'Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence' director dies

Oshima, who had a critical hit with the controversial erotic work "In the Realm of the Senses", which famously contained unsimulated sex scenes, had been ill for some time.

"My father died calmly," Oshima's younger son, Arata told AFP.

"He was with members of his family, wife Akiko and elder son Takeshi. I wasn't there. My father had been in hospital since late last year and died of pneumonia."

The younger Oshima was speaking from his late father's home in Fujisawa, near Kamakura, outside Tokyo.

Oshima's cinematic career began in earnest in the 1960s with a series of films that had political themes, which established his reputation as a serious director.

Many of his works tackle issues surrounding discrimination or exploring the boundaries of social acceptability.

It was into this latter category that "In the Realm of the Senses" came in 1976, the sexually explicit story of an affair between a prostitute-turned-hotel worker and her boss, which was based on a true story.

The couple's relationship evolves to include elements of sadism and masochism, and ends with the protagonist dead and his genitals severed.

Further worldwide acclaim came with the 1983 film "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence", starring David Bowie, "Beat" Takeshi Kitano and Tom Conti.