Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (film score)

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is Ryuichi Sakamoto's music for Nagisa Ōshima's 1983 film of the same name, set in the Second World War, in which a British soldier played by David Bowie is held by Japanese forces; Sakamoto himself also played Captain Yonoi opposite Bowie. It was his first film score; the soundtrack album, which he played and co-produced, largely on synthesizers, was released in Japan on 1 May 1983. According to Far Out Magazine, he deliberately avoided Japanese scales and other markers of Japanese music, so that the music would sound foreign to listeners in both East and West. The score won the 1984 BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and its main theme, also released as a vocal version sung by David Sylvian, Forbidden Colours, has been covered by many artists.