Nikkatsu Roman Porno Catalogue Titles Coming From Synapse/Impulse

[Derrick King Waterfall Puncher Find all posts View Profile Close Derrick King]

Fairy in a Cage was not a dual format release, so I would expect the same for Love Hunter

[Sundance Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sundance]

July 28th.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

July 28th.

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Here's the press release:

NIKKATSU'S MOST SCANDALOUS FILM, "LOVE HUNTER", FINALLY COMES TO BLU-RAY AND DVD IN A NEW HD TRANSFER THIS JULY FROM IMPULSE PICTURES!

Like you, the team here at Impulse Pictures has been staying safe at home to help flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19. As we await the reopening of our offices in Michigan and of our replicator and warehouse facilities in San Francisco we're staying anything but idle during this lock down as we've been busy at work on a slew of new releases. Our July 28, 2020 release of Nikkatsu's LOVE HUNTER is just one of the many titles we'll have in the marketplace once the teams at Synapse Films/Impulse Pictures and our distributor, CAV Distribution, can finally get back to releasing the best in cult cinema in high-quality Blu-rays. Among the additional titles nearing completion are THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE, Josh Becker's RUNNING TIME (starring Bruce Campbell), Roger Nygard's SUCKERS (starring Lori Loughlin) and Nikkatsu's STAR OF DAVID along with several others that we hope to have out before the end of 2020. But in the meantime...

There are controversial movies, and then there's LOVE HUNTER. You may not have heard of it, but it was a cause célí¨bre upon its release in Japan in early 1972 and remains an important film there for several reasons. The Impulse Pictures release is the first-ever official release of LOVE HUNTER in North America and the first time it's been made available on Blu-ray anywhere in the world!

Twenty-year-old Kazuo is in love with his college girlfriend, Hisako, but he can't help but be intrigued by a mysterious older woman named Kyoku, a promiscuous woman unsatisfied with her marriage. As time goes on, both Kazuo and Hisako are pulled into the seemingly rules free, borderless world of Kyoku - with all of its many pains and pleasures.

LOVE HUNTER is a landmark film in Nikkatsu's history. Not only is it one of their earliest “Roman Porno” erotic productions, but it was so controversial for the time that director Yamaguchi and some executives of Nikkatsu Films were arrested. Employees of Eirin, the Japanese equivalent of the MPAA, were even indicted for allowing the release of this film! It took eight long years for all to be acquitted of the obscenity charges. Nikkatsu Films provided Impulse Pictures with a brand-new high-definition master of this unexpected and seductive classic.

Impulse Pictures is proud to present THE NIKKATSU FILMS COLLECTION, a continuing series of critically acclaimed, classic “eroductions” designed to shock and titillate fans of Japanese erotic cinema.

Features

- Newly Translated Removable English Subtitles
- Original Theatrical Trailer

Release info and Specifications:

Director: Seiichirō Yamaguchi
Starring: Hidemi Hara, Mari Tanaka, Sumiko Minami
Runtime: 73 minutes
Release Date: July 28, 2020
Language: Japanese
Aspect Ratio: High-Definition 1080p (2.35:1) Widescreen
Audio: DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono (Blu-ray) / Dolby Digital Mono (DVD)
Formats: Blu-ray and DVD
Region: Region A
Item Number: IMP0126 (Blu) / IMP0127 (DVD)
UPC: 654930112793 (Blu) / 654930112892 (DVD)
Price: $19.95

[AngelGuts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AngelGuts]

Very happy about this release. Cheers to Synapse for this one and the upcoming STAR OF DAVE. A BluRay is a wonderful thing.

[Rakesh R. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rakesh R.]

Synapse Films now has a separate site for Impulse Pictures. According to this information, "Zoom Up: Rape Site" and "Flower and Snake" will indeed be future blu ray releases-

https://impulse-pictures.com/newest-...ures-webstore/

[AngelGuts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AngelGuts]

I'm happy to hear ZOOM UP is getting closer to release. I have the Japanese DVD, but no subs. A Blu with subs will be superb. It's a really cool film.

Although not near as bizarre as something like WOMAN OF THE AFTERNOON-INCITE, which I love, or RAPING!

[Jason C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jason C]

Synapse Films now has a separate site for Impulse Pictures. According to this information, "Zoom Up: Rape Site" and "Flower and Snake" will indeed be future blu ray releases-

https://impulse-pictures.com/newest-...ures-webstore/

That makes sense. Here's hoping they'll have a sale sometime. I started off buying the whole series but have only bought 2 of the last 12. I'll buy the new Blu-rays regardless but its going to take sale for me to pick up those DVDs.

[Sundance Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Sundance]

Here's the press release:Nikkatsu Films provided Impulse Pictures with a brand-new high-definition master of this unexpected and seductive classic.

The Blu looks really good and this doesn't really matter at all... but I must anyways.... ;)

Doesn't seem brand-new to me since it looks the same as the Amazon VoD from early 2018 (except of course the Blu has much better encoding). Don't want to spend money to check it but I suspect the HD release by DMM in 2015 is also the same master.

Also if this was made in the last couple of years, it probably would have looked worse. :cuckoo:

[Zaibatan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Zaibatan]

Flower and Snake (1974) BD from Impulse Pictures coming March 16, 2021:



Source

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Zoom Up: Rape Site (1979) coming from Synapse

Here's one from Synapse / Impulse to the fans. A film that has never been transferred from the original film prints before! No videos, no dvds, no VoDs, no nothing anywhere in the world. A film that most of us probably know by reputation: Zoom Up: Rape Site (1979).

This film, directed by one of Nikkatsu's best and most stylish filmmakers, Koyu Ohara, was Nikkatsu's return to ultra-violent pink. The genre bloomed in the mid 70's, but after the controversy created by Rape! 13th Hour Nikkatsu ordered their directors to tone it down. Zoom Up: Rape Site changed that, and is considered by those few who have seen it as one of the nastiest films in the genre.

I've been dying to tell people about this for a long time already, and I guess it's ok now since Jerry mentioned it in a podcast (51:50). I was slightly involved in getting the film to Synapse's release list, but all credit goes to Synapse who went an extra mile with it. This was a title even Nikkatsu wasn't sure if they had it. But it was in their vaults, and Synapse decided to go for and do all the work from the scratch because they knew fans would love to finally get their hand on it.

I hope everyone will support Synapse's releases, but I especially hope people will support this specific title. It's one for the fans! No release date yet, but it's certainly coming!

Feb 09, 2021

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Zoom-...lu-ray/278703/

A few things have changed since my old post of course, with the Synapse transfer debuting not via Synapse but on Japanese VoD and DVD years ago, which was unfortunate. But those releases would probably never have happened if not for Synapse.

So, if you have any interest in the rougher end of Nikkatsu's Roman Porno serial killer thrillers, please support this release! This release deserves to be a success!

Oh and it's a good film, too. It isn't, however, quite the "one of the nastiest films in the genre" as described "by those few who have seen" as per my old post. It turned out all those reviews were fake since literally no one had seen it outside the Japanese theatrical run(s). But yes, it's a strong film for sure, on par with many of Hasebe's films, but not quite there on the 13th Hour level.

[AngelGuts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AngelGuts]

Agree, Takuma. Very good film, but not at the WOMAN OF THE AFTERNOON or RAPE 13TH HOUR level.

Very happy that this IS a BluRay.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

So anybody else buy White Rose Campus? I got it in the mail the other day, and boy is the film something else! My favourite of the ones I've seen of the Synapse releases by far. Within the first ten minutes we get to see a slimy toilet cleaner jerk off while sucking on used sanitary pads! The last act, when they get to the hotel, is outrageous.

I just watched it and I'm wondering what the hell happened at the end. The girls were getting raped by the "heroes" and the teacher has the shotgun pointed at her face - then we cut to the teacher on the phone explaining to the lodge that they're "running a bit late" and then she gets back on the bus and cheerfully announces to the students that she's going to go over the itinerary again and we see a shot of the bus continuing down the highway. The End. Huh? How did they escape? What happened to all of the perverts? Why is the teacher so happy at the end?

[AngelGuts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close AngelGuts]

Love WHITE ROSE CAMPUS... The ending is very Nikkatsu, and pretty much says, "That was a wacky experience, let's move on."

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

Love WHITE ROSE CAMPUS... The ending is very Nikkatsu, and pretty much says, "That was a wacky experience, let's move on."

Somehow that's more offensive than anything in the movie - the refusal to provide a goddamn ending!

[mjeon Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjeon]

So is "Zoom Up: Rape Site" the same as "Zoom Up: Murder Site," just with the title toned down presumably because Americans currently find rape more transgressive than murder?