Toei Genre Films (1960s-1980s) Available in HD but Not Released on BD/UHD

[Takuma]

Not so much to post recently...

January / February / March / April
(some of these may have premiered in HD already before, but haven't been aired for years)

Jitsuroku and Jitsuroku Style Yakuza
Chivalry Of One Lone Flower (任侠花一輪) (1974). Dir. Atsushi Mihori. Cast. Tatsuya Fuji. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Apr. 2025.

Comic Book Action
Waru series
- Cruel High School: Bay Boy (非情学園ワル) (1973). Dir. Atsushi Mihori. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Mar. 2025.
- Cruel High School: Teacher Hunt (非情学園ワル 教師狩り) (1973). Dir. Atsushi Mihori. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Apr. 2025.
A Violent School Revolution (青春讃歌　暴力学園大革命) (1975). Dir. Makoto Naito. Delinquent boy film somewhat similar to "Gang of Men". Airing in HD on Toei Channel.
The School of Chaos (男組 少年刑務所) (1976). Dir. Akihisa Okamoto. Sequel to "Gang of Men". Airing in HD on Toei Channel.

Samurai, Ninja, Jidaigeki
Edo Ninja Scroll: Seven Shadows (江戸忍法帖　七つの影) (1963). Dir. Junji Kurata. Airing in HD on Toei Channel.
Moonshadow Ninja Scroll: Twenty-One Eyes (月影忍法帖　二十一の眼) (1963). Dir. Junji Kurata. Airing in HD on Toei Channel.

edit: seems like I forgot to post these two last summer.

70s Action and Crime
- Detonation: Season of Violence (暴走の季節) (1976). Dir. Teruo Ishii. NEW HD master premiere on Toei Channel in Jun. 2024.
- Detonation! 750cc Tribe (爆発！７５０ｃｃ族) (1976). Dir. Yutaka Kohira. NEW HD master premiere on Toei Channel in Jun. 2024.

[Takuma]

Have you seen any mention of Reiko Ike's Violence Sweeper streaming in HD?

I just checked the Amazon stream, it's SD (or upscale from SD).

[Takuma]

Very little to post about recently. Nov. and Dec. combined:

Pinky Violence and Eros
King of the Widow-Killers (未亡人ごろしの帝王) (1971). Dir. Makoto Naito. Cast: Tatsuo Umemiya, Sally May.
King of Porno (ポルノの帝王) (1971). Dir. Makoto Naito. Cast: Tatsuo Umemiya.

(these two may possibly have had their HD premieres already before)

Ninkyo Yakuza
Kanto Street Peddlers: Shallow Clan Honor (関東テキヤ一家 浅草の代紋) (1971). Dir. Takashi Harada. Cast: Bunta Sugawara. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Nov. 2024.

[AngelGuts]

Thank you, Takuma, for this incredible thread, and such amazing information.

[Takuma]

I'm a little late with my October update as I was in Tokyo when the month changed. Watched Stray Cat Rock, Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom, Wandering Ginza Butterfly, Sex and Fury, The Red Silk Gambler and Terrifying Girls’ High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group at Laputa Asagaya. The last four of them back to back. All 35mm of course. The film prints for Wandering Ginza Butterfly and The Red Silk Gambler were among the most beautiful I've ever seen and really make modern films (be it Hollywood or Japan) in DCP look lame. I'd be a really happy man of we got BDs or UHDs of those films that looked even half as good as these film prints.

Anyway, so good news for October. After taking a two month break, Toei WILL be finishing Chiba's Game of Chance series. Also, they will be premiering another King film which probably won't be a good film but gets me closer to my life goal (of seeing every 70s Toei film!)

Pinky Violence and Eros
The Kingpin of Fair Ladies (女たらしの帝王) (1970). Dir. Buichi Saito. Cast: Tatsuo Umemiya, Yukie Kagawa. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Oct. 2024.

Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata and Tadashi Yamashita Action
Game of Chance 3 (出世子守唄) (1967). Cast: Sonny Chiba, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tetsuro Tamba. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Oct. 2024.

Ninkyo Yakuza
Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Violent Fire Festival (関東テキヤ一家 喧嘩火祭り) (1971). Dir. Norifumi Suzuki. Cast: Bunta Sugawara. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Oct. 2024.

[Takuma]

Not so much of particular interest in Toei Channel's September schedule, but there is at least:

Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata and Tadashi Yamashita Action
The Karate 3 (ザ・カラテ3 電光石火) (1977). Batshit crazy karate film with Tadashi Yamashita. HD premiere on Toei Channel in September 2024.

Ninkyo Yakuza
Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Royal Temple Duel (関東テキヤ一家 天王寺の決斗 ) (1970). Dir. Norifumi Suzuki. Cast: Bunta Sugawara. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Sept 2024.

Pinky Violence and Eros
King of the Night Life (夜の帝王) (1970). Dir. Buichi Saito. Cast: Tatsuo Umemiya. HD premiere on Toei Channel in Sept. 2024.

King of the Night Life is probably not gonna be a very good film, but I'm super excited to get one film closer to having seen every Toei film from the 70s. I'm at 93% on this list :D
(yes, it's missing a couple of dozen titles)

[Takuma]

Bolo Yeung in a 70's Japanese film !?! Its a "Martial Arts Tournament" film! His character's name is "Dracula Jack"! My head just exploded.

I don't remember exactly. I think he was one of the bad guys sent to kill Yamashita. It's not a major role, but noteworthy anyway.

edit: here's my old mini review

The Karate 2 (ザ・カラテ2) (Japan, 1974) [VoD] – 3.5/5
A mentally insane sequel with blinded Tadashi Yamashita chased by a legion of vengeful martial artists, including Chinese Hercules Bolo Yeung as a fighter called Dracula! There’s also a Swedish assassin who tries to kill Yamashita on the surgery table before he can get his eyes fixed, resulting Yamashita going Zatoichi for the rest of the film. The whole film is built on such shaky grounds that it could collapse any moment, but somehow the insanity keeps it together. There’s more comedy, but also moments of gut ripping brutality, and a constant uncertainty about whether Yamashita looks brain-dead on purpose or by accident. But it’s American assassin Jerry Samson who gives one of the most ridiculously over-the-top performances you’ll ever see. The action nevertheless remains good, at times ridiculously good with loads of good moves by Yamashita, Samson and Korean double kicker Kim Jin-pal (Bolo goes partially wasted, unfortunately). Also interesting to see All Japan Karate Federation’s Masafumi Suzuki (who’s also in The Street Fighter and a few other films) returning in a rather large acting and action role.

[Jason C]

Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata and Tadashi Yamashita Action
The Karate 2 (ザ・カラテ2) (1974). Batshit crazy karate film with Tadashi Yamashita and Bolo Yeung. HD premiere on Toei Channel in July 2024.

Bolo Yeung in a 70's Japanese film !?! Its a "Martial Arts Tournament" film! His character's name is "Dracula Jack"! My head just exploded.

[Takuma]

First, a bit of bad new. For some damned reason, neither Game of Chance 3 nor Judo for Life 2 are in Toei Channel's August schedule. Both series will be left incomplete for now.

Then the good stuff:

Pinky Violence and Eros
Neon Jellyfish: Shinjuku Flower Streetcar (ネオンくらげ 新宿花電車) (1973). Dir. Kazuhiko Yamaguchi. HD premiere on Toei Channel in August 2024.

Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata and Tadashi Yamashita Action
The Karate 2 (ザ・カラテ2) (1974). Batshit crazy karate film with Tadashi Yamashita and Bolo Yeung. HD premiere on Toei Channel in July 2024.

Other Martial Arts Action
Student Yakuza (学生やくざ ) (1974). Yakuza / martial arts hybrid. Cast: Tsunehiko Watase, Rika Aoki, Bunta Sugawara. HD premiere on Toei Channel in August 2024.
Wicked Kempo (The Karate Man and the Spy) (極悪拳法) (1974). Cast: Tsunehiko Watase. HD premiere on Toei Channel in August 2024.

60s Action and Crime
Industrial Spy (産業スパイ) (1968). Cool spy action. Dir. Eiichi Kudo. Cast: Tatsuo Umemiya. HD premiere on Toei Channel in August 2024.

Ninkyo Yakuza
Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Violent Loyalty (関東テキヤ一家 喧嘩仁義) (1970). Dir. Norifumi Suzuki. Cast: Bunta Sugawara. HD premiere on Toei Channel in August 2024.

Also so some bad. After taking a closer look, I've:

Disqualified
Crazed Beast aka A Savage Beast Goes Mad (狂った野獣) (1976). Ancient HD master airing on Toei Channel, looks like a bad upscale.

[Takuma]

Well, it's streaming on Amazon, but I don't know if it's in HD. I'll check the next time when I have Prime.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09HTC3LDN/

[Jason C]

I still find myself scrolling through that first page just looking at the screenshots. Roaring Fire! I'm so jealous. I can't imagine we're ever going to get a Girl Boss blu-ray set but I sure hope so.

Have you seen any mention of Reiko Ike's Violence Sweeper streaming in HD?

[Takuma]

Just for one post, I thought I’d do something different. Here are some TOEI GEMS THAT DO NOT HAVE AN HD MASTER. Any label that has the power to influence Toei, or the resources to conduct their own scan, should consider these titles.

1. School of the Holy Beast (聖獣学園) (1974). Dir. Norifumi Suzuki.
Norifumi Suzuki’s masterpiece might be the greatest nusploitation film ever made. In the DVD era two different masters were in distribution. Toei’s own master (also released on US DVD) had a strong blue/green tint, while the beautiful French Studio Canal DVD (likely derived from a French print) had a neutral color timing that elevated the film’s beautiful visuals to a new level.

Toei DVD


Studio Canal DVD


more detailed comparison (NSFW):
https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/for...pic.php?t=6898

2. Army Intelligence 33 (陸軍諜報３３) (1968). Cast: Sonny Chiba & Mako Midori.
This incredibly stylish WWII neo noir / commando action cocktail is a true Sonny Chiba gem. Chiba stars as a suave government spy first tasked with stealing secret information from a foreign diplomat in Japan (in the film’s hugely atmospheric film noir part), and later sent on a jungle commando mission in the action packed climax.



3. Female (牝) (1964). Dir. Yusuke Watanabe.
This astonishing Mako Midori passion noir that feels like something co-directed by Wong Kar Wai and Shinya Tsukamoto. It’s a convoluted, but breathtakingly filmed tale of a disturbed young woman (Midori) spending her nights with a married man and jealously spying on his wife during the daytime. This film, along with other Midori gems like Two *****es (aka Night Ladies) (二匹の牝犬) (1964), are long overdue international discovery. They were the first wave in Toei’s b-film production line focusing on erotically charged urban tales, which later gave birth to Pinky Violence.









4. Bullets of Slacker Street (aka Operation Diamond) (遊民街の銃弾) (1962).
This mind-blowing pulp action thriller resembles Fukasaku's High Noon for Gangsters, and is just as exciting. A hard core criminal of unknown nationality (Tetsuro Tamba) learns about diamonds hidden inside a US army base from a cellmate / army deserter (Issac Saxson), and starts planning a prison escape. He puts together a pack of international convicts and receives help a second group (Ken Takakura, Harumi Sone, Yoshiko Sakuma) outside the prison who are also after the diamonds. A thrilling gangster actioner packed with style, suspense, and fantastic gunplay. At 82 minutes it isn't ruined with excess length either.



5. Secret Information (密告) (1968). Dir. Masaharu Segawa.
Perhaps Noboru Ando's best film. Superb revenge noir with a heavy Melville vibe. Ando plays a bitter gangster just out of prison, quietly searching for the traitor who sent him behind bars eight years earlier. There’s an evident European new wave vibe to the film, which is almost experimental in its editing, sound design and minimalism. That being said, it’s still a Toei gangster picture with the expected gunplay, car chases, and a shade of romance.



6. Red Flowers of the Harbour Mist (霧の港の赤い花) (1962). Dir. Shinji Murayama.
Another hidden gem of Japanese noir here. Koji Tsuruta plays a yakuza who falls in love with married woman (Kyoko Kagawa), whose husband is away on a trip. The relationship starts out platonic, but Tsuruta wants to take it a step further, much to the confusion of Kagawa who is not quite sure of her feelings. A supremely stylish and atmospheric tale of doomed lovers, packed with lyrical scenes full of lights and shadows, and drawing from Tsuruta's melancholic, tortured persona.










7. Hanjiro, A Great Philanderer (下苅り半次郎　マル秘観音を探せ) (1975).
A crazy ninja exploitation film based on a Kazuo Koike (Lady Snowblood, Lone Wolf and Cub) manga. An Iga ninja is tasked with finding a mating partner for the shogun. The previous girl the shogun slept with gave birth to a snake, so he was understandably upset. A magician tells them them they need to find a woman with a special womb. She will have a mole in her forehead, and her vagina will shine brightly when she's at the peak of her pleasure (seriously, I'm not making this up). A lavish Toei production without a hint of self irony! There are some unbelievable scenes like Ibuki having sex with a woman who is about to be executed, hanging upside down on a cross, and Ibuki is throwing bombs to keep the guards at bay until he'd done with her. Wow!

(p.s. somebody please get similar manga exploitation films out of the Toho prison. Hanzo the Razor 1-3, Demon Spies, Shadow Hunter 1-2, and Rica 1-3 all have HD masters available)

8. Love School (恋愛学校) (1962).
Finally, a bit of an outlier, but this super stylish modern girl's love comedy co-starring Sonny Chiba is so cool! Best friends Yoshiko Sakuma and Mayumi Ozora go boy hunting (looking for dates) with the former at one point finding herself harassed by an old geezer. To rescue comes young man Chiba, driving a vintage vehicle that looks like a slightly upgraded version of T-Ford. This is quite a progressive youth film all the way from trendy English title (though spelled Renai gakko in kanji, the intended furigana reading is Love School) to a charmingly modern heroine and an underlying message 'follow your heart, not your family' advocated by the protagonist's "love radical" grandma (Tokyo Story’s awesome Chieko Higashiyama). For Chiba fans these romantic films predating his bad mofo reputation by a decade are a most pleasant discovery.










Sorry for any typing mistakes and incoherence, I typed this in a hurry. Gotta jump on a plane and fly to Tokyo to catch 35mm screenings of Nuns that Bite, Hairpin Circus, super rare "Toei New Porno" films from mid 70s, and more.

[Takuma]

I woke up a happy man this morning! July is going to be the best Toei Channel month in ages!

Pinky Violence and Eros
Neon Jellyfish series
- A Flower in a Neon Jungle (ネオンくらげ) (1973). Dir Makoto Naito. HD premiere in July 2024.

Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata and Tadashi Yamashita Action
Judo for Life (柔道一代) (1963). Cast: Sonny Chiba. Judo biopic, Chiba's first martial arts film. HD premiere in July 2024.
Game of Chance 2 (続浪曲子守唄) (1967). Cast: Sonny Chiba & Hiroyuki Sanada. HD premiere in July 2024.
The Karate (aka Bronson Lee: The Champion) (ザ・カラテ) (1974). Cast: Tadashi Yamashita. HD premiere in July 2024.

70s Action and Crime
Troops of Darkness (悪の親衛隊) (1971). Dir. Kazuhiko Yamaguchi.

Comic Book Action
Gang of Men (男組) (1975). Dir. Makoto Naito. Martial arts oriented delinquent boy film. Likely HD premiere in July 2024.

So we are getting the absolute batshit crazy martial arts film The Karate aka Bronson Lee - The Champion (I've never seen the US version, but if the PG rating is correct then it must be a heavily censored version considering all the bloodletting and severed limbs in the Japanese version), with the two equally mad sequels hopefully following in August and September. We get not one but two Sonny Chiba gems in form of his first martial arts film Judo for Life which depicts the birth of Judo (based on the same story as Akira Kurosawa's Sanshiro Sugata) and the very solid ninkyo film Game of Chance 2 starring Chiba and 6 year old Hiroyuki Sanada. The sequels will hopefully follow in August (the 2nd Judo flick is incredibly rare, downright impossible to see). There's also the first Neon Jellyfish which got released on DVD a few months ago, with the 2nd film hopefully airing in August. A bit lesser but still nice addition to the HD catalogue are Kazuhiko Yamaguchi's humoristic yakuza actioner Troops of Darkness and Makoto Naito's martial arts heavy delinquent boy film Gang of Men (again, sequel likely in August) though I'm not sure if this is the first time it airs in HD.

[Takuma]

Just a couple of quick updates - part 2/2

70s Crime and Action
The Detonation series
- Detonation: Violent Riders (爆発! 暴走族) (1975). Dir. Teruo Ishii. Cast: Koichi Iwaki, Sonny Chiba. NEW HD master premiere on Toei Channel in May 2024.
- Detonation: Violent Games (爆発! 暴走遊戯) (1976). Dir. Teruo Ishii. NEW HD master premiere on Toei Channel in May 2024.

Glad to report these two were also brand new HD masters. Comparison with the older Amazon streaming "HD masters" (yeah, right) below. The last two films in the series, Season of Violence and Detonation! 750cc Tribe, air next month and I think it's safe to assume those will also be new masters.

Detonation: Violent Riders (爆発! 暴走族) (1975)

Amazon Stream


Toei Channel


Amazon Stream


Toei Channel


Amazon Stream


Toei Channel


Detonation: Violent Games (爆発! 暴走遊戯) (1976)

Amazon Stream


Toei Channel


Amazon Stream


Toei Channel

[Takuma]

Just a couple of quick updates - part 1/2



Pinky Violence and Eros
Lustful Shogun and His 21 Mistresses (エロ将軍と二十一人の愛妾) (1972). Dir. Norifumi Suzuki. Cast: Reiko Ike. NEW HD master premiere on Toei Channel in May 2024.

Glad to report the above Norifumi Suzuki / Reiko Ike film, which aired on Toei Channel last night, was a brand new HD masters offering substantial improvements over the old Amazon streaming master (labelled as HD, but see for yourself!). Below is a brief comparison:

Amazon stream


Toei Channel


Amazon stream


Toei Channel