Pigs & Battleships / Stolen Desire (1958 - 1961) (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. Pigs and Battleships is a much-loved, major classic of Japanese cinema, and part of the established canon along with Seven Samurai, Onibaba, Kwaidan, Ugetsu monogatari, and Tokyo Story, etc. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in a Dual Format edition, alongside Imamura's 1958 rarely-seen debut feature, Stolen Desire [Nusumareta yokujô] commercially released with English subtitles for the first time ever in the West. Available from 27 June 2011. ***Special Features*** Exclusively restored high-definition master from the original camera negative (1080p on Blu-ray) -- Stolen Desire [Nusumareta yokujô] (1958), Imamura's debut feature for Nikkatsu in a new high-definition transfer [93 minutes] (1080p on Blu-ray) -- Newly translated English subtitles for both films -- A booklet featuring essays on both films by Tony Rayns and rare stills