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Movies / On DVD / Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

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Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

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Reviews Counted:5

Fresh:2

Rotten:3

Average Rating:5/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Transferred from a military prison in Batavia, a British major is sentenced to a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942. There, he clashes psychologically, culturally and physically with the camp's... Transferred from a military prison in Batavia, a British major is sentenced to a Japanese prison camp on Java in 1942. There, he clashes psychologically, culturally and physically with the camp's commander who is, in truth, infatuated with him. Despite the harshness of life in the camp, the major, along with fellow prisoner, John Lawrence, gain an understanding and hard-won respect for the Japanese code of honor. [More]

Starring: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson

Starring: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, Jack Thompson, Ryuichi Sakamoto

Director: Nagisa Oshima

Director: Nagisa Oshima

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Release:

May 25, 1999

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Reviews for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Merry Christmas catalogue of atrocities finally becomes numbing, even ludicrous.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
12/10/08
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

From Oshima's later career... most notable is this bilingual, end-of-WWII tearjerker about forgiveness and understanding between cultures, which could have been dubbed The Man Who Fell to Java.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
10/02/08
Aaron Hillis
Aaron Hillis
Village Voice
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Here's a movie that is even stranger than it was intended to be.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Mr. Oshima has staged the film in a spacious tropical setting and filled it with a great number of extras. Even so, Mr. Bowie always stands out from the crowd.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/30/04
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The context and frequent incontinence of the execution bring the film uncomfortably close to the pseudophilosophical bondage fantasies of Yukio Mishima.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
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