[quote=“Hung Fist”]
Are you sure there is a japanese dvd release?
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Well, not really. But there’s a Best-of “Nikkatsu-Roman-Porno”-Collection, containing a Laserdisc of the movie, which is supposed to be in 2,35:1. Sadly ofdb hasn’t got a lot of information about it, but usually they’re pretty accurate:
Some random impressions: Again this was a hugely entertaining movie, time flew by like nothing, but it also had some major flaws preventing it from becoming a classic. I’m not gonna bitch about them too much, since I’m kinda in love with the genre and so I’ll have a rather euphemistic view on everything that’s slightly pink AND japanese.
The story-pick-up during the 20 minutes is great and very furious, very colourful, outrageous 70s-clothing-style, especially Reiko Ike in an all blue biker-outfit looks to die for, some way cool catfights and naughty fun, like Miki Sugimoto stripping on a cemetary. Then the movie starts telling a story in a rather random way, enter some Yakuzas, the tone gets more serious, but it remains interesting throughout. At first I didn’t like the idea of Sachiko getting herself a boyfriend, but then it was a pretty worthwhile idea to make the story more interesting, and it wasn’t too much. Haha, and Norifumi Suzuki sure doesn’t like Christians, does he?
When those bad-guys tried to cut off Sachiko’s arm with a band-saw, I found myself praying throughout the following turmoil-scene, that one of the Yakuza-Dudes would accidentely trip over, thus getting his limb or head severed by the still running saw, but sadly nothing like that happened. Would have made a great arterial-spray-scene, though. The revenge-plot in the end went a little too smooth and wasn’t close to as satisfying as that infamous and bloody over-the-top Naked-Chick-Mayhem with a Vengeance from “Female Yakuza Tale”. I almost felt a little cheated. But only a tiny bit. The Whipping-Scene was quite nasty, almost too long, and Miki’s body looks gorgeous even covered in blood, but I’ll keep faithful to Reiko Ike. She’ll always stay my Pinky-Violence-Idol:
And who else had to crack up a smile, when Ishiro’s Hippie-friend picked up his guitar to sing a song and all you could hear was piano-music . . . ? ;D
My favorite scene:
SACHIKO (Miki Sugimoto) “Dont’ mess with us, just because we’re chicks!”
[quote=“Hung Fist”]
Me and Dice are convinced that the japanese Pink Cinema is the best thing in the world, and we’re both totally over-excited about the genre.
[/quote]
I never realized other Chusei Sone films than High School Co-ed and Red Classroom have been released on (non R2J) dvd. But it looks like there’s a good quality UK disc for Hellish Love (aka Immortal Love). Since Red Clasroom was one of the most artistic and beautiful exploitation movies I’ve seen, I’m really looking forward to watching this.
‘Hellish Love’ is based on one of the oldest and most traditional ghost stories, but this in no ways takes away from the pleasure of this renditions telling. Sone’s direction is pure class and captures the atmosphere of classic horror storytelling and mixes it with some very erotically charged moments of passion with great style.
The film is in every way not only very sensual but also a gothis masterpiece also. The feel of many of the spookier moments truly can be compared with some of the old Euro gothic films of the same vein. An excellent blend of eroticism and old school gothic horror in the Japanese setting - very nice indeed!
I want to provide you with a general recommendation, and that’ll be the Best-of-Song-Compilation by Meiko Kaji, which came out last year or so. I bought it because I was in love with “Lady Snowblood” back then, but I didn’t knew anything about Pinky Violence yet, and recently I dug that CD out again and listening to it was an even greater experience before, because by now I’m accustomed to the awesome kind of music playing in Japanese 70s-(S)exploitation-Movies. I highly recommend this CD to you:
Meiko Kaji: Zenkyoku Shu (Zenkyokusyu)
There are 20 songs on the CD, all are digitally remastered, and all are equally great and form a great reminiscence to Pinky Violence and Nikkatsu-Movies in general. “Urami Bushi” and “Shura no Hana” from "Kill Bil"l are also included. There’s upbeat songs, slow blues, some more traditional tunes and also some very catchy Chanson-like songs and above all, it’s all pure 70s. So if you don’t have the time to watch a movie, but you’re still longing for the feel of badass Grindhous-Girl-Gangs roaming the streets of Tokyo for Revenge, this CD will certainly deliver. Plus, there’s a booklet with some cool pictures from Meiko-Kaji-Movies.
www.amazon.com has it, but you may come away cheaper on ebay.
Meiko Kaji is amazing. I downloaded that album a while back too, great stuff. Can anybody tell me when the Christina Lindberg sex scene is in Female Yakuza Tale? Haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, so I’m just skimming through different parts right now.
You won’t find it in “Female Yakuza Tale”. Christina Lindberg’s lesbian sex-scene is in “Sex and Fury”. And you really shouldn’t be downloading music you’ll like that much.
[quote=“Hung Fist”]
[…]They have released some other interesting cds, too. And apparently they are gonna start releasing dvds, too. Maybe there is hope for Hot Springs afterall.
[/quote]
I don’t need “Hot Springs” anymore, if I could just get hold of this poster: :o
Thanks, great news. This seems to be a must-buy, after all. 8)
I just realized that the poster is probably limited to first press. So, it’s probably sold out already. But there’s always yahoo japan actions for those who want their posters.
I used to have a Golden Halfbest of CD, that was part of a series of re-issues of 70s girl vocal groups that was pretty close to the coolest thing ever, and it went missing about two years ago. Their version of Proud Mary has to be heard to be believed. I look for it everytime I go back to Japan.
I really hope we get to see the rest of them “Stray Cat Rock”-Movies as well as those other Sukeban-Movies starring Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto (stuff like “Sukeban Girl Boss”, “Sukeban Blues 1 + 2” etc) and of course more Meiko-Kaji-Mayhem (“Jeans Blues”, “Wandering Ginza Butterfly” . . . ). " I think I could watch Pink Movies until the rest of my life, but as I probably said before, I’m way more into the Female Deliquent-, Yakuza- and Samurai-Subgenre than Horror. Some purely kinky stuff like “Hot Springs: Mimizu Geisha” wouldn’t hurt, though.
Sorry, just felt like rambling a bit, in order to keep my favorite section alive.
I watched Chusei Sone’s Hellish Love (1974) recently. Not great, but not bad either. I’m not sure when exactly he started in the business, but this would appear to be one of his early films. You can see there’s a talented director behind the camera, but he not on the Angel Guts (1978-) level yet. He has a lot of interesting ideas to introduce, which of some work and the others don’t. Sone creates some beautiful images, but the film is missing some of that wild originality that some other films in the genre had. However, it’s still a rather enjoyable film that can easily be recommended to fans of the genre.
There’s lots of Pink stuff coming out soon on R1, though maybe not the kind of stuff most of us were hoping for. Artsmagic is releasing several Hisayasu Sato films like:
’Survey Map of a Paradise Lost’ (aka Hard Focus) (1988) (out now)
â€? One of the infamous ‘Four Devils’ of the Japanese pink movie scene, Hisayasu Sato delivers an original and thrilling whodunit that moves through the layers of reality. Reporter Nukada’s next big assignment is the secret world of Japanese phone sex clubs. He gets in touch with Midori, a part-time employee at the Banana Club, but is startled to hear she’s been implicated in the bloody death of a client with perverted tastes, Kihara. Sensing a bigger story, Nukada’s uncovers a link between Midori and the late Kihara’s wife and realizes that the situation is much more complex than he imagined. And in this world of blood-play and electro-sex, the biggest shock has yet to be announced… â€?
’Love - Zero = Infinity’ (1994) (July 25th 2006)
â€?When a jobless drifter, whose days consist of randomly following strangers, is paid by a doctor to track his wife, he has no idea what he’s letting himself in for. As he spends more time chasing after the doctor’s wife he starts to uncover a disturbing motive to her movements. Under special medication that leaves her with a serious skin irritation, and unable to enjoy normal sex, she may have transformed into a modern-day vampire.â€?
And ‘Rafureshia’ (1995) on August 29th 2006. There may be more Sato coming out later. His latest film, Si-Sei (2006) was recently released on R2J dvd.
Pathfinder / Asterix will be releasing ’Naked Pursuit’ (1968) on August 15th 2006.
�Set in Japan during the tumultuous late-1960s, this underground classic of Japanese erotica tells of a protester whose actions lead to the unexpected death of a policeman. While being transported to prison, the young man breaks free of his shackles and goes on the run. When he comes across a suicidal woman on a beach, the pair feed off of their mutual desperation by embarking on a passionate love affair.�
Naked Pursuit looks good, but I have to say I’m not awfully excited about Sato (yet). Why aren’t they releasing any 70’s stuff ???
October 01, 2006 update (posts merged)
Under the Carp Banner coming from Artsmagic: Cover 1Cover 2 (click too see the image)
October 31, 2006
I’m not sure which one is the final cover.
“One of the four devils of the Japanese pink film industry, Kazuhiro Sano both directs and stars in this thrilling erotic adventure. An isolated spa resort weaves its spell as all who enter its doors give in to its magic. Under the fluttering carp banner, which flies above it, anything goes and the guests take full advantage in fulfilling their sexual desires.”
Director Kazuhiro Sano was interviewed a few months back and he wanted to send a message to the great people of the U.K:
[size=110] “Hurry up and withdraw from Iraq!”[/size] ;D
[quote=“Panik House”]
I used to have a Golden Halfbest of CD, that was part of a series of re-issues of 70s girl vocal groups that was pretty close to the coolest thing ever, and it went missing about two years ago. Their version of Proud Mary has to be heard to be believed. I look for it everytime I go back to Japan.
[/quote]
Fuck fuck fuck… I almost got a heart attack when I saw these new pinky violence covers… till I read the titles and realized these are just re-releases of the Pinky Violence Collection films. Dammit.
Plus, there’s a booklet with some cool pictures from Meiko-Kaji-Movies.
