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| - The screenplay by Oshima with Paul Mayersberg was based on Sir Laurens van der Post's experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II as depicted in his works The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). Sakamoto also wrote the score and the vocal theme "Forbidden Colours", featuring David Sylvian, which was a hit single in many territories. The film was entered into the 1983 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. Sakamoto's score also won the film a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a 1983 film from Japanese director Nagisa Oshima, and is based on The Seed and the Sower by Sir Laurens van der Post. The film is set in a Japanese POW camp in Java during the second world war, and focuses on the clash of cultures and building tensions between the Japanese overseers and the British prisoners. Oh, and Foe Yay. An awful, awful lot of foe yay. Seriously, you guys. Until you see this film, you can not believe the foe yay. The DVD box claims it "hints at a sexual attraction between Celliers and Yonoi", but this is a lie. The film hints in the way a pneumatic drill hints at noise, meaning that you needn't worry. It's no spoiler.
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Japanese: Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu (戦場のメリークリスマス Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu? "Merry Christmas on the Battlefield"), also known in many European editions as Furyo (俘虜, Japanese for "prisoner of war")) is a 1983 Japanese-British film directed by Nagisa Oshima, produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano and Jack Thompson. It was written by Oshima and Paul Mayersberg and based on Sir Laurens van der Post's experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II as depicted in his works The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). Sakamoto also wrote the score and the vocal theme "Forbidden Colours", featuring David Sylvian, which was a hit single in many territories.
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| - The screenplay by Oshima with Paul Mayersberg was based on Sir Laurens van der Post's experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II as depicted in his works The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). Sakamoto also wrote the score and the vocal theme "Forbidden Colours", featuring David Sylvian, which was a hit single in many territories. The film was entered into the 1983 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. Sakamoto's score also won the film a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Japanese: Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu (戦場のメリークリスマス Senjō no Merī Kurisumasu? "Merry Christmas on the Battlefield"), also known in many European editions as Furyo (俘虜, Japanese for "prisoner of war")) is a 1983 Japanese-British film directed by Nagisa Oshima, produced by Jeremy Thomas and starring David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano and Jack Thompson. It was written by Oshima and Paul Mayersberg and based on Sir Laurens van der Post's experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II as depicted in his works The Seed and the Sower (1963) and The Night of the New Moon (1970). Sakamoto also wrote the score and the vocal theme "Forbidden Colours", featuring David Sylvian, which was a hit single in many territories. The film was entered into the 1983 Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or. Sakamoto's score also won the film a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is a 1983 film from Japanese director Nagisa Oshima, and is based on The Seed and the Sower by Sir Laurens van der Post. The film is set in a Japanese POW camp in Java during the second world war, and focuses on the clash of cultures and building tensions between the Japanese overseers and the British prisoners. Oh, and Foe Yay. An awful, awful lot of foe yay. Seriously, you guys. Until you see this film, you can not believe the foe yay. The DVD box claims it "hints at a sexual attraction between Celliers and Yonoi", but this is a lie. The film hints in the way a pneumatic drill hints at noise, meaning that you needn't worry. It's no spoiler. Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto) is the straight-laced camp commandant, devoted to discipline, order and his beloved country. When he is called to attend the military trial of Major Jack Celliers (David Bowie), he is fascinated by the prisoner's display of honour and dignity and gets all hot and bothered. When Yonoi questions Celliers on whether he can prove he was tortured, Celliers gives him a Look, some proof (namely taking off his shirt), and it all goes downhill from there... The situation is not helped by Hicksley, the prisoner rep, refusing point blank to furnish Yonoi with details of which prisoners are arms experts, stubbornly refusing to involve himself in any sort of attempts at cross-cultural understanding, and generally being an annoying and ignorant eejit. Caught in the middle of all this madness is the unfortunate Colonel Lawrence (Tom Conti) of the title. A mild-mannered man, Lawrence attempts to bridge the cultural gap between captives and capturers, not that it keeps him safe. Examining power, cultural differences, tolerance, forgiveness and taboos, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is very much a character and psychology driven film, because, let's face it, POW camps aren't known for their exciting itineraries. The film is also of note for being a Japanese film set in a Japanese POW camp, meaning the director shares nationality with those in charge rather than the prisoners. The film appeared at the 1983 Cannes film festival, but seems to have existed under the radar as far as the modern world is concerned, lacking even a real internet fanbase outside of tumblr whisperings. Which, considering the internet and the aforementioned foe yay, is surprising. Perhaps its Criterion Collection DVD release in September 2010 will get the word out? It didn't.
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