Three award-winning directors take a look at eroticism, sex, and love in different ways in the international omnibus film EROS. Hong Kong's Wong Kar-Wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, CHUNGKING EXPRESS) contributes "The Hand," a moving, poignant tale of a simple tailor, Zhang (Chang Chen), who becomes obsessed with an elegant, demanding, beautiful call girl, Ms. Hua (Gong Li), as he makes special dresses for her, knowing that she will wear them while being with other men. As her life dovetails, Zhang is faced with the choice of remaining her friend or leaving her to drown in the gutter. In "Equilibrium," writer-director Steven Soderbergh (TRAFFIC, ERIN BROCKOVICH) tells a black-and-white noir farce starring Robert Downey Jr. as an ad man relating his erotic dream to a psychiatrist (Alan Arkin) who appears to be more interested in peeping out his office window. And in "The Dangerous Thread of Things," Italian master Michelangelo Antonioni (BLOWUP, L'AVVENTURA) relates the story of fast-living rich people who toy with sex and romance as if they're games, as a husband (Christopher Buchholz) and wife (Regina Nemni) both become curious about a woman (Luisa Ranieri) who rides her horse across the beach. EROS is a tribute to Antonioni--he was 89 years old when he began filming his segment in 2001--who helped choose Wong and Soderbergh because both have pointed to him as a major influence.
Theatrical Release: APRIL 8, 2005
DVD Features:
Keep Case
Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Surround 5.1 English
Additional Release Material:
Bonus short film "Eye to Eye" by Michelangelo Antonioni
Distributor Notes: Eros
A three-part anthology film about love and sexuality by three directors from three distinct cultures. From a relationship unrequited for many years between a high end call girl and her tailor to a menage-a-trois between a husband and wife on the Tuscan seaside, to an exploration of an erotic dream by a psychiatrist and his patient. Prepare to explore the deepest realms of human desire.
Source: Warner Home Video
Stars
Gong Li: Chinese Actress/"Ju-Dou"
Chang Chen: Hong Kong actor, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Robert Downey: American actor, CHAPLIN (1992), IRON MAN (2008)
Alan Arkin: Oscar-winning actor, director, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Massimo Ranieri:
Ele Keats: Actress/"Lipstick Camera"
Regina Nemni: Actor, EROS (2005)
Christopher Buchholz: Actor/"No Fear, No Die"
Luisa Ranieri: Actor, EROS (2005)
Director
Michelangelo Antonioni: Italian Director/Screenwriter
Kar-Wai Wong: Hong Kong director/screenwriter
Steven Soderbergh: Director/Screenwriter, TRAFFIC (2000)
Producer
Stephane Tchal Gadjieff: PRODUCER
Jacques Bar: French Producer
Domenico Procacci: Producer/"The Station"
Raphael Berdugo: Producer, EROS (2005)
Jacky Pang Yee Wah: Producer, EROS (2005)
Gregory Jacobs: Producer, FULL FRONTAL (2002)
Kar-Wai Wong: Hong Kong director/screenwriter
Screenwriter
Tonino Guerra: Screenwriter, FRED & GINGER (1986)
Kar-Wai Wong: Hong Kong director/screenwriter
Steven Soderbergh: Director/Screenwriter, TRAFFIC (2000)
Director of Photography
Christopher Doyle: Director of Photography, Hong Kong films with Wong Kar-Wai
Director of Photography
Marco Pontecorvo: Director of Photography, EROS (2005)
Director of Photography
Steven Soderbergh: Director/Screenwriter, TRAFFIC (2000)
Music
Caetano Veloso: Brazilian Singer
Music
Enrica Antonioni: Director
Music
Peer Raben: German Composer
Music
Vinicio Milani: Music, EROS (2005)
Review 1:
"Antonioni can still frame an image like nobody's business, and his editing is typically meticulous; the visuals have an architectural integrity that is tragically rare in much contemporary cinema."
Source: Premiere
p.36-38 05/01/2005
Review 2:
"Wong is a melancholy artist, a master of longing with an exquisite eye."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.E15 04/08/2005
Review 3:
"Mr. Antonioni still has a lively eye..."
Source: New York Times
p.E13 04/08/2005
Review 4:
"[Antonioni's] wise, reverberating piece contains unspoken volumes."
Source: New York Times
p.E4 02/07/2006
Review 5:
3 stars out of 5 -- "[S]et in nocturnal '60s Hong Kong, it's a gorgeously shot study of the unconsummated relationship between a courtesan and her tailor."
Source: Total Film
p.48 11/01/2006
Review 6:
"Wong whips up a ripe fable of lifelong obsession..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.59 04/15/2005
Review 7:
"The Wong Kar-Wai film is erotic."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
p.31 04/08/2005
Review 8:
"[S]hot in deep, rich chiaroscuro by Christopher Doyle....Suffused with the yearning, muted eroticism that director Wong Kar Wai has made himself a master of."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.56 10/01/2006