L'EMPIRE DES SENS -IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES is a 1976 Japanese period drama telling the story of a man (Kichizo Ishida) and his geisha (Sada Abe) who embark on an obsessive sexual relationship. Gradually their relationship escalates into dangerous sexual activity (consensual strangulation during sex) and this leads to the murder of Kichizo (through strangulation) and finally his castration by Sada after his death. The film was classified '18' uncut for strong real sex, bloody mutilation and sexual fetish theme.

L'EMPIRE DES SENS - IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES contains several scenes of unsimulated sexual activity between the two lead characters, as well as between some of the other house geishas, including close up sight of masturbation, oral-genital contact, fellatio, vaginal penetration and ejaculation. The BBFC's Guidelines at '18' state that the Board is likely to require cuts 'where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context' and that such images would normally be confined to the 'R18' category in the case of 'sex works'. However, L'EMPIRE DES SENS is not a 'sex work' as defined by the BBFC's Guidelines in that its primary purpose is not to sexually arouse or stimulate the audience. Rather, its purpose is to explore a sexually obsessive relationship between two people and to examine how such a level of obsession can lead to tragedy. Furthermore, the images are justified by the narrative context of the work, which seeks to present the relationship - and its consequences - in a detailed, unflinching and open manner.

The scene of bloody mutilation occurs at the end of the film when, having killed Kichizo during an act of erotic asphyxiation, Sada cuts off her partner's penis as a keepsake. The castration is shown in explicit detail, with the knife cutting into the penis and blood flowing and then sight of the bloody stump and the detached member. This scene clearly transgresses the Board's Guidelines at '15' where violence 'should not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury' and 'the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable'. However, the scene in question is unlikely to raise a risk of harm at the adult level, not only because it is presented in a manner that is extremely unattractive but also because it occurs as the culmination of what is clearly a very specific and dangerous relationship between two obviously damaged individuals. Previously Sada has threatened that, were Kichizo to leave her, she would kill him and cut off his penis. This final scene illustrates both the extent of her grief and the extent of her obsessiveness and it is fitting that the culmination of their relationship is presented as graphically as the sexual activity in the rest of the work.

L'EMPIRE DES SENS - IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES also contains a scene of sexual violence in which Kichizo grabs an elderly geisha and penetrates her from behind. This act leads to her death, albeit through exhaustion rather than violence. However, the scene (which does not include any explicit detail) is discreetly presented and does not eroticise or endorse what is being shown. Rather, it illustrates the increasing sexual obsession of the main couple and their mental and moral degeneration. At '18', the BBFC's Guidelines state that intervention is most likely with 'portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault'. That is not the case with this brief scene, which must also be seen in the light of the very specific culture of the time, in which the master was very much free to do as he wished.

The film also contains scenes of a sadomasochistic nature, including Sada and Kichizo experimenting with consensual strangulation during sex but also Sada asking one of her other clients (whom she leaves in favour of Kichizo) to pinch and slap her during sex. Although the BBFC considered carefully whether such scenes might have the potential to promote or endorse such activity, it was concluded that the risks of the activities shown are clearly demonstrated (not least through Kichiko's death) and that they occur within the context of a narrative about what is shown to be a dangerous and unhealthy relationship.

L'EMPIRE SES SENS - IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES additionally contains a number of strong verbal sex references. It also contains scenes of smoking, including smoking during sex, and a scene in which an adult woman briefly tugs a young boy's penis. However, the tugging of the penis does not occur in a sexual context and is in no way sexualised. This scene was optically reframed or deleted on previous releases but was not considered to be indecent under the terms of the Protection of Children Act 1978 as currently applied.

Finally, it is worth noting that the film exists in two different versions - a longer director's cut and a slightly shorter producer's cut, albeit that the producer's cut was authorised by the film's director. Although the version classified for cinema release in 1991 was the full director's cut, on this occasion the shorter producer's cut was submitted. This shorter version was also the version classified for DVD release in 2000 and for cinema re-release in 2009. The only differences between the original version and this version are that six narrative scenes have been removed and/or shortened. None of the explicit content present in the original version has been removed and the edits appear to have been made for pacing reasons rather than censorship reasons.