Independent Films, Film Profiles

The Pornographers
by Shōhei_Imamura

The Pornographers is a 1966 Japanese film directed by Shohei Imamura and based on a novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. Its original Japanese title is Erogotoshitachi yori Jinruigaku nyumon (エロ事師たちより　人類学入門), which means 'An Introduction to Anthropology through The Pornographers'. It tells the story of porn filmmaker Mr. Ogata, whose business is under threat by thieves, the government, and his own family.The film is a dark comic satire, depicting the underbelly of the Japanese post-war economic miracle, in this case pornographers and small-time gangsters in Osaka. It has been called Imamura's best-known film outside of Japan.