Manji (1964) DVD

Practically unclassifiable, Manji moves from lesbian love, to adultery, to multiple sexual relationships tangled in webs of deceit, blackmail, and maybe even murder.

Sonoko (Kyoko Kishida, Woman of the Dunes), having grown bored with her pampered life as the wife of an impotent lawyer, enrolls in art class where she scandalizes the school with her lusty paintings of fellow art student Mitsuko (Ayako Wakao, Red Angel). A torrid affair erupts between Sonoko and Mitsuko, fuelling jealousy among their male lovers. Soon their lives are entrenched in desire, deception, blackmail, blood oaths and suicide pacts in this controversial and visually stunning film from director Yasuzo Masumura.

A dazzling tale of love, lust and the extremes of desire, this controversial and groundbreaking drama boasts a screenplay by Onibaba/Kureneko director Kaneto Shindo. Another twisted masterpiece from the director of Blind Beast and Red Angel, Manji is as shocking today as when it was first shown in Japan in the mid-1960s.