Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
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Director: Nagisa Ōshima Run Time: 124 min. Format: Digital Release Year: 1983 Language: English and Japanese with English subtitles
Starring: David Bowie, Jack Thompson, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano, Tom Conti
Screenwriter: Nagisa Ōshima from the novel by Sir Laurens van der Post
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Co-presented by Community Programming Partner Synth History
Rock God David Bowie and Synth Pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also scored the film) both star in this enthralling war drama from the masterful Nagisa Ōshima. David Bowie commands the screen as Celliers, a British officer interned by the Japanese in a Javanese POW camp. Tensions unfold across cultural divides. Also marking Takeshi Kitano’s debut in a dramatic role, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence unfolds as a multifaceted, intense narrative of cultural collision, standing as one of Ōshima’s most significant achievements.
About the Score:
The film was Sakamoto’s debut soundtrack, where he utilized synths like the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, LinnDrum, and an E-MU emulator. Before the film, we’ve got a special trivia giveaway planned with prizes from Criterion, as Synth History’s Synth Soundtracks program on The Criterion Channel features Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. We’ve also got some limited edition Bowie Stylophones to give away, a synth that David Bowie utilized on his iconic 1969 track, “Space Oddity”. So make sure to brush up on your trivia knowledge before attending!