We start with an Asian shocker:

This provocative Japanese film, now restored in a high-definition transfer by the Criterion Collection, opened in few U.S. theaters in 1976, making it virtually impossible to see before easy DVD accessibility.

In Japan, it has still never been shown in an uncensored version. Nagisa Oshima’s film, one of more than 30 he directed in his 40-year career, touches on sensitive topics in his home country, explaining its pariah status there. But elsewhere, the mainstream avoidance may have come because his film’s two main characters spend a good part of the film in graphic sexual embrace. As critic Donald Ritchie notes, the two lovers look more concerned with pleasing each other than the audience.

Set in 1936 and based on a true story that spawned several other films, Senses tells of a young woman working as a maid when she begins an impassioned affair with the man of the house. From there, the two (Tatsuya Fuji and Eiko Matsuda) retreat whenever possible for their trysts.

One day, she questions his fidelity and even his ardor before turning Lorena Bobbit-like on him. But first, Oshima reveals his nonauthoritarian views, from what constitutes pornography to Japan’s then-rising feudalism.

Not rated, 102 minutes.

The single-disc DVD comes with an invaluable booklet containing an extended essay from Japanese film scholar Donald Ritchie. Also included are: commentary from film critic Tony Rayns; a new 20-minute interview with Fuji; a six-minute 1976 interview with Oshima, Fuji and Matsuda; a 39-minute interview with four of the cast and crew; six minutes of deleted scenes; and the U.S. trailer.

n

Laid to Rest (**1/2) This film is about — as writer/director Robert Hall says in the DVD supplements — a guy with a knife, in a mask, chasing a hot chick. The young woman (Bobbi Sue Luther, who also produced) wakes up in a coffin with a cinematically convenient case of amnesia. After breaking out, she finds herself trapped in a funeral home. But she escapes, becoming the target of the guy in the mask, Chrome Skull, the possible future franchise. The chase begins, with the garishly clad villain stopping frequently to cut off a head or two. Entertaining enough for this sort of fare; however, it’s predictable and familiar.

Not rated, 90 minutes.

On the DVD, Hall and Luther add commentary, along with a 31-minute “making of” featurette, eight minutes on the effects and about 11 minutes of deleted scenes and bloopers.

*

Not Easily Broken (**1/2) Celebrity Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes wrote the source novel for this sincere drama directed by Bill Duke. Morris Chestnut and recent Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson star in the story of Dave and Clarice Johnson. When she suffers a debilitating car accident, their relationship and marriage undergo a severe test. With Maeve Quinlan, Kevin Hart and Jenifer Lewis.

Rated PG-13, 100 minutes.

The DVD offers a “making of” featurette and deleted scenes.

*

Faith Like Potatoes (**1/2) Angus Buchan wrote this film’s source novel based on his experiences as a South African farmer who encounters a series of setbacks, both professionally and personally. He finds solace and understanding and, eventually, friendship from his Zulu farmhand. With Frank Rautenbach, Hamilton Dlamini and Jeanne Wilhelm.

Rated PG, 116 minutes.

The DVD contains the 54-minute “making of” featurette “God’s Farmer,” as well as several shorter segments on the film’s direction, its faith element and the music.

*

The Last Word (*1/2) A catatonic Wes Bentley stars in this dumb film about a young Los Angeles man who writes farewell speeches for people about to commit suicide. Huh? How does he advertise? Does he get his money up front? Does he get repeat business? At the funeral of one of his obviously satisfied clients, he meets the surviving sister (Winona Ryder) and begins a tenuous relationship, always keeping his identity and occupation a secret. No wonder.

Rated R, 94 minutes.

The DVD holds seven deleted scenes.

*

Cargo 200 (**) The title of this odd 2007 Russian film refers to the coffins filled with soldiers brought back from the Afghanistan war. Set in 1984 and supposedly based on true events, the film gives a bleak picture of life in the Soviet Union. A deranged military officer goes on a killing spree, eventually kidnapping a young woman and then keeping her captive in his mother’s small, dirty apartment. In between, a young hustler who has been hired to bring back some of the coffins, gets drunk, assaults his bootlegging friend and starts life over again. The film was reportedly a big hit in its homeland, which surely says something about something.

Not rated, 89 minutes.

*

Caprica (**1/2) The team behind the Sci-Fi channel’s Battlestar Galactica is responsible for this full-length feature that could be called a pilot. The series Caprica will premiere next year, but here, the story is of two fathers (Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales) who lost children in a terrorist attack. They live in Caprica, a futuristic world similar to Earth. They first find common ground in grief before squaring off.

Not rated, 93 minutes.

The DVD offers commentary from an involved trio, about seven minutes of deleted scenes and an episode of the TV show Ghost Hunters.

*

Wolverine and the X-Men — Heroes Return Trilogy To prepare for the new Wolverine, Lionsgate releases this animated feature that chronicles what happens when the Gifted Youngsters return to their Institute: Wolverine reunites the X-Men to save the world.

Not rated, 68 minutes.

The DVD offers character profiles, a “making of” featurette and commentaries.

*

Also this week: The Uninvited, Rookies — The Complete Season One.

BOO ALLEN is an award-winning film critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.