The Roman Porno + Pink thread

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logboy
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by logboy »

HungFist wrote:
HungFist wrote: ???
A Nun's Diary: Confession: Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession (1976) ???
True Story of a Prostitute: Tears: Gypsy Rose: A Docu-Drama (1974) ???
Sundance from Rock Shock Pop forums sent me a few corrections:

A Nun's Diary: Confession: Wet & Rope (1979)
True Story of a Prostitute: Tears: True Story of a woman in Soapland: Tear! (1987)
thanks for going through the list to give original titles. i've done a little research to see what's in there that's potentially of interest to me - about five titles, i think. not that difficult to get the japanese text once i know what the film actually is ... ! glad to see sato and hasebe appear in here, and a few or more long-requested titles from those that have developed a more knowledgeable taste in RP.

still not sure i like the selection process and the way they're handled. there seems to be runs of sequels for films which were not certainly of interest to buyers in their earlier titles. could do with trailers in advance, too. surprisingly hard to find people willing to stock them, even with altered titles, for us folk that are buying from abroad - not even amazon listings seem forthcoming any more.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Basically that list contains two kinds of titles: violent pink and "standard" softcore stuff. There are some cool ones from the former category, like Zoom Up: Rape Site, Woman in the Box 2, Rape! 13th Hour, White Rose Campus and Lolita Vibrator Torture. But it's sad the other genres get ignored.

I kinda take credit for bringing Zoom Up: Rape Site to their attention (and I believe I accidentally got Rape! 13th Hour into the release list as well) so I was shy of trying to promote more titles to them. After all, if these bomb, I don't want to be the man who bankrupted Synapse :lol: But I do wish they'd explore some of the truly great films from other genres, like Female Delinquent: A Docu-Drama (1977), Rolling on the Road (1981), Crazed Fruit (1981), Delicate Skilful Fingers (1972) etc. Then again, I've been told at my face (well, screen) by web users that my recommendation are shit and those films are shitty artistic snooze fests with too little tits and ass. I guess that's the fundamental problem with a brand called Roman Porno that contains both great art (small minority) and low brow sleaze (great majority) and the latter is the sales point.

Well, I've understood that the first batch sold well, and I'm happy about that even most of those films weren't of great interest to me personally.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by HungFist »

I've finally updated my favourite Roman Porno films list. Top 30!

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1. Female Delinquent: A Docu-Drama (Toshiya Fujita, 1977) (genre: violence / delinquent girl)
Ultra-realistic and ultra-violent bad girl drama. Imagine Kinji Fukasaku directing a Sukeban film with Toshiya Fujita ‘s usual youth film themes and social commentary. Fantastic performances, innovative cinematography and a stunning rock soundtrack.


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2. Rape Ceremony (Kichitaro Negishi, 1980) (genre: youth drama / character study)
Despite the crude Nikkatsu title, this is a small masterpiece about two generations of violent young men. It follows a group of young men who is taking revenge against their former idols, who are biker gang members who disbanded under police pressure. A very Art Theatre Guild esque film with great characters, cast, music, and broken chronology.


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3. Love Hotel (Shinji Somai, 1985) (genre: character drama)
The only Roman Porno by Shinji Somai, who was arguably the best Japanese director of the 1980s. This film features one of the best storylines I have ever seen, and all of the usual Somai trademarks from breathtaking tracking shots to great soundtrack. Yokohama (Mainstream) Film Fest winner: best film, best director, best screenplay (Takashi Ishii), best cinematography, best lead actor and best female newcomer of the year.


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4. Rolling on the Road (aka Oh Women! A Dirty Song) (Tatsumi Kumashiro, 1981) (genre: rock sleaze)
Kumashiro’s jaw dropping sleaze fest and "true account" of the asshole rocker / movie star Yuya Uchida, played by Uchida himself! The most memorable scene: a sadomasochist nurse is strangling Uchida with a telephone cord during sex while his other girlfriend is crying at the other end of the line.


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5. Crazed Fruit (Kichitaro Negishi, 1981) (genre: youth drama / character study)
Kichitaro Negishi was bar none one of the best directors who ever worked in Roman Porno. He basically re-invented the 1950s delinquent youth genre. This is a new and superior version of the 1950s classic Crazed Fruit. It's got all of Negishi's trademarks: complex characters, great performances, frequent use of exterior locations, and an energetic audio-visual style that mixes pop songs with hand-held cinematography.


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6. Pink Hip Girl (Koyu Ohara, 1977) (genre: youth / pop art)
This is one of the cutest, most adorable youth films, and the movie that earned Ohara his reputation as “pop-art director”. It’s a highly entertaining road movie with snowy landscapes, cute girls, great soundtrack, and real chemistry between the two leads. This was a hit among female audiences as well.


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7. Retreat through the Wet Wasteland (Yukihiro Sawada, 1973) (genre: cop thriller)
Ultra-nihilist police corruption film in which two beast-cops are hunting their former colleague who escaped from a mental institution and could reveal their crimes to the public. Produced as Roman Porno because no mainstream studio dared to touch it. Even Nikkatsu had second thoughts because they thought it was too political and tried to stop the production.


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8. Angel Guts: Red Classroom (Chusei Sone, 1979) (genre: psychological drama)
Most of the Angel Guts movies are great, but this haunting psychological drama is probably my favourite. Keizo Kanie stars as a photographer who sees an underground rape film and becomes obsessed finding the girl and finding out of the crime was real or staged. Beautiful score, good performances and fine cinematography. The ending is unforgettable. I've excluded the other entries from the list, but High School Co-ed, Nami and Red Vertigo all come highly recommended.


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9. Delicate Skilful Fingers (Tooru Murakawa, 1972) (genre: contemporary drama)
This film was praised by critics as a movie that turned Roman Porno into respectable youth cinema that captured Nikkatsu's past glory days. Indeed, it's a terrific, stylish film of an innocent young woman who falls in love with a professional pickpocket and discovers a new decadent life. Co-stars cult actor / rock star Ichiro Araki. Screenplay by Tatsumi Kumashiro.


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10. Red Violation (Chusei Sone, 1980) (genre: rock / slice of life drama)
A great slice of life drama following real life rock-band Devils, played by the real members, including the gaijin member James Hunt in a pretty big role. It's a film that could've been produced by ATG. There's a bit of sex, quite good characters, and tons of great music. It also captures the spirit of the time really nicely. The film ends with a terrific 10 minute scene where the band is composing their new song. One of the best band movies ever made.

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11. Beauty’s Exotic Dance: Torture (Noboru Tanaka, 1977) (genre: psychological drama)
A haunting psychological drama about the love affair between an artist and a woman who goes through endless physical tortures to make him happy. All set in beautiful snowy landscapes. Probably Tanaka’s best film.


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12. Rape! 13th Hour (Yasuharu Hasebe, 1977) (genre: violent pink / thriller)
Hasebe’s most outrageous film even turns the violence against men when a serial rapist with a protégé is chased by a homosexual gang. It’s also his slickest thriller, and full of interesting social commentary, even if Hasebe denies such intentions for some reason. William Friedkin later made a film which has an identical ending!


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13. Assault! Jack the Ripper (Yasuharu Hasebe, 1976) (genre: violent pink / thriller)
The coming of age story of a serial killer. A shy young man finds a passion for slaughtering women, and his girlfriend gets sexual kicks from it. Rarely have sex and death been so close other than in David Cronenberg films.


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14. Zoom Up: Rape Apartments (Naosuke Kurosawa, 1980) (genre: pink giallo)
This is just about the last thing you'd expect to find in the Roman Porno genre: a pink-giallo. The cinematography and sound design are absolutely stunning and the film features one of the most WTF kills in movie history. Too bad about the excessive sex scenes that slow it down.


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15. Midnight Fairy (Noboru Tanaka, 1973) (genre: arthouse)
A desperate young man ditched by his girlfriend hooks up with a mentally challenged prostitute. This is a superb arthouse Roman Porno. It's poignant, visually stylish, and features lots of great 1970s footage filmed on location on streets and in small bars. The film also never feels pretentious: it's fun, playful and relatively fast paced.


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16. Woman of the Afternoon: Incite! (Nobuyuki Saito, 1979) (genre: genre cocktail)
This film is best watched without knowing anything about it. Director Nobuyuki Saito spent most of his career making mediocre and bad films. This one, however, is a fresh, breezy and energetic gem that will take you by a suprise.


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17. Erotic Liaisons (Yasuharu Hasebe, 1978) (genre: neo-noir)
Here's a very stylish neo-noir based on a novel by the French author Raymond Marlot and produced during the late 1970s when a small amount of Roman Porno films attempted to bridge the gap between mainstream and pink cinema. The storyline and atmosphere are so strikingly European that you constantly forgets the film is set in Tokyo and not Paris.


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18. Woman in the Box 2 (Masaru Konuma, 1986) (genre: horror/drama)
Generally speaking, I'm no fan of Masaru Konuma's SM films. He has, however, made some good films in other genres. This movie is a small gem: a beautiful, melancholic horror film set on a ski resort. It has a terrific score, too. It's such a unique film in the Roman Porno genre that you don't even realize the villain is actually a pretty standard SM psycho.


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19. Wandering Lovers: Dizziness (Masaru Konuma, 1978) (genre: youth drama)
An energetic youth film follows two youngsters on the run. The film features superb performances from its two leads who make an adorable couple that you really care about - a real rarity in the genre. It's also stylishly shot, with numerous outdoor scenes set in the early morning add a fresh feel to the film. One of director Konuma's best films.


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20. Painful Bliss! Final Twist (Tatsumi Kumashiro, 1977) (genre: WTF / pop art)
An absolutely insane mix of yakuzas, transvestites and all kinds of pop-art. If Takashi Miike, Pedro Almodovar and Noboru Tanaka had sex, and somehow gave birth, and the child become a movie director, his movie would probably look much like this...


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21. Assault (Yukihiro Sawada, 1976) (genre: violent pink / thriller)
Another crime film by the director of Retreat through the Wet Wasteland. This one is a remarkably dark and bleak tale of a husband and wife taken as prisoner by a group criminals on the run. The film was very obviously influenced by Straw Dogs. Although most of it fall short of great, the eight minute climax is a melancholic ballad of violence that rivals the best scenes by Sam Peckinpah and John Woo.


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22. Girl's Pleasure: Man Hunting (Toshiya Fujita, 1977) (genre: drama, youth, thriller)
Skilfully written and unpredictable character drama about a raped wife, her husband, little sister, and the sister's friend who falls in love with an African American soldier. The shifting focus and the use of unlikely encounters echoes 1990s Tarantino, and the violent ending turns gender roles upside down. The script, by a 25 year old female writer, was discovered via Nikkatsu screenwriting competition.


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23. Secret Chronicle: Prostitution Market (Chusei Sone, 1972) (genre: comedy)
A very funny, frequently cute, and politically incorrect by modern standards, film about a mentally challenged girl who is sold to a brothel. Her virginity proves surprisingly difficult to steal as she doesn't understand what sex is, and always manages to misunderstand the customers' intentions. The best sequence involves a sumo wrestler trying to catch her – and destroying half of the brothel in the process before knocking himself out.


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24. Zoom Up: Rape Site (Koyu Ohara, 1979) (genre: violent pink / thriller)
A notorious piece of mean spirited violent pink may not be quite as wild as its reputation, but it's well made smut with a solid thriller structure, some gruesome kills and a pitch black view on humanity. Also, the film's view on women can be summarized with the line "be so kind, rape me again".


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25. Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train (genre: romance / thriller)
An utterly ridiculous but highly entertaining love story about two robbers and their female hostage on the run. Add “stunts sequences” on the train top, a ridiculous Texas country music soundtrack, and a very cute female lead, and you’ve got a nonsensical, but fun crime film romance.


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26. Woman's Trail: Wet Path (Kazunari Takeda, 1980) (genre: drama)
Beautifully melancholic film about realistic, likeable and often middle aged characters wandering aimlessly in snowy coastal towns after being abandoned by their loved ones. Director Takeda rarely produced quality, but this is a mature, atypical film that beautifully depicts the passing of time.


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27. Secret Chronicle: She-Beast Market (Noboru Tanaka, 1974) (genre: realistic drama)
Tanaka's ultra realistic film about a prostitute (Meika Seri) is one of the most exceptional films in the Roman Porno genre, and not only for its striking black & white cinematography.


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28. From Orion's Testimony: Formula for Murder (Kichitaro Negishi, 1978) (genre: drama/youth/thriller)
Negishi's first film is a youth drama about a young man who writes fictional plans how to murder his father - until the father's new lover wishes to put the plan into action. Negishi's films are always character driven, often breezy, and feature exceptional approaches to sex. In this film the protagonist makes friends with a strange hippie-like girl (Ako) into African music - and their relationship is almost sex free.


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29. Girl and the Wooden Horse Torture (Fumihiko Kato, 1982) (genre: noir / drama/ S&M)
There are not many S&M films that appeal to me, but this one is of interest. Director Kato helms a very good Takashi Ishii script about a high school girl who is obsessed with her teacher, who has been fired on false rape accusations. The highly visual and nightmarish film is both surprising and character driven. The final scenes may be hard to take for newcomers, but the film feels like an Angel Guts entry with an S&M theme.


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30. Trap of Lust (Atsushi Yamatoya, 1973) (genre: action / thriller / WTF)
Atsushi Yamatoya, one of the screenwriters on Branded to Kill, and a cult figure on his own, directs this bizarre professional killer / spy film satire that is sometimes considered a remake of Branded to Kill. Entertaining, although sometimes a bit too confident of its own odd appeal.
Guro Taku
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by Guro Taku »

HungFist wrote:Then again, I've been told at my face (well, screen) by web users that my recommendation are shit and those films are shitty artistic snooze fests with too little tits and ass. I guess that's the fundamental problem with a brand called Roman Porno that contains both great art (small minority) and low brow sleaze (great majority) and the latter is the sales point.
I think that may be a matter of how many of these films one has seen. At least I can say from personal experience that at first even the worst, most plotless S&M flicks seemed like masterpieces to me, just because they were so different from the European and American smut flicks I was accustomed to. But there eventually comes a point where you've seen a hundred of them or more and the incessant bondaging, raping and shitting in paper bags gets just tedious and you inevitably start looking for things other than the rumpy pumpy parts for entertainment. And that's when you discover the art that was smuggled in by the very best directors working in the genre.
logboy
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by logboy »

Guro Taku wrote:
HungFist wrote:Then again, I've been told at my face (well, screen) by web users that my recommendation are shit and those films are shitty artistic snooze fests with too little tits and ass. I guess that's the fundamental problem with a brand called Roman Porno that contains both great art (small minority) and low brow sleaze (great majority) and the latter is the sales point.
I think that may be a matter of how many of these films one has seen. At least I can say from personal experience that at first even the worst, most plotless S&M flicks seemed like masterpieces to me, just because they were so different from the European and American smut flicks I was accustomed to. But there eventually comes a point where you've seen a hundred of them or more and the incessant bondaging, raping and shitting in paper bags gets just tedious and you inevitably start looking for things other than the rumpy pumpy parts for entertainment. And that's when you discover the art that was smuggled in by the very best directors working in the genre.
think the first of this type of film i saw wasn't until the 'angel guts' set came from artsmagic, and personally i didn't have trouble seeing the artistic side of it, though i do have that background to some extent - so, not sure it's about how many, but how determined someone is to understand or accept rather than just watch and be entertained in a familiar way.

if there's a skill in spot and identify creative aspects in what's being experienced, even the distractions and additional or failed additional aspects shouldn't stop the good ideas being acknowledged. i have my own issues with RP - apart from only having picked from what's been subbed stateside, as i don't know or understand the d/l fansub sector - but, to me, it's blatantly clear there's value in them quite often, and i do like the ability to accept sex as a legitimate part in many varied stories and concepts, and the freedom given to director's in return for their acceptance of certain constraints, limitations and frequency of production is a great ground for creative solutions and unusual, original ideas.

we do still have something of a culture of expecting certain mixes of sex within films that's dominated by our own western domestic product, and a hefty explicit porn industry that suggests there's no need for a creative or alternative take on how to either portray sex or mix it within different types of story. perhaps we can take dismissal of RP and pink as a sign of a lack of confidence and ability to spot how good ideas arrive in what may initially appear to be the most unlikely of locations.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by HungFist »

Website for the Japanese 2017-2018 Roman Porno DVD and BD releases:
http://www.nikkatsu-romanporno.com/bddvd2017/

Titles will be coming in April, July, October, January (2018), March.

Via Sundance at Rock Shock Pop
Sundance wrote: So these are coming from Happinet in Japan. The DVDs listed below are first time on DVD.

July 4th:

Angel Guts Limited Edition Blu-Ray box with four of the films (because the first one will never be seen again... :down:)

All four films will also be available separately on the same day.

Then new on DVD:
White Skin Glimmering In the Darkness 闇に浮かぶ白い肌
Bawdy Tales of Edo: Octopus & Sea Shell 江戸艶笑夜話 蛸と赤貝
Onsen Geisha: Yubune de Ippatsu 温泉芸者 湯舟で一発
Maruhi onsen: iwaburo jōji (秘)温泉 岩風呂の情事
Blue Lagoon: A Summer Experience ひと夏の体験 青い珊瑚礁


October 3rd:

Twisted Path of Love 恋人たちは濡れた Blu-Ray
A Woman with Red Hair 赫い髪の女 Blu-Ray
Rouge ルージュ Blu-Ray
Yumeno kyūsaku no shōjo jigoku 夢野久作の 少女地獄 Blu-Ray


DVD:
Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train (秘)ハネムーン 暴行列車
Lewd Widow 淫絶未亡人
Toruko maruhi saizensen: -mitsugi 96 te – ソープ(秘)最前線 密技96手
SEX dainamaito madonna no shizuku SEXダイナマイト マドンナのしずく
Dream Crimes 夢犯

January 6th 2018:

Female Teacher: In Front of the Students 女教師 生徒の眼の前で Blu-Ray
Crazy/Crazed Fruit 狂った果実 Blu-Ray
Slave Contract 奴隷契約書 Blu-Ray
Dark Room 暗室 Blu-Ray


DVD:
Uniform Girls: The Fruit Is Ripe 制服体験トリオ わたし熟れごろ
Hōru in rabu: kusamura no yokujō ホールインラブ 草むらの欲情
Waisetsuna Onna: Kuroi Hada ni Naku ワイセツな女 黒い肌に泣く
Sex Rider: Wet Highway セックス・ライダー 濡れたハイウェイ
Lady Kamakura: Cherry Boy Club 鎌倉夫人 童貞倶楽部
- http://www.happinet-p.com/jp3/releases/category/moviej

I'm totally gonna get Crazed Fruit BD and Rape Train DVD.

Also happy to see that Woman of the Afternoon: Incite will have a cheap dvd re-issue in January 2018. The original release is OOP and expensive.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by Guro Taku »

As usual, they could have done a lot better but all in all that's not a terrible line up. I'm pleased to have so many Takashi Ishii flicks hit BD and DVD for the first time with the ANGEL GUTS series (even if it's just 4 of them), ROUGE and DREAM CRIMES. I want to get excited about RAPE TRAIN but then I remember what happened the first timer Happinet announced it a few years ago. CRAZED FRUIT I will check out on your recommendation.

Have you seen any of the other flicks that are new to DVD? Any of them worth checking out or would they all have been better left in their vaults?
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Guro Taku wrote: Have you seen any of the other flicks that are new to DVD? Any of them worth checking out or would they all have been better left in their vaults?
Only Sex Rider: Wet Highway. It's a fun little film. I thought I had posted a review but I can't find it now... well, here goes:

Sex Rider: Wet Highway (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 3/5
An early Roman Porno / Nikkatsu Action hybrid void of any logic. The film follows a lowlife who pretends to be dead after being hit by a female driver. She proceeds to dump his body in a lake, only to have him come to rescue a moment later when she's attacked by a horny hunter. He saves her, kills the assailant, and hits the dead body with a duck. That scene marks the beginning of one of the most nonsensical, yet oddly fascinating psychological road movie character relationships of all time. There is a superb scene with the mismatched couple defying death by speeding down the mountain road while having sex behind the wheel near the end. This, and several other stylish scenes, are inserted into a narrative that is ridiculous more often than not.

This was the first Roman Porno film by Koretsugu Kurahara, a promising young action film director whose mainstream career ended before it had really even begun. Like his colleague Yukihiro Sawada, he never quite seemed to adjust to the new genre and kept making films that drew influence from Nikkatsu's action and youth film era.

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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by Guro Taku »

Thanks, that sounds like something I should check out!

Also intriguing is Yumeno Kyuusaku's Girl Hell 夢野久作の少女地獄, which - like CRAZED FRUIT - has only been available on an ancient, long OOP and VHS quality DVD from Uplink before.

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As you can see they retitled it as well as the DVD comes under the name 火星の女.

The New York Times review it thusly:
One of pinku eiga starlet Asami Ogawa’s best films, this softcore melodrama from the Nikkatsu studio and the always-interesting Masaru Konuma bears some resemblance to Heavenly Creatures in its exploration of a fantasy world created by two troubled girls. Utae (Ogawa) and Aiko (Yuko Asuka) attend an all-girl private school where the devoutly religious principal (Shoichi Kuwayama) seems to be raping some of the students, including Utae. Aiko is really the principal’s daughter, and was horribly abused by him when she was a child. Or so the audience is led to believe. Eventually, Utae and Aiko kidnap the lecher and viciously torture him in scenes so diabolically Sadean that they could only have come from the pen of Kyusaku Yumeno, author of the well-regarded {-Dogura Magura}. There’s a very nasty abortion scene, self-immolation, and enough psychological weirdness to keep even the most demanding fans of extreme Japanese cinema happy. Hideaki Ezumi co-stars.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by logboy »

HungFist wrote:Basically that list contains two kinds of titles: violent pink and "standard" softcore stuff. There are some cool ones from the former category, like Zoom Up: Rape Site, Woman in the Box 2, Rape! 13th Hour, White Rose Campus and Lolita Vibrator Torture. But it's sad the other genres get ignored.

I kinda take credit for bringing Zoom Up: Rape Site to their attention (and I believe I accidentally got Rape! 13th Hour into the release list as well) so I was shy of trying to promote more titles to them.
i am mostly interested in those violent ones from that list of synapse's things - didn't take long to identify them, and discount the more stereotypical soft ones. i don't know a lot about the detail of the others with the 1000+ run (other than USA discs i've bought) but i would like to know how to identify them, deal with imports from japan and hopefully add SRT files to sub them. any help?
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Angel Guts Artworks

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- http://www.nikkatsu-romanporno.com/topi ... 04/bd4.php

Can't say I'm impressed. And seeing how Nikkatsu's recent RP transfers have turned out, I'm fearing the worst for the transfers too...
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Those covers are absolute masterworks compared to what Happinet has churned out until now. And at any rate I expect the transfers to be better than the ones Artsmagic used for their old DVD box.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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HungFist wrote:Angel Guts Limited Edition Blu-Ray box with four of the films (because the first one will never be seen again...)
What's the deal with the 6th ANGEL GUTS film, RED LIGHTNING 天使のはらわた 赤い閃光? I know it was produced by a different company than Nikkatsu but is that reason enough for it to have disappeared since its release on VHS 23 years ago?
Last edited by Guro Taku on 11 Jan 2020, 18:23, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by HungFist »

No idea what's going on with Red Lightning.

Btw, Nippon Connection will be holding a small Roman Porno retro with 9 titles.
http://www.nipponconnection.com/retro-en.html

Nice, but I'm not terribly impressed with that line-up. In addition to quality, the cool thing about Roman Porno was its diversity. There could be anything from a pink giallo to a cop thriller to a rock band docu-drama... That diversity is very much missing from Nippon Connection's selection which consists of 9 dramas from 2 directors...


Speaking of Roman Porno, I achieved another life goal: watched a Roman Porno (*) with my girlfriend. As I had planned, I chose Delicate Skillful Fingers (1972). She seemed to like it more or less, certainly didn't hate it.

For me it was the second time seeing it. Some poor acting by Hiroko Isayama and Hajime Tanimoto aside, it's such a good film. So many fantastic scenes (the shower room party, Isayama and Araki's first meeting, all the pick pocketing scenes, the vivid early 70s Tokyo footage...), absolutely wonderful score and a cool as hell Ichiro Araki performance. Wow!

* We did see Wet Woman in the Wind in theatre, but that's a Reboot film, a bit different hence...
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

Post by Guro Taku »

HungFist wrote:Image
30. Trap of Lust (Atsushi Yamatoya, 1973) (genre: action / thriller / WTF)
Atsushi Yamatoya, one of the screenwriters on Branded to Kill, and a cult figure on his own, directs this bizarre professional killer / spy film satire that is sometimes considered a remake of Branded to Kill. Entertaining, although sometimes a bit too confident of its own odd appeal.
So I finally watched this, thanks to Arrow Video including it as an extra on their Branded to Kill BD. I admit to being fairly bored for the first 25 minutes or so. Then Saigo and Mario show up and the whole thing becomes pure, unadulterated nightmare fodder. Some much-needed comedic relief happens in the form of the medulla oblongata shootout and the prostiture/impotence shenenigans. Then Saigo and Mario show up again. Fuck! There went my good night's sleep.
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HungFist
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Foreigner's Mistress Oman: Falling Autumn Flower (Japan, 1972) [VoD] - 2.5/5
The 2nd film in the Rashamen Oman series is better than the first. This one is groovier, slightly better paced, and feels more like a real yakuza film, albeit a porno hybrid one. It can't entirely decide what it wants to be, though. There's the usual ninkyo premise with a wandering gambler (Sally May) whose sister (Yuri Yamashina) gets abused by an evil gang, but also a modern twist with a supporting girl gang straight out of a 60s Nikkatsu action film. We also get rope torture, sadistic young yakuza boss, and blind dice master Akira Takahashi. The action at the climax is actually pretty decent and more stylishly staged than those in some of Toei's lesser ninkyo films. Takahashi goes full on Zatoichi with a sword, and the yellow haired May in her beautiful white yukata make a genuinely memorable and unusual sight in the midst of the carnage. There's an evident Seijun Suzuki influence to the scene. One only wishes the film had a bit more plot and a bit less sex as even at 65 minutes it comes with some boring moments.

Takahashi and May
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Still in the ninkyo realm
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This is when it starts shifting towards 60s / 70s Nikkatsu action
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Yep
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Before Uma Thurman there was...
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Major Seijun Suzuki vibes
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HungFist
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Fujunna kankei (Japan, 1984) [DVD] - 4/5
It often happens with Roman Porno that when the film is good, you know it from the very first shot. Shogoro Nishimura nails it here with a man (Akira Sakai) sitting on a fence by the road on a cold night, with neon lights out of focus in the background, breathing warm air to his hands and waiting for a taxi that brings a young girl to him. She (lovely Natsuko Yamamoto) is hopelessly in love with him, and he takes her home while his wife is away. Next day just when he has brought a friend home for an after-party the wife doing laundry finds a stain and hair that doesn't belong to her in the bed sheets. Terrific scene! Former yakuza film director gone prolific but half-steam one man porno factory Nishimura delivers a major surprise with this well written, superbly directed relationship drama with exceptionally good characters that you really care for. The real stand out is the wife, played by the beautiful, underrated, eccentric Ako whose career was a mixture of Roman Porno, Arthouse Guild, Toei, Shochiku, and Toho films. The film's soundtrack is terrific as well. This is the beauty of Roman Porno: just when it starts to wear your out you'll stumble across a hidden gem. This currently ranks as my favourite Japanese film of 1984.

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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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July 4th DVD releases from Happinet:

White Skin Glimmering In the Darkness 闇に浮かぶ白い肌 (dir. Shogoro Nishimura, 1972)
Bawdy Tales of Edo: Octopus & Sea Shell 江戸艶笑夜話 蛸と赤貝 (dir. Atsushi Fujiura, 1974)
Onsen Geisha: Yubune de Ippatsu 温泉芸者 湯舟で一発 (dir. Atsushi Fujiura, 1982)
Maruhi onsen: iwaburo jōji (秘)温泉 岩風呂の情事 (dir. Isao Hayashi, 1977)
Blue Lagoon: A Summer Experience ひと夏の体験 青い珊瑚礁 (dir. Toshiharu Ikeda, 1981)
Last edited by Guro Taku on 11 Jan 2020, 18:24, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Guro Taku wrote: Do I have to buy this DVD?!
Yes! Then you can tell me if I have to do the same.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Guro Taku wrote: What's the deal with the 6th ANGEL GUTS film, RED LIGHTNING 天使のはらわた 赤い閃光? I know it was produced by a different company than Nikkatsu but is that reason enough for it to have disappeared since its release on VHS 23 years ago?

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Added to JP Netflix a few weeks ago.
https://jp.allflicks.net/movies/80187788/

Don't know about transfer quality.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Artworks for the October 3rd batch:

BD:

Twisted Path of Love 恋人たちは濡れた (1973) dir. Tatsumi Kumashiro
A Woman with Red Hair 赫い髪の女 (1979) dir. Tatsumi Kumashiro
Rouge ルージュ (1984) dir. Hiroyuki Nasu, scr. Takashi Ishii
Yumeno kyūsaku no shōjo jigoku 夢野久作の 少女地獄 (1977) dir. Masaru Konuma

DVD:

Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train (秘)ハネムーン 暴行列車 (1977) dir. Yasuharu Hasebe
Lewd Widow 淫絶未亡人 (1976) dir. Chusei Sone
Toruko maruhi saizensen: -mitsugi 96 te – ソープ(秘)最前線 密技96手 (1975) dir. Saburo Endo
SEX dainamaito madonna no shizuku SEXダイナマイト マドンナのしずく (1988) dir. Kin Ishikawa
Dream Crimes 夢犯 (1985) dir. Naosuke Kurosawa, scr. Takashi Ishii

The covers for the two Kumashiro films have to be the ugliest ones they've done yet.

I know not everybody is a fan but I, for one, am pleased that they are going with original Takashi Ishii artwork for all the films he either wrote the script for or wrote and directed. The only bummer is that this seems to be a decision they made after releasing SCENT OF A SPELL.

KYUSAKU YUMENO'S GIRL HELL and RAPE TRAIN covers are a bit too obviously photoshopped but I can live with them.

The rest are business as usual and I don't care because I won't buy them anyway.
Last edited by Guro Taku on 11 Jan 2020, 18:26, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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It's really sad that "Yumeno kyūsaku no shōjo jigoku" got such an ugly cover, compared to one of the best roman porno poster ever.
And - from what I saw from this vhs-like Uplink-DVD - I think this is Konumas best roman porno. In terms of story AND look.
I am glad that there is finally a bluray.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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gerira wrote:And - from what I saw from this vhs-like Uplink-DVD - I think this is Konumas best roman porno.
Did the UPLINK DVD have any extras? Their releases, as lacking as they were in terms of picture quality, were usually pretty solid as far as extras are concerned. I can't find anything about this particular release online, however. The new BD will only have the trailer, unfortunately.
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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It's because they changed the title for their release to 火星の女 (ULD-105), released 2003/03/28

Just checked the DVD. Pretty bare bones. Just announcements for their Nippon Erotics-Series (where it was part of)
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Re: Classic Japanese Exploitation (pinky violence & pink)

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Looks like someone at Shin Toho saw that Nikkatsu are making a bunch of money by releasing their classic roman porno titles and decided that it's time to finally get off their lazy asses and do something with their own catalogue of pink flicks! They're releasing 4-6 DVDs a month and started in May with:

ある女教師 緊縛 (1978) dir. Banmei Takahashi
鞭と緊縛 (1979) dir. Banmei Takahashi
人妻拷問 (1980) dir. Banmei Takahashi
拷問百年史 (1975) dir. Koji Wakamatsu
女刑御禁制百年 (1977) dir. Koji Wakamatsu
痴漢地下鉄 (1975) dir. Shinya Yamamoto

The bad news is that these are all bargain bin type releases, almost certainly utilizing the same old letterboxed transfers already available through various VOD sites (DMM, Sokmil etc.). So the comparison would not be what Happinet is currently doing with Nikkatsu catalogue titles but rather those YK Pictures DVDs that came out a few years ago.

Further bad news comes in the form of the titles released June-August consisting of more recent fare from the 90ies onwards and as such being much less interesting.

I'll still take those Wakamatsu discs at least and retain some hope that a few films by Hisayasu Sato, who made at least 20 films at Shin Toho between 1986 and 1998, will find their way to DVD in the future.
Last edited by Guro Taku on 11 Jan 2020, 18:26, edited 1 time in total.
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