Sada: Gesaku · Abe Sada no shôgai

The contrast between Oshima's IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES and the delicacy and stylishness of this film, which treats the same subject, is striking.

Whether the story of a woman who cuts off her lover's privates is better handled by a ham fisted celebrity pornographer is questionable.

Nobuhiko Obayashi's version comes complete with Brechtian devices (singing characters, narration by actors explaining their roles , switches to colour in which the blood remains black) and an elegant star turn by Miss Hitomi Kuroki, all of which make the piece intriguing and show considerable skill.

It hasn't attracted any of the censor controversy of the better know (and dodgy) version and hasn't earned it's makers a spot in film histories. Too bad.