The Pornographers
12/03/1966
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.
Movie Information
Shoichi Ozawa
as Yoshimoto 'Subu' Ogata
Sumiko Sakamoto
as Haru Masuda
Keiko Sagawa
as Keiko Matsuda
Masaomi Kondo
as Koichi Matsuda
Haruo Tanaka
as Banteki
Ganjirō Nakamura II
as Elderly Executive
Chōchō Miyako
as Brothel Madame
Kō Nishimura
as Detective Sanada
Ichirō Sugai
as Shinun Ogata
Shinichi Nakano
as Kabo
Kazuo Kitamura
as Doctor
Asao Uchida
as Furukawa
Taiji Tonoyama
as Father
Jun Hamamura
as Company Manager
Kin Sugai
as Teacher Oda
Sayoko Kinoshita
as Second-hand Bookstore Owner
Kayako Sono
as Wife
Shōzō Fukuyama
as Prayer
Shuntaro Tamamura
as Nishioka
Hyōe Enoki
as Middle-aged Man
Tokushichi Ogura
as Old Man
Yasuko Nishioka
as Housewife
