The Pornographers

The Pornographers

128 mins | Drama, Comedy, Romance | March 12, 1966

Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.

The Pornographers

128 mins | Drama, Comedy, Romance | March 12, 1966

The Pornographers
Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.
IMDb rating 7.2
Producers Nikkatsu Corporation, Imamura Productions
Original title 「エロ事師たち」より 人類学入門
Directors Tadahiko Isomi, Yoshihiro Yûki, Noboru Tanaka, Shôhei Imamura
Writers Koji Numata, Akiyuki Nosaka, Shôhei Imamura

Cast

Shoichi Ozawa

as Yoshimoto 'Subu' Ogata

Sumiko Sakamoto

as Haru Masuda

Keiko Sagawa

as Keiko

Masaomi Kondo

as Koichi

Haruo Tanaka

as Banteki

Ganjirô Nakamura II

as Elderly Executive

Chôchô Miyako

as Brothel Madame

Kō Nishimura

as Detective Sanada

Ichirō Sugai

as Shinun Ogata

Shinichi Nakano

as Kabo

Kazuo Kitamura

as Doctor