The Non-Synapse Roman Porno Thread

[Takuma]

surprised if it's nearly as good as Chris D. praises it to be. I tend to drastically disagree with him on quite a number of the other Nikkatsu Action titles he has reviews written for in the book.

I have the same problem with D (with his Toei reviews). Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes I disagree with him, sometimes something in the middle, but I can't find any consistency to it. Usually you learn to interpret a reviewer... you learn to understand his/her taste and know what things you're likely to agree/disagree with. But with D, I often can't figure out how he ended up liking one film and disliking another when I thought both were of similar quality...

Sounds fabulous! Another seemingly great discovery. Thanks Takuma!! Already added it to my watch list. I really need to see a good RP title again after all the disappointments I had to suffer through this week (see above and below).

There's a lot more good stuff in the film than I could describe in a capsule review. I really like the whole beginning where he takes Yamamoto home and tells her to take her clothes off, and she's like "No! You just want sex" and he's like "you're the one who came here". Ok, that may not be award winning characterization but it's still more than most RP films offer in a similar situation.

The most interesting thing about this one is that Nikkatsu decided to change the first word of the Japanese title from TORUKO to SOAP, due to maybe the word TORUKO not being politically correct anymore in Japan?

Soaplands used to be called Turkish Baths, but Turkey eventually complained about it because they didn't want their country's name to be associated with prostitution, so they became soaplands. I think that was around the 80s...

I'm not sure if Nikkatsu changed the titles out of courtesy or because the younger generations might not recognize the old term (would they? I don't know)....

Edit: I just asked my gf and she had no idea what toruko's were. She thought they're something to eat

Sometime in the 80s Japan also deemed exploiting high school girls in sex film titles to be bad, so a lot of 女高生 titles became 女校生 (*) upon their re-release. To my surprise, the new DVD and BD releases use the original 女高生 titles...

* for those who don't read Japanese, the first word means high school girl and the latter means "school girl" although ironically the pronunciation is the same because they just replaced the "high" (ko) kanji with "school" (also ko) kanji...

[Maito Guy]

Latest Soapland Techniques: Suckling Tongues (Toruko saishin tekunikku kyuuzetsu; Hayashi Isao, 1976) - 1.5/5
The title basically says it all for this one. Pretty forgettable comedy set in a Tokyo Soapland / Bathhouse by Director Hayashi Isao (who together with Nishimura Shogoro kicked off the Roman Porno line in 1971) featuring Katagiri Yuko.

The most interesting thing about this one is that Nikkatsu decided to change the first word of the Japanese title from TORUKO to SOAP, due to maybe the word TORUKO not being politically correct anymore in Japan? Or maybe younger people today tend to associate the word with the country Turkey? I really don't know. They also did this with the far better SOAPLAND 911: JELLYFISH BLISS (1978), which got a Bluray release last year.






The name is program in this movie. On various occasions you get the newest techniques explained rather directly.




Katagiri Yuko's character is really the only one of even marginal interest in this movie. I'm not sure though wether that can be accounted to the script or her just being talented and beautiful in general.

High School Erotopia: Red Uniforms (Koukou erotopia akai seifuku; Shiratori Shinichi, 1979) - 2/5
HIGH SCHOOL EROTOPIA: RED UNIFORMS is a comedy by director Shiratori Shinichi which focuses on three male high school students who are desperately trying to shoot a blue film instead of the boring documentary their colleaques are trying to film in their after-school activity club. Hara Etsuko got top billing in this one but her character, though being integral, has rather limited screen time.

There were a few good moments throughout the movie and it actually got me laughing on a few occasions, but it was just too unfocused with many useless and overly long sex scenes to be of much interest overall.






Director Shiratori Shinichi manages to stage the three main characters in interesting shots a few times.


I don't know the name of this actor, but he is one of the few highlights in HIGHSCOOL EROTOPIA: RED UNIFORMS. I think he may have also appeared in a few Nikkatsu Action pictures? Have to check on him later.



One Summer Romance (Hitonatsu no kankei; Kato Akira, 1978) - 1.5/5
Actually had some positive expectations for ONE SUMMER EXPERIENCE since I like the director and also am quite fond of Izumi Shima, who not only is one of the few really beautiful Roman Porno actresses but on top of that also quite talented in my opinion. But unfortunately it was a horror to get through this.

ONE SUMMER ROMANCE focuses, as the title may already suggest, on various romantic relationships which occur at a rural holiday resort during summer. The script even features somewhat interesting characters, but feels like it was written by either an infant or at least a hundred different scriptwriters resulting in an unfocused mess featuring one boring sex scene after another.

[Maito Guy]

I have a confession to make: I've been calling Akira Kato the walking definition of mediocre for years

I actually watched Student Wife a couple of weeks ago since it was in the DMM campaign (it would've been cheaper to rent the DVD via Geo's mail service, but RP DVDs are actually so popular that they are a little difficult to get without reservation). It didn't do much for me, but I thought it was ok. There's a bit of charm to these early Roman Porno melodramas that emphasized emotion more than sex, though. In this regard I liked Katagiri's debut film Coed Report: Yuko's White Breasts (from which Student Wife recycles music) better.

Opinions can differ quite drastically with Roman Porno I guess

I have the DVD release of COED REPORT: YUKO'S WHITE BREASTS on order together with a few other titles, which should arrive here next week. Definitely looking forward to this one.

Have fun! He's another director I have rarely said a positive word about. The best one I've seen from him is Gypsy Rose: A Docu-Drama (1974), which wasn't too bad. I'm more interested in his pre-RP yakuza films which Chris D. praised in his book. Unfortunately they are hard to see and I haven't seen any of them.

The only pre-RP title I've seen from him is HARBOR WIND (Hatoba no kaze, 1967) which is one of the last mood actioners featuring Ishihara Yujiro together with Asaoka Ruriko. I remember it being neither bad nor great. I also have a DVD of his entry in the THAT GUY series of the mid 60ies featuring Kobayashi Akira, THAT FEARLESS GUY (Futeki na aitsu, 1966) which I somehow managed to avoid watching up until today.

I am planning on getting the DVD release of his debut film, which looks quite interesting and promising. And I also hope that his CRUEL FEMALE LOVE SUICIDE from 1970, featuring Mari Annu in what seems to be a lesbian role, gets a decent release sometime (if I remember it correctly Jasper Sharp also writes a little bit about it in his BEHIND THE PINK CURTAIN).

In the interview I read the other day Nishimura mentions that he wasn't really interested in making films but somehow ended up in this kind of work by accident and a bit of luck. He mentions that he just did direct the stuff producers asked him for. Not very ambitious but reliable, so a good director from the economic viewpoint I guess. I still haven't seen most of his pre RP work, but I'd be rather positively surprised if it's nearly as good as Chris D. praises it to be. I tend to drastically disagree with him on quite a number of the other Nikkatsu Action titles he has reviews written for in the book.

I saw this last year, mainly because of the wonderful title (it's the only Fujii film I have watched since finding that *½ Fujii movie years ago). I think my rating was half of what you gave it, which makes it one of the best Fujii film's I've seen!

I don't remember much about it but I do recall it had at least some elements of interest.

It definitely was better than every RP title I watched this week. Man, this can get quite tough at times ..

It was just yesterday when I said I don't like Shogoro Nishimura. And today I stumble across the best Shogoro Nishimura film ever! :woot:

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.

Sounds fabulous! Another seemingly great discovery. Thanks Takuma!! Already added it to my watch list. I really need to see a good RP title again after all the disappointments I had to suffer through this week (see above and below).

Of the few RP titles I have seen from him I really like PLEASURE IN THE MIRROR (Kagami no naka no esturaku, 1982). That said I have to admit that this is actually more of a guilty pleasure than an actual good movie, so I can't really recommend it.

[Takuma]

It was just yesterday when I said I don't like Shogoro Nishimura. And today I stumble across the best Shogoro Nishimura film ever! :woot:

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.

[Takuma]

Yuko Katagiri is also great in Akira Kato's STUDENT WIFE: WEEPING SILENTLY from 1972, which is one of my favorite early Roman Porno titles. Highly recommended if you haven't checked it out already.

I have a confession to make: I've been calling Akira Kato the walking definition of mediocre for years

I actually watched Student Wife a couple of weeks ago since it was in the DMM campaign (it would've been cheaper to rent the DVD via Geo's mail service, but RP DVDs are actually so popular that they are a little difficult to get without reservation). It didn't do much for me, but I thought it was ok. There's a bit of charm to these early Roman Porno melodramas that emphasized emotion more than sex, though. In this regard I liked Katagiri's debut film Coed Report: Yuko's White Breasts (from which Student Wife recycles music) better.

Currently reading another one of the same book with Nishimura Shogoro, since I am planning on working through his SM-themed titles next.

Have fun! He's another director I have rarely said a positive word about. The best one I've seen from him is Gypsy Rose: A Docu-Drama (1974), which wasn't too bad. I'm more interested in his pre-RP yakuza films which Chris D. praised in his book. Unfortunately they are hard to see and I haven't seen any of them.

Rape Climax: Skinning (Kuraimakksu reipu hagu; Fuji Katsuhiko, 1979) - 3/5

I saw this last year, mainly because of the wonderful title (it's the only Fujii film I have watched since finding that *½ Fujii movie years ago). I think my rating was half of what you gave it, which makes it one of the best Fujii film's I've seen!

I don't remember much about it but I do recall it had at least some elements of interest.

[Maito Guy]

Lady Moonflower (Yuuge fujin; Fuji Katsuhiko, 1976) - 1.5/5
LADY MOONFLOWER is a 1976 Dan Oniroku adaption directed by Fuji Katsuhiko featuring Tani Naomi alongside Erina Miyai in a film consisting out of all your usual Dan Oniroku SM games.

This was a pretty bore with a quite minimal script of the usual kidnapping of a rich housewife and slowly torturing her until she ends up liking her treatments and consistently demands sexual satisfaction. Not a single one of the characters is even the least bit interesting and a real plot is practically nonexistent. Fuji at least manages to get a good shot in here and there and there are even worse Roman Pornos out there than this one, but in the end this was quite a fiasco.





Woman Who Arches Her Back (Nokezoru onna; Kato Akira, 1980) - 1.5/5
WOMAN WHO ARCHES HER BACK, directed by Kato Akira is the second entry in the so-called WOMAN series Nikkatsu had running from 1980 until 1981. The other entries being WOMAN WHO CRIES (Nishimura Shogoro, 1980), WOMAN WHO EXPOSES HERSELF (Konuma Masaru, 1981) and WOMAN WHO IS USED (Konuma Masaru, 1981). All of them feature Kazama Maiko as main female lead.

The whole film is basically built around the character played by Kazama Maiko, a criminal on the run who due to a enormous sexual drive sadly ends up in one sexual encounter after another seemingly going on forever. The premise of the movie is actually somewhat promising but soon it builds up into just a continuation of boring sex scenes with minimal story in between them.

[Maito Guy]

Rape Climax: Skinning (Kuraimakksu reipu hagu; Fuji Katsuhiko, 1979) - 3/5
RAPE CLIMAX: SKINNING was one of two rape-themed titles Fuji Katsuhiko directed in 1979 (the second one being MOMOE'S LIPS, released by Synapse). It features Mizushima Minako as female lead, but actually this is one of the few Roman Porno titles focusing much more on the male side of the characters. Our male lead had his girlfriend raped in the past and through the course of the movie ends up being involved (not actively though) in the rape of a young girl who runs away with her boyfriend, who is the son of a rich father not approving of their relationship.

Rape Climax: Deprive has a pretty basic but also well enough realized script to keep interest up throughout the whole running time. Though the second half also features a few action scenes with a shotgun the film never gets as crazy or violent as other rape-themed Roman Porno titles. Overall I preferred MOMOE'S LIPS to this one, which was the very next film directed by Fuji.






Some of Fuji's staging is really on point in this one, simple but effectively reinforcing the relationships of the various characters to each other.

[Maito Guy]

Please keep the reviews coming!

Thanks, planning on doing so. Actually have one coming up right next ^_^

I know. I have the same problem with my girlfriend

I rather agree with your girlfriend... I don't find most of the actresses hot. Especially those in kimono, hah.

I'm really happy that she showed some interest in it without me mentioning anything particular lately. A good sign for potential future viewings together ^_^

While I think most Roman Porno actresses aren't beautiful in a more "classical" sense they more often than not end up being quite interesting due to their "imperfections" for me (for example: Seri Meika).

I do like Megumi Saki, though. I think she was only in 2 Roman Porno's: Red Violation (1980) and Rape Ceremony (1980). Oh and Ako has interesting personality. Yuko Katagiri can be cute when she's well cast and aided by a good director. She's very sweet in Secret Chronicle: Prostitution Market (1972).

Megumi Saki is great in both RED VIOLATION and RAPE CEREMONY (which definitely needs a decent release in future!). And yes, these should be the only two Roman Porno's she appeared in (at least according to the Nikkatsu.com online database).

Yuko Katagira is also great in Akira Kato's STUDENT WIFE: WEEPING SILENTLY from 1972, which is one of my favorite early Roman Porno titles. Highly recommended if you haven't checked it out already.

Thanks for the summary and photos. God knows I'm not a fan of this director, but hearing his comments about Roman Porno was interesting. I'm pretty shocked to hear that he actually improved the source material

I think I saw some of those books in Laputa Asagaya when they screened some Roman Porno films. They always have some books there that you can read freely. Unfortunately with my kanji reading skills full books are still out of question. A couple of pages in a dvd booklet is ok, anything longer and I'll be resorting to my live dictionary aka girlfriend

The interview was really interesting and it definitely helped to get at least some enjoyment out of the lesser ones from him also. Currently reading another one of the same book with Nishimura Shogoro, since I am planning on working through his SM-themed titles next. It's really interesting too and I want to get out a post on this also when I'm through.

I'm trying my best with the Kanji but it's still really tough for me also most of the time. Especially with books written by film critics or scholars because they tend to use rare Kanjis even for words which have far easier variations available ...

There's a sequel, too: Sex Rider: Injured Lust (Kurahara, 1973). Unfortunately impossible to see at the moment...

Yeah, I noticed this also. Not sure though wether it's really a sequel or just a completely different movie with a similar name. Anyway, would love to see this sometime.

[Takuma]

Please keep the reviews coming!

On a sidenote: My girlfriend was going through one of the books I have on Roman Porno which also does have photos of the actresses in it and as a result asked me wether anybody really wants to see these girls naked (meaning that almost none are really beautiful in a classical sense). She didn't quite believe me answering that the main reason for watching Roman Pornos aren't the nude and sex scenes, lol.

I know. I have the same problem with my girlfriend

I rather agree with your girlfriend... I don't find most of the actresses hot. Especially those in kimono, hah.

I do like Megumi Saki, though. I think she was only in 2 Roman Porno's: Red Violation (1980) and Rape Ceremony (1980). Oh and Ako has interesting personality. Yuko Katagiri can be cute when she's well cast and aided by a good director. She's very sweet in Secret Chronicle: Prostitution Market (1972).

Fujii Katsuhiko Interview (from INTERVIEW WITH A ROMANCE FILM CREATORS VOL.2)

Thanks for the summary and photos. God knows I'm not a fan of this director, but hearing his comments about Roman Porno was interesting. I'm pretty shocked to hear that he actually improved the source material

I think I saw some of those books in Laputa Asagaya when they screened some Roman Porno films. They always have some books there that you can read freely. Unfortunately with my kanji reading skills full books are still out of question. A couple of pages in a dvd booklet is ok, anything longer and I'll be resorting to my live dictionary aka girlfriend

Also finally watched this one yesterday and can say that I more or less completely agree with Takuma here, though I'd rate it maybe slightly higher. Strongly considering to get the Japanese DVD (release date: January 2018). This really would be a great title for Synapse to pick up!

There's a sequel, too: Sex Rider: Injured Lust (Kurahara, 1973). Unfortunately impossible to see at the moment...

[Maito Guy]

Man & Woman Sexology: Private Lessons (Danjo sei jigaku kojin jugyou; Koyu Ohara, 1974) - 2/5
Early title from Director Koyu Ohara, whose films quality tends to vary quite a lot. This one features Nakagawa Rie and Seri Meika as female leads in a part comedy part drama about a young guy's quest curing his impotence. The film is stylishly shot by Koyu Ohara, but unfortunately has a lackluster script without any real focus and half of the characters being just there to add sex scenes to the movie.

Watched it in HD on DMM's monthly pink channel and Seri Meika in HD was probably the greatest plus this one had to offer for me. That said, it being already my 3rd Roman Porno on that day didn't help much either. SEX STUDIES: PRIVATE TUTORING also got a first time DVD release in December of 2016.

(Screens below are not from the HD stream)

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.

Also finally watched this one yesterday and can say that I more or less completely agree with Takuma here, though I'd rate it maybe slightly higher. Strongly considering to get the Japanese DVD (release date: January 2018). This really would be a great title for Synapse to pick up!

[Maito Guy]

Fujii Katsuhiko Interview (from INTERVIEW WITH A ROMANCE FILM CREATORS VOL.2)
Read through the interview with Fujii Katsuhiko featured in INTERVIEW WITH A ROMANCE FILM CREATORS VOL. 2, which is a Japanese book, so they manage to feature mistakes in virtually any English word used in the text, even though English is used for some headlines and titles only.

He states that he never really liked the Dan Oniroku novels he had to adapt, because they hardly featured any story or real characters. Doesn't make a change when you jump forward a hundred pages, it's still just the same endless descriptions of SM acts, he states. But he also says that he was quite impressed by Konuma's FLOWER AND SNAKE (1974) and how it was able to transform the source material into such an impressive film. He even met with Dan Oniroku himself, who didn't accept the Konuma FLOWER AND SNAKE film a proper adaption of his novel, mainly due to the main male character kidnapping Tani Naomi's character. He also gave Fujii the idea for a SM scene with beans, which he later used in his CRUELTY: BLACK ROSE SLAVE.

Not really liking any of the Dan Oniroku novels, Fujii always added characters or settings to make the source material more appealing and interesting as a movie (obviously not always succeeding so). Interestingly despite that Dan Oniroku chose Fujii as director for SNAKE HOLE which got produced by DAN PRODUCTION. He also states that he always tried to link the “sado” and “maso” of SM with the acts of “watching” and “being watched” in his films. Looking back on the films I saw from him, this definitely could be seen as his major underlying theme.

He also talks briefly about his entry in the ZOOM UP series - ZOOM UP: SEXUAL CRIME REPORT (1981), which was a film he really wanted to make because of a great script but admits to have fucked up in the cutting process. I have seen this one quite some time ago and can't really recall it. I remember it being kind of average and forgettable, not really any good but I also don't remember disliking it as much as Takuma seems to.

Fujii also talks more general about his main dilemma with Roman Porno having to feature sex scenes from the very beginning and at various times throughout the movie. He states that usually a director builds up tension and/or atmosphere for such scenes later in the movie. With Roman Porno you could have characters meet for the first time and right after that they would already have one of the mandatory bed scenes. Sometimes, if the script is good this feels naturally, but more often than not this results into useless sex scenes just being present for the sake of the movie being a Roman Porno program picture.

A few scans from the same book featuring behind the scene work on Fujii's Dan Oniroku adaptions ↓


On the set of DAN ONIROKU: BLAZING BONDAGE LADY (1980) preparing Mabuki Junko for one of the best shots in the movie.


Fujii Katsuhiko together with actress Shima Izumi on the set of DAN ONIROKU: SNAKE HOLE (1983).


Fujii with crew and actress Shima Izumi preparing for a shot of the great "bridge" scene in DAN ONIROKU: SNAKE HOLE (1983).


One last photo from a set of DAN ONIROKU: SNAKE HOLE (1983) featuring director Fujii together with both main actors: Shima Izumi and Toba Jun.

[Maito Guy]

I saw that twice on the same day as well. In 35mm in Cinema Vera's Sone retro. That was before the DVD release had even been announced, so I thought that might be my only chance to ever see the film, so I watched it twice.

It was a double feature with Red Classroom, btw.

Man, making me jealous every single time with this unbelievable screenings ...

Dan Oniroku: Snake Hole (Dan oniroku hebi no ana; Fujii Katsuhiko, 25.2.1983) - 2.5/5
After ending up liking a few of the later SM-themed Roman Porno titles by Fujii Katsuhiko I had above average expectations going into this one. Unfortunately it was rather meh.

DAN ONIROKU: SNAKE HOLE was one of the many co-productions Nikkatsu did from the 80ies onwards due to the plummeting ticket sales. The second and I think main production company for this one was “Dan Production” also responsible for another Roman Porno title: DAN ONIROKU: BLACK HAIR VELVET SOUL (Watanabe Mamoru, 1982), which I haven't seen yet. Dan Oniroku himself picked the director for SNAKE HOLE and chose Fujii Katsuhiko who at the time actually wasn't under contract with Nikkatsu anymore, mostly doing work for TV, but also still quite frequently worked for Nikkatsu on a movie to movie basis.

The film features the exceptionally beautiful Shima Izumi in the main role as the housewife of a rich, young and quite spoiled brat who has a serious mother complex and an affair with the older household help. Shima Izumi's character also has some psychological issues due to a shocking experience in the past and as a result of this (at least it seems so) is completely insensitive to sexual acts. Of course she isn't insensitive to your usual Dan Oniroku SM games …

DAN ONIROKU: SNAKE HOLE starts out quite good, exhibiting not only gorgeous production values but also good acting by more or less the whole cast and even featuring interesting premises in the script. Unfortunately after the first two minutes or so this turns into an endless stream of mostly unnecessary sex scenes. That said, towards the second half / last third the film manages to gain some momentum again and actually features one of the most intense and best scenes I have seen up to date in any Nikkatsu SM title (see “bridge” screenshot below).

This could have easily been a lot better overall. Just cut out half of the sex scenes in the first half and keep only those which at least have a minimal purpose, giving the characters and story a little bit more room to breathe and voila you'd have at least another worthwhile watch. The way it is though, I'm not sure wether I should give a recommendation or not. Overall a quite mixed experience.


Shima Izumi is one of the few classic beauties who starred in Roman Pornos. In almost every of her roles she was wearing Kimonos, at least at first ;-). On a sidenote: My girlfriend was going through one of the books I have on Roman Porno which also does have photos of the actresses in it and as a result asked me wether anybody really wants to see these girls naked (meaning that almost none are really beautiful in a classical sense). She didn't quite believe me answering that the main reason for watching Roman Pornos aren't the nude and sex scenes, lol.








This scene on the bridge towards the end of the movie must be one of the most intense and best scenes within any Nikkatsu Dan Oniroku adaption. The direction by Fujii is intense, the soundtrack and score (borrowed from Masuda's 1963 Ishihara Yujiro vehicle ESCAPE INTO TERROR, which is a great movie by the way) are working perfectly and the hopes and fears of the two main characters culminate in a wonderful and for them liberating resolution.

[Takuma]

Last time I ended up having major problems with their shitty player on my laptop, so sadly I couldn't really watch anything. Figured out how to get the stream direct on my TV though and this time am planning on watching about 8-10 titles a week .. lol .. let's see wether this is possible without getting crazy

The DMM player sucks, yes. Especially some years ago I had big problems getting steady playback. The video seemed somehow strange, kinda like slow motion, but the issue was so "small" that I couldn't say for sure what exactly was wrong. I managed to fix the issue by using Internet Explorer instead of Firefox, and maybe I changed some settings too. Even then, I couldn't get full HD videos to play properly.

They used to offer Windows Media Player as an option, and I always used that because it was problem free, but nowadays you're forced to use DMM player. It works ok for me now, though I haven't even tried anything full HD in a couple of years.

By the way, a few weeks ago finally saw Chusei's RED VIOLATION and absolutely loved it. Watched it a second time right after my first viewing, which is a super rare thing for me to do. Probably as good if not even better as Chusei's ANGEL GUTS: RED CLASSROOM and SHINJUKU MESSY DISTRICT: I'LL BE THERE. The DVD transfer sucks though (definitely the worst of all the new transfers from the ones I have seen).

I saw that twice on the same day as well. In 35mm in Cinema Vera's Sone retro. That was before the DVD release had even been announced, so I thought that might be my only chance to ever see the film, so I watched it twice.

It was a double feature with Red Classroom, btw.

[Maito Guy]

I didn't have enough time (or motivation) to subcribe to DMM's Pink Channel this time, but I did watch a few of the discount titles on a pay per view basis.

Last time I ended up having major problems with their shitty player on my laptop, so sadly I couldn't really watch anything. Figured out how to get the stream direct on my TV though and this time am planning on watching about 8-10 titles a week .. lol .. let's see wether this is possible without getting crazy

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.

Despite my criticism, this probably gets a cautious recommendation from me.

100% same opinion on this one. Slightly better than the first one, fun at times but overall a missed opportunity. Quite frustrating since it definitely has some promising moments.

By the way, a few weeks ago finally saw Chusei's RED VIOLATION and absolutely loved it. Watched it a second time right after my first viewing, which is a super rare thing for me to do. Probably as good if not even better as Chusei's ANGEL GUTS: RED CLASSROOM and SHINJUKU MESSY DISTRICT: I'LL BE THERE. The DVD transfer sucks though (definitely the worst of all the new transfers from the ones I have seen).

[Takuma]

I didn't have enough time (or motivation) to subcribe to DMM's Pink Channel this time, but I did watch a few of the discount titles on a pay per view basis.

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.

Despite my criticism, this probably gets a cautious recommendation from me.

Takahashi and May


Still in the ninkyo realm


This is when it starts shifting towards 60s / 70s Nikkatsu action


Yep




Before Uma Thurman there was...


Major Seijun Suzuki vibes