with MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE actors David Bowie and Tom Conti, author Laurens van der Post, director Nagisa Oshima, and producer Jeremy Thomas, among others.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE: On the Screenplay
In this video piece, recorded in London in 2010, screenwriter Paul Mayersberg discusses the development and screenplay of MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE and the work of director Nagisa Oshima.
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MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE: On Location
Recorded in 2010 in London and New York, this video piece features actors Tom Conti and Ryuichi Sakamoto and producer Jeremy Thomas reminiscing about their experiences on the set of MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE.
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Ryuichi Sakamoto on MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE
In this interview, conducted in New York in 2010, actor and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto discusses the score for MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE.
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Hasten Slowly
This 1996 documentary, produced and directed by Mickey Lemle, explores the spiritual journey of Sir Laurens van der Post (1906–96), who was an Afrikaner author, war hero, journalist, philosopher, conservationist, and adviser to British heads of government. Van der Post’s novel “The Seed and the S...
