The Non-Synapse Roman Porno Thread

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

Guys, I'd love to see your top 10/15/20/whatever lists. With comments or without. Preferrably with a brief "hate list" as well. Just to see what we like. My old list is on page 1, though it's a bit out of date now. I'll update it some day.

With Rape Site I reached my 200th Roman Porno. Kind of an odd achievement for someone who finds sex scenes in movies a bore

If it sits anywhere between 13TH HOUR and ASSAULT JACK THE RIPPER, that's good enough for me.

And considering the fact that Ohara's pedigree includes WHITE ROSE CAMPUS and FAIRY, hopes were/are justifiably high.

The funny thing is, I think Pink Hip Girl (1978) is Ohara's best film. The mind boggles when you think that the same director went back and forth between the most adorable youth films, and the most brutal violent pink films. Pink Hip Girl is also probably the most "feminist" film in the Roman Porno catalogue... something you can't say about Rape Site or White Rose Campus

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

My top 20. Some films on your list, Takuma, such as RAPE CEREMONY, I haven't seen.

Favorites (not necessarily in order):

1.Assault Jack The Ripper
2.Beautiful Girl Hunter
3.Secret Chronicle:She Beast Market
4.Retreat Through The Wet Wasteland
5.Rolling On The Road
6.Zoom Up:Rape Apartments
7.Sex Hunter (Ikeda version)
8.Rape 13th Hour
9.White Rose Campus: Then...
10.Female Delinquent
11.The Serial Rape-Murderer (Takita)
12.Raping!
13.Sex Hunter:Wet Target (Sawada)
14.Woman in the Box 2
15.Image of a Bound Girl
16.Rape and Death of a Housewife
17.Beauty's Exotic Dance
18.Angel Guts: Nami
19.Watcher in the Attic
20.Getting Raped

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

My top 20. Some films on your list, Takuma, such as RAPE CEREMONY, I haven't seen.

Favorites (not necessarily in order):

1.Assault Jack The Ripper
2.Beautiful Girl Hunter
3.Secret Chronicle:She Beast Market
4.Retreat Through The Wet Wasteland
5.Rolling On The Road
6.Zoom Up:Rape Apartments
7.Sex Hunter (Ikeda version)
8.Rape 13th Hour
9.White Rose Campus: Then...
10.Female Delinquent
11.The Serial Rape-Murderer (Takita)
12.Raping!
13.Sex Hunter:Wet Target (Sawada)
14.Woman in the Box 2
15.Image of a Bound Girl
16.Rape and Death of a Housewife
17.Beauty's Exotic Dance
18.Angel Guts: Nami
19.Watcher in the Attic
20.Getting Raped

I can see we are on the same page! Those are excellent choises, exactly the kind of atypical movies in the genre that I enjoy. Usually I'm alone with my odd opinions

Isn't "The Serial Rape-Murderer (Takita)" a Shin Toho film, though? I haven't seen it myself. I'll add it to my watch list.

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

Yes, a Shin Toho film, but very much a Roman-Porno in terms of how it meets all genre requirements. It's on DVD in Japan.

Bascially about a porno theater projectionist's extra-curricular activities. Very dark.

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

I rewatched Woman of the Afternoon: Incite (1979) the other night and I gotta say this is a small gem! Fresh, breezy, colorful, fast paced... everything most Roman Porno films lack. It's just hard to write about it, because it's the kind of film that is absolutely best experienced without any expectations. It will take you by a surprise!

It's a shame it has never been subbed, officially or unofficially. The Japanese DVD by Geneon is excellent, though.

Now, if you're still not convinced, allow me to go into the spoiler territory. The rest of the text will be in grey font:

The first 25 minutes of the film is breezy road movie with Natsuko Yashiro running from her jerk husband, heading for a road trip, making friends with sympathetic young gay guy, and even getting herself into a car chase as she decides to set things right with the youngsters who ran into her car. It's all fun, stylish and even a bit romantic. Cool use of music as well, and good cinematography.

Then, without any warning, she arrives a God forsaken small town populated by redneck psycho rapist killers. They rape the guy, kill another man, capture a girl, and start chasing her with a fucking front loader. All of a sudden we are watching a violent pink movie probably influenced by Deliverance and Tobe Hooper. And then there is the pitch black humour. In one scene the rednecks are gang raping women and one of them cracks such as good joke that his friend has to take a break from raping. He even says "I'm laughing so hard I can't do it".

The film was directed by Nobuyuki Saito, but the real credit should probably go to screenwriter Chiho Katsura, who also wrote Assault! Jack the Ripper, Rape! 13th Hour, Secret Honeymoon: Rape Train, Zoom Up: Rape Site, Zoom In: Rape Apartments, House, Futari and other films. Director Saito struggled to ever come up with another good film again. The only other worthwhile effort by him was Captured Mother and Daughter (1987), which was scipted by the excellent Haruhiko Arai.









The rest of the captures are as links:
https://sketchesofcinema.files.wordp...015/09/wo5.jpg
https://sketchesofcinema.files.wordp...015/09/wo6.jpg
https://sketchesofcinema.files.wordp...015/09/wo7.jpg
https://sketchesofcinema.files.wordp...015/09/wo8.jpg

Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vj50kQbpwo

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

Takuma, I haven't seen WOMAN OF THE AFTERNOON: INCITE. Based on your thorough autopsy above, it sounds fascinating.

I'm particularly interested as it is a Chiho Katsura-scripted flick. He wrote many of my favorites, and always brings a curious point of view to each of his works.

A great shame that it has never been legitimately subbed in English. Would be a good candidate for Synapse/Impulse's Nikkatsu Collection line.

Another reason I must see this is Natsuko Yashiro. I love her. My favorite pink actress.

Interestingly, some shots in the trailer for this film -- of her driving -- parallel similar shots at the beginning of RAPING!

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

Wives' Rape Mansion (1985)

And the award for the most misleadingly titled and mistranslated film title goes to... Nobuyuki Saito's surprisingly decent character drama. A middle aged couple are having conflicting views on getting children, with the wife having no interest in kids. The poor husband then spends his nights sitting in front of fridge and remembering the better times... and finally dials the phone sex number his colleague gave him. Despite certain Roman Porno trappings, it's a surprisingly well handled film by with slick visuals, broken chronology, and good leading performance by the mainstream actor Sabu Kawahara. The film also co-stars soft toy mini Godzilla, features strawberry flavour eatable pants, and makes a Hiroko Yakushimaru joke. Talk about chic. The title's suggested rape only takes place during the last five minutes, and is a part of the couple's marriage drama, so those expecting a thriller or violent pink film will be sorely disappointed.

Poor Thomas Weisser got everything wrong in this review, starting from the title which features two mistranslations in three words. First of all, the "mansion" in the original title (Hitotsuma Boko Mansion) is a loan word which, when used in Japanese, refers to an apartment, not mansion like in English. Secondly, the wives should be in singular, not plural. And then Weisser thought this would be a violent pink film. He went on to explain how "the plot tells the story of a rapist specializing in high-rise condo assaults" and concluded his review by stating the film is a "mean-spirited rape flick". Nope, none of that is in the film. It's a marriage drama about a middle aged couple.

Most Western viewers will probably miss the admittedly lowbrow but funny joke when the husband farts in bed after holding for long time and says "kaikan" (wonderful"). That's an expression Hiroko Yakushimaru popularized in Sailor Suit and Machine Gun when she uttered the word after finally firing the gun at the end of the film. The expression instantly became a pop culture classic.

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

4. Rape Ceremony (Kichitaro Negishi, 1980) (genre: drama / character study)
Despite the crude Nikkatsu title, this is a small masterpiece about two violent generations of young men. A group of young men are taking revenge against their former idols, a biker gang that disbanded under police pressure and betrayed their hopes. A highly Art Theatre Guild esque film with great characters, cast, music, and broken chronology.

I don't know... I think you might be lying (and trying to trick us) and the proper genre for this film is just rape. I mean these look like (impending) rape to me:





;)

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

Hah, Nikkatsu knows how the sell their stuff better than I do.

The first photo is just the guys (victims) being a bit displeased with Megumi Saki going back and forth between the two groups (the other being the attackers, who are her childghood friends) and trying to get some answers from her. I'm pretty sure they didn't rape her

The second photo is a rape indeed. But then again, have you ever seen a Roman Porno without a rape?

Great stills! Got more?

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

The second photo is a rape indeed.

Ha! I knew it!

Great stills! Got more?

I was going to say no, but I actually got one more (for Rape Ceremony I mean) yesterday. Haven't scanned it yet though and it was nothing special... one nude girl and some guy on a bed. You know, just some tits. I think it was Megumi Saki again.

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

There it is.


And now a bonus unrelated to Rape Ceremony. I was not able to find this poster online anywhere (but Google kinda sucks nowadays with their censoring and stuff and the other search engines simply suck) and from the looks of it neither has anyone else, so... I scanned it (it was on the back cover of a magazine I have) and here it is.
World premiere right here at RSP.

Porn Document: Sukeban ドã‚ュメントポルノ　スケバン

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

I said I don't care much for boobie stills, but Megumi Saki is an exception. One of the very few Nikkatsu actresses I find interesting and pretty :up:

That poster is a beauty! Arigato!

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

Wow. Amazing poster. Thank you, Sundance.

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

Another mini review set:

Sensual Classroom: Techniques in Love (Japan, 1972) [DVD] - 1.5/5
Despite the title, this early Noboru Tanaka film is very much an arthouse affair; only not a very good one at all. Tanaka actually manages quite a few stylish visuals and good musical choices throughout the film. Unfortunately none of this helps when he completely misjudges what passes as serious art and what is just plain ridiculous. Half of the film comes out unintentionally funny. For a far more successful effort see Tanaka's Midnight Fairy (1973), which had the same artistry but none of the clumsiness that sinks this movie.

Naked Resume: True Story of Kazuko Shirakawa (Japan, 1973) [DVD] - 2/5
Nikkatsu's first pink queen Kazuko Shirakawa stars in this entirely fictional true account supposedly based on her life. It was her farewell role before retiring and marrying a Nikkatsu executive. Chusei Sone helmed the film. Despite making up events at every turn, and featuring such exotic ideas as sex with clowns, the film feels oddly ruotine effort by director Sone. It's a shame the film barely touches her film career at Nikkatsu. Indeed, the filmmaking parts, and especially the ending which features many cameos and film clips from her movies, is the film's best part.

100 High School Girls: Secret Motel Report (Japan, 1975) [DVD] - 1/5
The 1973-1975 period is often referred as a mid-career slump in director Chusei Sone's filmography. It is a good generalization; however, there were occasional inspired films during this period as well. Unfortunately this isn't one of them. The film opens in black & white, which reminds of Sone's wrongfully bashed 1974 movie Modern Prostitution: Lust Under Uniform. Unfortunately none of that film's stylish cinematography and decent plotting can be found here, and the use of black & white film for the first 15 minutes serves no actual purpose. The plot shows a little bit of promise at first - a reporter begins investigating a motel where illicit high school girl activity is supposed to take place - but it doesn't go anywhere and the whole movie is directed without any kind of passion or inspiration. Oh, and there aren't nearly 100 high school girls in the film - 10 would be a better guess.

Kindan: Seifuku no modae (Japan, 1976) [DVD] - 1/5
There are so many terrible movies in the Roman Porno genre that it's always a bit sad when you come across one that actually wouldn't be so bad if it only had something going for it. This is the case here. A school girl falls in love with her cousin, who first has a skiing accident and then turns out to be an asshole, and finally his friend seduces her. Whatever. This could be a passable melodrama as far as music and acting goes, but there's very little reason to care about anything that's going on. The only point of interest is the snowy mountain locations featured in the opening scene. Sadly, the rest of the film takes place in boring suburbs.

Teacher Deer (Japan, 1978) [DVD] - 1/5
Chusei Sone was a frustratingly uneven director who could deliver a dull misfire like this even during the most innovative era of his career (1978-1981), which contained several excellent films like Red Violation (1980) and Taiyo no Kizuato (1981). This one is about a mixed race teacher who enters a high school in order to pursue revenge on a man who did wrong to his father decades ago. It's an overlong erotic thriller with no thrills. Style is severely lacking, characters have zero depth, and the storyline is quite pointless. It should also be noted that the film has nothing to do with SM, despite the usual fairytale review by the Weissers claiming otherwise. Only if they'd actually watch the movies they review. Then again, they can consider themselves lucky they didn't have to endure this one.

Zoom Up: Sexual Crime Report (Japan, 1981) [DVD] - 1/5
The 4th film in the loosely linked series was directed by Nikkatsu's worst filmmaker, Katsuhiko Fujii. Rape queen Yuki Kazamatsuri stars as a radio DJ who has married a rich businessman. One night on her way to work she's gang raped by a motorcycle gang. It turns out her innocent looking maid was behind it all, and soon the gang pays her another visit. Despite the film's title, there is no crime report or any investigation aspect. Nor is the film much of a thriller. It's simply a badly written excuse for sex scenes, some consensual, some not. Those viewer expecting something in line with the first two films in the series need not bother. Nor does anyone else.

Female Teacher Hunting (Japan, 1982) [DVD] - 2.5/5
A surprisingly decent storyline that suffers from a boring main character and Nikkatsu's usual minimum sex scene quota. A delinquent schoolboy is accused of raping a female classmate. He didn't do it, in fact no one did, but he decides rape her since he's being accused of it anyway. He then quits school, gets into further trouble, and is taken in by a yakuza couple who run a bar in the seaside. His teacher goes looking for him while also having an affair with a married man - a side plot that no one could care less about. Rape queen Yuki Kazamatsuri is the film's official star as the female teacher; however, the real interest lies in the youngsters who thankfully get at least as much screen time as she does. There's is cruel irony as well as slight psychological and existential tones to the film, quite well handled by director Junichi Suzuki, who also helmed the terrible Women in Heat Behind Bars. If it wasn't for the main character and boring sex, this could even be called "good".

I have to say, the film features some quite nice shots:








Cabaret Diary (Japan, 1982) [DVD] - 2/5
Kichitaro Negishi returned to Nikkatsu for one final movie after his successful Art Theatre Guild production Distant Thunder (1981). Unfortunately it is not one of his best efforts, despite a screenplay by top scripter Haruhiko Arai. It's a corporate satire and a sex biz overview in equal proportions, following a guy working at a pink salon as a waiter. He constantly gets slapped, hit, and shouted at by his yakuza-like, power-abusing and patriotic superiors who are somewhat exaggerated versions of traditional Japanese company bosses. The film initially seems to have some bite, but the satire wears off, there's too much sex, and the characters aren't all that interesting. Negishi did much better with the superb, misleadingly titled Rape Ceremony (1980), also written by Arai.

Spectacle of Buds (Japan, 1986) [DVD] - 1/5
If the ever so unreliable Thomas Weisser is anything to go by, singer Yoko Kon stayed in the headlines not only because of her musical performances but also for rumours about her inverted nipples. Nikkatsu's former star director Noboru Tanaka came out of Roman Porno retirement to reveal the mystery in this slice-of-life film starring Kon. Yes, she had strange boobs. But whose idea was it to build a 100 minute movie around those boobs?! Director Tanaka could make a technically competent film with his eyes closed, but this one just doesn't have anything going for it, except for one truly bizarre scene where Kon is looking at a photo of a naked baby and then starts touching herself.

Waiting Wet Woman (Japan, 1987) [DVD] - 3/5
An interesting late Roman Porno scripted by top writer Haruhiko Arai (Distant Thunder, Vibrator, It's Only Talk). The film takes place in a small town during a typhoon. A woman living alone is visited by her ex-husband. At the same time a young couple who are about to break up get trapped in the town as public transport is cut off. Director Yasuaki Uegaki is best known for the over-rated Pink Curtain films. He does much here, paying a lot of attention to characters, visual details, and nature. The first sex scene doesn't come until around the 30 minute mark. The film feels more like the work of Kichitaro Negishi or Shinji Somai than your typical Roman Porno product. Unfortunately the film doesn't quite hold till the end. The last 20 minutes is the weakest, with a long dull sex scene, and quite an underwhelming finish for the storyline.

The film's title - Machi nureta onna - features some terrible wordplay, though. Not only do we have the ever so popular Nikkatsu buzzword "nureta" (wet) for once applied to a film where it actually rains, it's combined with "machi" with means "wait" in its written form but is pronounced just like the other "machi" which means "town". If I was 13 years old I'd probably find this funny and cleaver. Now my brain just hurts.

Getting ready for...


rain


more rain


enough rain to make a woman wet


Young couple


A rarity in Roman Porno: a good sex scene. The first one I see this year, I think.


Recognize her? Ako!


I really like some of the cinematography, like this


and this


and this

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

Another one for me to track down, Takuma.

Of your most recent list, I'm most interested in RAPE CEREMONY. It sounds like a Nikkatsu effort to widen the parameters.