Criterion delivers a dose of 1960's Oshima with upcoming Eclipse box set

by Chris MaGee

I was getting a bit worried that 2010 was going to be a light on the Japanese film releases from the Criterion Collection. When the venerable art house distributor announced their releases up until April there was nary a Japanese film in the bunch, but a bit of patience has payed off. Criterion has just announced it's may releases and what's amongst the bunch? A 5-film Eclipse box set titled "Oshima's Outlaw Sixties". That's right, Criterion continues to fill up the gap in representation of the New Wave icon with five films from his 60's output: 1965's "Pleasures of the Flesh", 1966's "Violence at Noon", 1967's "Sing a Song of Sex" and "Japanese Summer: Double Suicide" (above), and 1968's "Three Resurrected Drunkards". I'm very happy to see "Sing a Song of Sex" and "Three Resurrected Drunkards" in the bunch, but (not to be a nitpicker) I would dearly love to see Criterion further flesh out their Oshima selection. How about "Diary of a Shinjuku Thief" and of course the long-rumoured release of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence"? Still, don't think that more than a few of us her at the Pow-Wow will be pre-ordering this set in a flash... as soon as it hits Amazon that is.