In The Realm Of the Senses and NC-17 rating (1 Viewer)

[Mohsen Sadeghi]

I was about to pick up the disk yesterday (WINSTAR product)but a couple of things seem odd:

1) Although I saw the movie a couple of years ago I remember that it was very explicit, close to an X-rated movie. Is the NC-17 disk a censored/cut version? The running time seems short, only 104 minutes.

2) It is dubbed, right? Is there any other version with the original soundtrack?

3) It is 4:3. What is the OAR?

And if anyone has got the disk, how is the picture/sound quality?

 

[Rich P]

1) NC-17 is an uncensored cut. My disc (which I got when first released) does not indicate any rating. If later disc do so, the rating might have been added in subsequent pressings. My "unrated" copy is also 104 minutes which agrees with the run length listed at IMDB.

The only "censoring" I saw was the image on the DVD cover. The image is airbrushed to remove the cloth Abe is using to choke her lover to death. Hand placement on the cover is interesting to say the least, but makes more sense once you see the cloth wrapped around his neck in her hands.

2) Wrong, no dub. Soft subtitles, but they are yellow and do wash out on light backgrounds.

3) Claim is 1.66:1 or OAR.

Image is non-anamorphically enhanced. Seems a bit soft / out of focus at times. Scratches and other blemishes in the film evident at times (ie no restoration or touch-up work.)

Sound is an uneventful DD 2.0, but does seem a bit muted or muddled at times.

Haven't seen the original in a theater, so can't compare if the softness of the image or muteness of the sound to the original film.

As a note that your mileage may vary, my equipment isn't exactly home theater (Panasonic A-320 connected via S-VHS to Panasonic 32" TV using the TV's speakers).

 

[Mark-W]

Just as a clarification of the topic:
The MPAA never copywrited the Rating of "X"
so they don't use it, maybe for Midnight Cowboy, but I somehow doubt that.
For it being rated "NC-17", that rating
didn't exist back in the 70s when Oshima made
In The Realm of The Senses, but
it may have been placed on their since at the
request of Fox-Lorber (aka Winstar).
I just watched this film in a class (from
DVD from Winstar, which is mediocre at best),
and I cannot imagine what would be censored.
Everything was there.
Great film, but it was a bit intense for me.
-Mark

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Be careful. There are two versions. One is subtitled and the other is dubbed. The dubbed version says "English Language Version" on the front of the packaging.

The subtitled version has subtitles which are way off sync with the film, but it is still preferable over a dub. This might have been fixed with later pressings, although I doubt it.

Jeff

 

[Damin J Toell]

Quote:

In The Realm of The Senses was given an NC-17 rating in 1991.
DJ

 

[Mohsen Sadeghi]

Great film, but it was a bit intense for me.

Mark,

I have similar feelings. I would rather rent the movie but over here there is no Netflix and no rental chain will carry this stuff.

 

[Bill McA]

I saw this film in an uncut theatrical screening and later bought the NC-17 rated VHS from Fox Lorber.

The 'uncut' VHS version was missing one scene (the female lead grabbing a naked little boy by his crotch).

Is this scene on the Winstar DVD?...if it's not, it's a censored version.

 

[ChristopherM]

In the UK, that scene is potentially illegal under Child Protection laws. However the director has apparently personally approved a version where the scene is zoomed and cropped.

 

[Rich P]

As Christopher indicated, this cut was made for UK versions of the film. Just got around to checking the Fox-Lorber/Winstar version I have. The scene is neither cut nor reframed in this release.

 

[Mohsen Sadeghi]

I bought the DVD (subtitled version) and as Rich mentioned, the scene in question is not cut.

Picture was very soft occasionally but I guess that is what we can expect from WINSTAR. It is not Criterion for a reason (although I have to admit it might be a source issue).

I can not understand the censoring of the cover art, the choking scene. I mean, it is a NC-17 movie, nobody is going to expect kiddy stuff.

That being said, the most annoying part of the cover is that Madonna quote "It turns me on because it is real". First of well, it is a movie about a rather unhealthy obsession, I do not think we are supposed to be turned on. And secondly, since when Madonna has become an authority on movies?

 

[Mohsen Sadeghi]

The subtitled version has subtitles which are way off sync with the film, but it is still preferable over a dub. This might have been fixed with later pressings, although I doubt it.

Jeff,

Unfortunately the subtitled problem is not fixed and it is quite annoying. It seemed to me it gets worse towards the end of the movie