The Teruo Ishii thread

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HungFist
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Violent Warrior (暴力戦士) (Japan, 1979) [DVD] - 3/5
In 1979 Toei president Shigeru Okada saw the future. More precisely, he saw Walter Hill's The Warriors in the US prior to its Japanese opening. Okada rushed back to make his own version. "Towards the 80! Our era! Now filming!" the trailer exclaimed. The plot is roughly the same as in The Warriors except this time the chased gang has to make it from Kobe to Tokyo and the leader's got the enemy's sister handcuffed to him. The film runs on a logic of its own (gang mates seem to teleport to convenient locations, escapees have time to stop jamming every time they hear music etc.) and one gang in particular, the man eating amazons, make Italian gang and post apocalypse films look like art in comparison. Hardly great cinema, but undeniably entertaining with frantic pacing, loads of music and even a massive roller blade street chase! As a vision of future, it wasn't too far off if the future was defined as 80s rock, bad fashion and comic book films. As for rating, throw the dice, any will do, even 6 out of 5. Teruo Ishii's last theatrical film until the early 90s.

Ken Tanaka and Nana Okada. They actually make a pretty ok lead couple combining
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ARB, which was a semi-well known band. Ryo Ishibashi of Audition and Suicide Club was the vocalist in the band.
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"Stop it, you're tearing my nipple off". Yes, she actually says that, and no, it makes no sense (roller blade chase)
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There's actually a lot of good looking cinematography in the film, easily it's biggest technical accomplishment
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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The Hit Man: Blood Smells Like Roses (ザ・ヒットマン 血はバラの匂い) (Japan, 1991) [DVD] - 1.5/5
Teruo Ishii's only V-Cinema film. "Violence and Eros" was printed on the VHS cover. That was true enough, but there's little of the style and excitement of Ishii's better films to be found. The dull storyline is about an avenging hitman going Yojimbo on two gangs. The scene where he loses his suitcase and gun because he leaves it in a cafe when he goes to bathroom, and then has to chase the (irritating) girl who took it, sums up how the film's plot (does not) function. But it's not all bad: the closing credits sequence, which plays like a photo collage from a high quality porn magazine, paired with a rock song, is superb. This film was, btw, Ishii's return to films after more than a decade of TV work.

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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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BarnDoor;15393140 wrote:On the BBFC there is a listing for a Teruo Ishii film called Orgies of Edo:

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/orgies-edo-1969

This seems like a rather obscure film, and at first I thought this might have been another name for Horrors of Malformed Men, but it doesn't look to be, and there's already a submission for that anyway. So it appears more Ishii is on the way, presumably in November.
- http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php ... st15393140

Nice, even if it's one of the lesser Abnormal Love films. Still a fun flick. Now I can ditch my HK Video dvd.

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Also good to see this going uncut with BBFC. But I still can't imagine BBFC passing the best Ishii films. The Joy of Torture, Inferno of Torture and Bohachi Bushido. Then again, I don't think Toei has those in HD anyway. If we do get more Ishii, it's probably gonna be Yakuza's Law or/and Love & Crime which Toei has in HD.
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Malformed Arrow vs. Synapse
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... lu-ray.htm

The BD looks kinda like the old 35mm print I've seen three times in Tokyo although I don't recall it being quite that green. I'm kinda recalling a bit stronger colors as well. I could be mistaken though. It wasn't one of the best Ishii prints anyway. Oh well, something to pay attention to next time...

Too bad they didn't use the Synapse master if that existed in HD.
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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I watched the Malformed BD today. The image is very green indeed. I managed to make it more pleasing by toning down the green and red a fair bit, and boosting contrast a little bit, from my screen settings. The scenes with the strongest tint still remained too green, but many others looked more natural after that. I felt the resulting image was quite ok, though not as good as the old Synapse/Panik House transfer.

As far as extras go, I was expecting more from the Kakefuda interview. He doesn't reveal anything too special, hardly even talks about Malformed Men in fact, and the interview is short with too many film clips from Tokugawa Sex Ban and Orgies of Edo.

Despite its short comings I do feel these Arrow Toei releases should be supported as much as possible, especially if you don't own the film yet. If you have the Synapse dvd already, then, well, I think it comes down to how much you value the HD resolution.
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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HungFist wrote: 27 Sep 2018, 14:16...too many film clips from Tokugawa Sex Ban and Orgies of Edo.
That pretty much guarantees we'll get TOKUGAWA SEX BAN from Arrow in the near future, doesn't it?
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Guro Taku wrote: 28 Sep 2018, 14:22
HungFist wrote: 27 Sep 2018, 14:16...too many film clips from Tokugawa Sex Ban and Orgies of Edo.
That pretty much guarantees we'll get TOKUGAWA SEX BAN from Arrow in the near future, doesn't it?
Had those clips been in HD, I'd say yes. But since they weren't, I'm not sure what to make of it...
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Yellow Line (黄線地帯) (Japan, 1960) [DVD] - 3.5/5
A very enjoyable Shin Toho noir by Teruo Ishii. There's a terrific opening with hitman Shigeru Amachi accepting an assignment and then walking into the Tokyo night. During his getaway he kidnaps a lady (Yoko Mihara) whose boyfriend (Teruo Yoshida) then tails them to Kobe where they stay in a rundown hotel in a red light district. There's a great momentum through most of the film (minus the 2nd quarter), especially towards the ultra intense climax, as well as moody sets and fascinating location work capturing the atmosphere of small alleys populated by hookers, drunks and drug dealers. One sexy night club scene especially is pure Ishii. Amachi is terrific as the hitman, a crook living by his own code of honour and humanity. There is the kind of distinctly old fashioned, gritty yet relative (only as far as “cool” allows) realism to the character that reminds of Humphrey Bogart and what you don’t really find in modern cinema. In contract, Mihara is written against typical gender roles as a woman who is neither a helpless victim nor a fighting Amazon. On the minus side we are served the worst black face job you'll ever see, on what appears to be a Caucasian blonde actress from her looks. This was Part 3 in the Line series, the only one in colour.

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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Yakuza Law (Blu-ray)

A gruelling anthology of torture, spanning three district periods of Japanese history from the Godfather of J-sploitation Teruo Ishii.

Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2tvoFBB
Pre-order in the US via DiabolikDVD: http://bit.ly/2tB2GJu
Release dates: May 13/14

Director Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman’s Curse, Horrors of Malformed Men), the Godfather of J-sploitation, presents Yakuza Law (AKA Yakuza’s Law: Lynching) – a gruelling anthology of torture, spanning three district periods of Japanese history and bringing to the screen some of the most brutal methods of torment ever devised.

In this deep dive into the world of the Yakuza, meet the violent men who rule the Japanese underworld and the cruel punishments inflicted on those who transgress them. The carnage begins in the Edo Period with a violent tale of samurai vengeance starring Bunta Sugawara (Battles Without Honour and Humanity), before shifting to the Meiji Period as the exiled Ogata (Minoru Oki, Shogun Assassin) returns to face punishment for his past transgressions… and, ultimately, to take his revenge. Finally, the action is brought right up to date with a tale of gang warfare set in then-present-day 60s Japan and headlined by Teruo Yoshida (Ishii’s Orgies of Edo), as a powerful crime syndicate seeks bloody vengeance for the theft of one hundred thousand yen.

Brutal, bewildering and definitely not for the faint-hearted, Yakuza Law represents Japanese popular cinema at its most extreme… and most thrilling.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original lossless mono Japanese soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles
• New audio commentary by author and critic Jasper Sharp
• Erotic-Grotesque and Genre Hopping: Teruo Ishii Speaks, a rare vintage interview with the elusive director on his varied career, newly edited for this release
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Tom Mes


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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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HungFist wrote: 24 Feb 2019, 06:55 NEW UK/US/CA TITLE: Yakuza Law (Blu-ray)

A gruelling anthology of torture, spanning three district periods of Japanese history from the Godfather of J-sploitation Teruo Ishii.

Pre-order in the UK via Arrow: http://bit.ly/2tvoFBB
Pre-order in the US via DiabolikDVD: http://bit.ly/2tB2GJu
Release dates: May 13/14

...
Ah, sweet! The Joy of Torture or Inferno of Torture next? :clap:
Slim chance, maybe, but fingers crossed and all that.
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Life was good for a filmmaker in the 1960s...

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(oops, this is Teruo Yoshida of course. Can't believe I mistook him for Ishii. Stupid me! How embarrassing.)

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(this is Ishii alright)

I think can I understand what motivated Ishii to direct seven films a year...
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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History of the Shogun's Harem (徳川女系図) (Japan, 1968) [35mm] – 3/5
The first film in Toei's Abnormal Love series, an unapologetic harem fantasy with an endless array of cute girls devoting their lives to the shogun (Teruo Yoshida), dance, and topless wrestling. An almost plot free affair, what makes it work are the exceptional production values selling an image of an almost otherworldly place via beautiful sets, seductive camera work and atmospheric score. Director Ishii always excelled at world-building, and would create something similar with the far spicier Inferno of Torture. This one is extremely tame compared to the torture infernos that followed, but film-historically significant for starting a new route for Toei, the first major studio to launch a big budget sexploitation line. The audiences flocked to see the picture, women's organizations were enraged, and the series head, producer Kanji Amano, immediately ordered follow-ups (the first one would be Hot Springs Geisha). The only liability is that the film runs somewhat out of steam during the last 30 min. And that it really needs to be viewed theatrically: home viewing simply does not do justice for this kind of slow but lavish film full of atmosphere and film historical fascination.

The 35mm print at Laputa Asagaya's Ishii retro was absolutely fucking gorgeous. The Toei DVD caps below really pale in comparison.

Yoshida as Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
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Yoko Mihara
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Yukie Kagawa
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Asao Koike
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

Post by Guro Taku »

HungFist wrote: 28 Dec 2019, 10:21 History of the Shogun's Harem (徳川女系図) (Japan, 1968) [35mm] – 3/5
It's been a while that I watched the film (on a dubtitled PAL DVD if you can believe it) but I was predictably disappointed that it was more of a melodrama with some nudity and nothing at all like the excessive later films that followed. I recall really digging the part where the geishas put on fursuits (rat costumes, I think) and do a titty dance. I'll gladly revisit it (the whole film, not just the titty dance!) if it ever hits BD.
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Queen Bee's Anger (女王蜂の怒り) (Japan, 1958) [DVD] – 3/5
Fast paced, superior sequel to Queen Bee (1958) with Teruo Ishii taking the helm. The first thing one notices is the lavish widescreen colour cinematography that looks really good. One could even say this anticipates Seijun Suzuki's 60s colour films. Kubo is back, in a more active role than last time, getting her share of good scenes including a great yakuza ceremony scene. This is one of the several bits that pre-date almost identical images in the Red Peony Gambler series a decade later. There's also a young lone wolf yakuza entering the scene and falling for a wild girl Terumi Hoshi (resulting in some energetic dance floor scenes), a pretty functional sub-plot that adds the compulsory male co-lead Ken Utsui but doesn't feel like it's stealing the film from Kubo. Yoko Mihara and Bunta Sugawara are in the film, too. A bit more depth and the film would be even better.

Caps from the ancient R2J (Rental) DVD. Non-anamorpic, but actually looks pretty good for what it is. Curious note: two scenes, including the ending, play in black and white. I’m not 100% sure why. In the closing scene it could be an artistic or even censorship choice, but the other one is a 30 second dialogue scene in the middle of the film with no evident reason whatsoever for the b&w switch. Ishii ran out of money? Or just wanted some B&W in the film? Or could this even be a composite print utilizing a B&W source for missing footage?

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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

Post by Guro Taku »

HungFist wrote: 28 Sep 2018, 14:45
Guro Taku wrote: 28 Sep 2018, 14:22
HungFist wrote: 27 Sep 2018, 14:16...too many film clips from Tokugawa Sex Ban and Orgies of Edo.
That pretty much guarantees we'll get TOKUGAWA SEX BAN from Arrow in the near future, doesn't it?
Had those clips been in HD, I'd say yes. But since they weren't, I'm not sure what to make of it...
SEX BAN is on amazon in HD now, so I guess it could still happen. Not like Toei is still in the business of releasing catalogue titles on physical media (it's been straight to their JUNK FILM channel for a while now, not that I don't appreciate some of the films that have finally become accessible in this way) so Arrow may well be our only hope of getting this or some of Ishii's wilder exploitation films on BD. They have been doing more releases exclusive to either the US or UK recently, so hopefully the BBFC's iron fist will eventually become less of a hindrance.
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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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Arrow's Inferno of Torture went through BBFC uncut!
https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/inferno-torture-1969

“Exploitation legend Teruo Ishii (Horrors of Malformed Men, Orgies of Edo) delivers one of his most extreme visions of violent eroticism in this, the sixth in his abnormal love series. Tattoos and torture await women forced into servitude in Ishii’s Inferno of Torture.

Unable to repay a local lender, Yumi (Yumika Katayama) takes up an offer to serve as a geisha for two years with a promise of freedom once her debt is repaid. She quickly realizes that this is less a house of geishas than an extremely cruel brothel specializing in supplying western visitors with tattooed playthings. Taken under the wing of one of the leading tattoo artists vying for a coveted spot in the Shogun’s good graces through his work, Yumi’s body becomes a battleground as a rival artist becomes determined not to lose his spot at the top. When the madam, Otatsu (Mieko Fujimoto) trains her eye on the blossoming relationship between the benevolent artist Horihide (Teruo Yoshida) and his model, she makes sure than her stay is less than hospitable, inspiring the torturous inferno of the title.

Following Ishii’s legendary Shogun’s Joy of Torture and Orgies of Edo, the prolific filmmaker still manages to turn up the heat in this incredibly violent and salacious entry in a filmography unlike any other. From the film’s opening scene depicting some of the most perverse violence ever captured on screen, through to the shock ending that will leave the audience’s mouths agape, there’s nothing quite like Inferno of Torture. Tender romance clashes with vile sadism as a sea of tattooed female flesh floods nearly every frame of this film depicting Japan’s Edo period as only Ishii could.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

– High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation

– Original uncompressed mono audio

– Optional English subtitles

– Audio Commentary by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes

– Erotic Grotesque Nonsense & the Foundations of Japan’s Cult Counterculture – a condensed version of Jasper Sharp’s Miskatonic Institute lecture

– Trailer

– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly-commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips

https://arrowfilms.com/product-detail/i ... ay/FCD2004


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Re: The Teruo Ishii thread

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I'm surprised it got by uncut - that Western actress in the finale looks very young.
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