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The Pillow Book
1995
Peter Greenaway directed this elliptical and visually intricate tale of the far side of erotic and intellectual attraction. As a girl, Nagiko would receive a special gift each year from her father: a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) who would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) read aloud from The Pillow .. Read more
| Starring | Vivian Wu, Ken Ogata, Ewan McGregor, Barbara Lott |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Greenaway |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Pillow Book
Peter Greenaway directed this elliptical and visually intricate tale of the far side of erotic and intellectual attraction. As a girl, Nagiko would receive a special gift each year from her father: a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) who would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) read aloud from The Pillow Book, a classic Japanese text on the art of love. As Nagiko (Vivian Wu) reached adulthood, her father insisted on putting a stop to this ritual, and he persuaded her to marry the nephew of his publisher (Ken Mitsuishi). But Nagiko is not satisfied with her husband, and after finding success as a model, she seeks a lover who will indulge her fondness for literature by writing verse on her naked body. In time, she finds happiness with a British expatriate named Jerome (Ewan McGregor), who persuades her to use his body as paper for her poetry, but the interference of her father's publisher (Yoshi Oida) gives their relationship a tragic turn. Greenaway deliberately mistranslated some of the French and Japanese dialogue for The Pillow Book, hoping that the occasionally fractured language would give the film a Tower of Babel quality.~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
| Starring | Vivian Wu, Ken Ogata, Ewan McGregor, Barbara Lott, Yutaka Honda, Ken Mitsuishi, Yoshi Oida, Judy Ongg, Hideko Yoshida |
|---|---|
| Director | Peter Greenaway |
| Studio | LACE GROUP |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 6 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 1 min |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Released | Production year: 1995 To Rent: DVD: 09 May 2011 Blu-ray: 09 May 2011 |
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Critic's review
View all critics' reviews (6) -
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A complex narrative that gives a sexual edge to the act of writing, it is ravishing to watch, especially in its split-screen recreations of pleasures listed in The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, but too often seems little more than an elaborate liter
- 30011
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- Halliwell's Film Guide
- 02 Mar 2006 at 15:38
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Most helpful member's review
View all members' reviews (30) -
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- 8
- 2
Watch when you're not in a rush
This is a film to watch when you're not in a rush. Very beautifully filmed, and with an intriguing development of characters as the film develops, but quite... read more »
- 297576
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[Highly rated reviewer]
- blackheath1
- London
- 15 Jan 2004 at 22:48
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Most recent members' reviews
View all members' reviews (30) -
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- 0
- 1
Not for me
I'm afraid it was just too arty for me turned it off after about 45 mins really not my kind of film
- 1087931
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- DDoormouse
- 1 review
- 02 Feb 2012 at 07:56
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- 0
- 0
Now that's what I call Cinema
I have always been an unconditional fan of Peter Greenaway's, most of his films are actually a piece of art (only exception is the Baby of Macon) that push ... read more »
- 1078739
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- Howardheino
- 3 reviews
- 05 Jan 2012 at 13:04
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- 0
- 0
One for the clever folks.
Looks fantastic,......that's it really for me I'm afraid.
The cinematography and layout are beautiful but that can only keep you going for so... read more » - 1062692
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- KwaidanFan
- 46 reviews
- London
- 14 Nov 2011 at 19:46
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The Pillow Book - Blu-ray
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 ...
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The Pillow Book
Peter Greenaway directed this elliptical and visually intricate tale of the far side of erotic and intellectual attraction. As a girl, Nagiko would receive a special gift each year from her father: a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) who would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) ...
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