Tokugawa onna keizu (Japan, 1968) – 3/5
Teruo Ishii started his transform into smut master with this entertaining but thoroughly unshocking period piece. While there’s hardly any violence the nudity bank is blown all over the harem walls even before the opening credits have fully rolled. The movie is heavy on dialogue but the production values are somewhat high with plenty of stylish harem footage. The last third is weaker than the rest of the film, but the fantastic ending image saves a bit. The cast features Yoko Mihara, Naomi Tani (yes, the Nikkatsu lady), Yukie Kagawa and two familar male Ishii regulars; Teruo Yoshida and Asao Koike (who would later meet in Tokugawa irezumi-shi, among others).
- dvd / Toei
Love and Crime (Japan, 1969) - 3,5/5
Four stories of love and crime packed into 92 minutes, all courtesy of madman Teruo Ishii. The opening episode, a classic and moody non-supernatural horror tale set in the 1960’s, is the best of the bunch. The follow up is Ishii’s take on the Abe Sada tale, but it doesn’t bring much new to the famous true story, except a brief cameo by the real life Abe Sada. Notably better fares the next story which follows a serial killer / rapist during the war years. Shot in b/w this episode sports an impressive cold and minimalistic atmosphere. The movie ends with a disturbing tale of a woman married to a malformed man.
- dvd / Toei
Horrors of Malformed Men (Japan, 1969) – 4/5
Teruo Ishii’s notorious horror tale mixes several Edogawa Rampo stories in a politically incorrect fashion that lead the own studio to ban the movie soon after its original release. Teruo Yoshida stars as a man obsessed with solving a mystery that will later lead him into a new world of horror. Ishii moves the story rather slowly, although enjoyably, till the halfway point where all hell breaks loose. What follows is one of the most memorable and impressive 10 minutes in genre history. After that the movie slows down a bit but remains fascinating till the legendary final scene.
- dvd / Synapse