Film

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

1983 · 2h 4m · Drama · History · War

Java, 1942 — A clash of cultures, a test of the human spirit.

IMDb

7.2

Rotten Tomatoes

86%

Metacritic

53

Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.

David Bowie

Celliers

Tom Conti

Lawrence

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Yonoi

Takeshi Kitano

Hara

Jack Thompson

Hicksley

Johnny Ohkura

Kanemoto

Alistair Browning

De Jong

James Malcolm

Celliers' Brother

Chris Broun

Celliers (12 Years)

Yuya Uchida

Commandant of Military Prison

Ryūnosuke Kaneda

President of the Court

Takashi Naito

Lieutenant Iwata

Tamio Ishikura

Prosecutor

Rokkō Toura

Interpreter

Kan Mikami

Lieutenant Itō

Yūji Honma

PFC Yajima

• Nagisa ŌshimaDirector · Screenplay
• Paul MayersbergScreenplay
• Laurens van der PostNovel
• Jeremy ThomasProducer
• Terry GlinwoodExecutive Producer
• Geoffrey NethercottExecutive Producer
• Eiko OshimaExecutive Producer
• Masato HaraExecutive Producer
• Tōichirō NarushimaDirector of Photography
• Ryuichi SakamotoOriginal Music Composer

Official TrailerTrailerMerry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) Original Trailer

Release date

May 28, 1983

Status

Released

Original language

Japanese

Runtime

2h 4m

Rated

R

Revenue

$2,306,560

Genres

Drama, History, War

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