Three masters of cinema from three different continents each helm a short film that are linked only be the theme of engagement of eroticism than it does actual erotica. Those looking for high class smut will be disappointed, as each short is a delicately handled meditation about sex, and for two out of three of the directors, the sex act isn’t what’s most valid.

Wong Kar Wai kicks things off with “The Hand,” a story concerning how an againg prostitute manipulates a tailor to get her way. It’s a rather simple story, with a rather complex emotionality, and as expected, Kar Wai handles it with magnificent deftness.

American director Steven Soderbergh is typically cheeky as he delivers a confident, circular narrative about a psychiatric patient who relates his puzzling erotic fantasies to his quirky, voyeuristic shrink. This sports some charismatic turns from Robert Downey Jr. and Alan Arkin, and also a little eye-candy from Ele Keats.

Finally, there’s “The Dangerous Thread of Things,” by Michelangelo Antonioni, a cryptic relationship drama that finds an estranged husband and wife nearing the end of their marriage, only to apparently have it saved by the husband’s infidelity with a stranger they encounter at a local restaurant. Staying true to his cinematic past, Antonioni offers the viewer much to look at via the vivacious Regina Nemni and Luisa Ranieri.

Definitely an acquired taste, the three movies contained on Eros are challenging and rewarding when considered after viewing. But more than once, casual viewers will wonder just where the narratives are headed – and why.

• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: February 7, 2006
• Run Time: 107 minutes