Pigs & Battleships / Stolen Desire (ej svensk text) (Blu-ray + DVD)

With this, his fifth film, Shôhei Imamura finally answered his true calling as Japanese cinema’s most dedicated and brilliant chronicler of society’s underbelly with the astonishing PIGS AND BATTLESHIPS [Buta to gunkan]. A riotous portrait of sub-Yakuza gangsters battling for control of the local pork business in a U.S. Navy-occupied coastal town (Yokosuka), Imamura conjures a chaotic world of petty thugs, young love, tough-headed women, and underworld hypochondria, with one of the most unforgettable climaxes ever to grace the screen. Featuring dynamic black-and-white ‘Scope cinematography, the director’s typically sly sense of social commentary, and a host of outstanding performances (including Jitsuko Yoshimura from Onibaba), PIGS AND BATTLESHIPS immediately became a cornerstone of the Japanese New Wave and remains perhaps Imamura’s most sheerly entertaining work.