1997
Not Rated
Lionsgate Films
2 h 6 m

1997
Not Rated
Lionsgate Films
2 h 6 m

Summary Three experiences make an indelible impression in a young girl's childhood: her father's tender calligraphy on her face and neck, the text of a noblewoman's sensual diary (or pillow book), and the discovery that her father is being blackmailed. These three images become a single obsession when the girl becomes a woman (Vivian Wu of The J...

Drama

Directed By: Peter Greenaway

Written By: Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway

1997
Not Rated
Lionsgate Films
2 h 6 m

1997
Not Rated
Lionsgate Films
2 h 6 m

The Pillow Book

Name: The Pillow Book
Genre: Drama
Released: 1997-06-06
Duration: 2 min 6 s
Rating: 64
Cast: Vivian Wu, Ewan McGregor, Yoshi Oida, Ken Ogata, Hideko Yoshida

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews

User Score Generally Favorable Based on 9 User Ratings

6.7

My Score

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Where to Watch

Drama

Directed By: Peter Greenaway

Written By: Sei Shonagon, Peter Greenaway

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews

60% Positive
12 Reviews

30% Mixed
6 Reviews

10% Negative
2 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews

60% Positive
12 Reviews

30% Mixed
6 Reviews

10% Negative
2 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Time

Wu is a fine, supple tabula rasa; McGregor (Trainspotting) shows again that he is one of the boldest, most charming young actors.

By Richard Corliss FULL REVIEW

Boston Globe

The Pillow Book is Peter Greenaway's most stunning and accessible film since "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover." Dense, gorgeous and inexorable - once you give yourself over to its logic - it's a boldly erotic explosion of Asian chic, taken to places no film has gone before. [20 Jun 1997]

By Jay Carr FULL REVIEW

The New York Times

The film is best watched as a richly sensual stylistic exercise filled with audaciously beautiful imagery, captivating symmetries and brilliantly facile tricks.

By Janet Maslin FULL REVIEW

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

There's as much to draw us in, but far less to put us off. [13 Jun 1997]

By Rick Groen FULL REVIEW

Christian Science Monitor

Peter Greenaway's unorthodox drama treats the movie screen less as an entertainment device than a postmodern canvas upon which he writes, photographs, and records an intricate multicultural collage. [06 Jun 1997]

By David Sterritt FULL REVIEW

San Francisco Chronicle

The Pillow Book sometimes seems like three different movies, each one an eyeful but together too much of a good thing.

By Ruthe Stein FULL REVIEW

Village Voice

The Pillow Book's pretentions are boundless, for all its desperate fashion and layered imagery, it's a staggering bore-as vacantly petulant as Kate Moss's stare. [10 Jun 1997]

By J. Hoberman FULL REVIEW

See All 20 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 9 User Ratings

6.7

67% Positive
6 Ratings

11% Mixed
1 Rating

22% Negative
2 Ratings

User Reviews

View All

User Score

Generally Favorable Based on 9 User Ratings

6.7

67% Positive
6 Ratings

11% Mixed
1 Rating

22% Negative
2 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Kasander & Wigman Productions, Woodline Films Ltd., Alpha Film Corporation, Channel Four Films, Canal+, Delux Productions, Eurimages, Nederlands Filmfonds

Release Date Jun 6, 1997

Duration 2 h 6 m

Rating Not Rated

Genres

Drama

Tagline Things that make the heart beat faster.

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Awards

Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival

• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations

London Critics Circle Film Awards

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Art Film Festival

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

The Pillow Book

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Vivian Wu

Nagiko

Ewan McGregor

Jerome

Yoshi Oida

The Publisher

Ken Ogata

The Father

Hideko Yoshida

The Aunt, The Maid

Judy Ongg

The Mother

Ken Mitsuishi

The Husband

Yutaka Honda

Hoki

Barbara Lott

Jerome's Mother

Miwako Kawai

Young Nagiko

Lynne Langdon

Jerome's sister

Chizuru Ohnishi

Young Nagiko

Shiho Takamatsu

Young Nagiko

Aki Ishimaru

Young Nagiko

Hisashi Hidaka

Calligrapher

Dehong Chen

Calligrapher

Ham Chau Luong

Calligrapher

Akihiro Nishida

Calligrapher

Kentaro

Calligrapher

Nguyen Duc Nhan

Calligrapher

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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