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Movies / On DVD / The Pillow Book
The Pillow Book

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The Pillow Book (1997)

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76 %
Tomatometer

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Reviews Counted: 25

Fresh: 19

Rotten:6

Average Rating: 6.6/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: An arresting Japanese model seeks to indulge her fantasy of having calligraphy inked on her body, a whim based partly on her father's habit of painting poetry on her face when she was a girl and... An arresting Japanese model seeks to indulge her fantasy of having calligraphy inked on her body, a whim based partly on her father's habit of painting poetry on her face when she was a girl and partly on readings from the 10th-century erotica tome "The Pillow Book." But the tables are turned when she meets a bisexual English translator who wants to be her canvas instead. An assault on the senses in the best Greenaway tradition, featuring frames-within-frames, elaborate costuming and production design, painterly shot composition, and utterly frank scenes of nudity and violence. [More]

Starring: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ewan McGregor, Ken Ogata

Starring: Vivian Wu, Yoshi Oida, Ewan McGregor, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida, Judy Ongg, Ken Mitsuishi, Yutaka Honda, Barbara Lott

Director: Peter Greenaway

Director: Peter Greenaway
Screenwriter: Peter Greenaway
Producer: Kees Kasander

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 15, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Pillow Book

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
David Stratton
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Time Out

Yawn.

comment Comment
03/13/06
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/16/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Never less than mesmerizing, even when you're not exactly sure what exactly Greenaway is trying to say.

Full Review Source: Mr. Brown's Movies | comment Comment
12/05/04
Michael Dequina
Mr. Brown's Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
05/26/04
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
04/09/04
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
01/24/04
Spence D.
IGN Movies

No review available.

comment Comment
11/14/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

Both exhilarating and exhausting, The Pillow Book is undeniably bold, sometimes beautiful, filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
08/21/03
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
06/24/03
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly
N/R

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Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
07/30/02
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
06/18/02
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner
N/R

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Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Manages to carry on Peter Greenaway's tradition of cherishing both the erotic and the exotic.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
02/27/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/22/02
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
N/R

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Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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February 09, 2005: Greenaway Paints Rembrandt Biopic
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