| Vintage Pulp | Dec 15 2022 |
His wife sometimes made him so mad he felt like he could kill her. Then the opportunity came.
We've watched a lot of movies this month, and today is the day we begin squeezing them onto the site before the end of the year. The shooter's POV poster above was made for Aiyoku no wana, aka Trap of Lust, which is a roman porno reinterpretation of Seijun Suzuki's 1967 gangster classic Koroshi no rakuin, aka Branded to Kill. It's the story of a veteran hitman who botches an assignment, with the unexpected consequence that he's ordered to kill his own wife.
It isn't a punishment thing, exactly, that brings this about. The reason she becomes his target is narratively more complex. But killing one's spouse is not easy even for a cold-blooded professional terminator, and ultimately he's pitted against a couple of top yakuza hitmen, one of whom is a freaky deaky assassin who does his work alongside a nearly life-sized marionette that he voices like a schoolgirl. We know it sounds out there, and it is. Look at the screenshots below for an idea what this disturbed character is about.
The marionette gimmick isn't totally gratuitous. It contributes to a pivotal duel that by itself nudges the movie onto the positive side of the watch/don't watch ledger. While we're tempted to get into the weird psychocultural reasons why embodiments of pure human evil in Japanese films are often covered in brown shoe polish, we'll just leave the obvious unspoken. Ready for something bizarre? Then go for it. Aiyoku no wana premiered in Japan today in 1973.
JapanNikkatsuAiyoku no wanaTrap of LustKoroshi no rakuinBranded to KillGenjiro AratoMoeko EzawaRie Nakagawaposter artcinemayakuzamovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Apr 14 2021 |
She's overworked, underpaid, unappreciated, and has no backup plan. Also there's that whole curse thing.
Can a working girl find happiness à la Pretty Woman? That's the eternal question asked by (Maruhi) jorô seme jigoku, aka The Hell-Fated Courtesan. An Edo-era geisha-turned-prostitute played by Rie Nakagawa is believed by superstitious locals to be cursed because some of those who've had sex with her died. Her only sort-of-friend in this dark existence is a perverted artist, and her pimp is of course cruel and untrustworthy. But eventually she meets a puppeteer to whom she offers herself romantically only to be rebuffed. Surprised, she intones, “This is not an ordinary guy.” She's right. He refused her because he thinks he can only be turned on if a woman looks like one of his puppets, but when he finally samples some of that sweet Nakagawa he changes his mind about that and offers to take her with him to Osaka, where her problems and alleged curse will be behind her. Will she go? Will she be allowed to go? Will fate cut her a break? Pertinent questions all.
In 1973 Nikkatsu Studios' roman porno line had not yet jumped the shark, which means (Maruhi) jorô seme jigoku resembles a normal film in most ways. Its plot is basically linear, though it contains one framing segment; its sexual content is perverse, though not pointlessly misogynistic; and its humor generally works. In fact, there are some truly funny moments in this, such as when Nakagawa lets a carp suck her nipples. We won't even bother to describe what direction that scene goes. Later she slices off a dead man's finger and masturbates with it. Afterward she tells the finger that, though its former owner was a scoundrel and a snake, he will now go to heaven. That's some magical pussy. Maybe Nakagawa isn't cursed after all. Maybe she just embodies male insecurities and fears and they punish her as a result. And if that's true, maybe there is a Pretty Woman ending for her. But you never know. One character observes that a woman's heart is unpredictable and terrifying. (Maruhi) jorô seme jigoku tries to prove that adage true. It premiered in Japan today in 1973
JapanNikkatsu(Maruhi) jorô seme jigokuThe Hell-Fated CourtesanProstitute Torture HellRie NakagawaYuri Yamashinaposter artcinemapinkuroman pornomovie reviewnudity
| Intl. Notebook | Jun 15 2016 |
Rie Nakagawa loses battle with cancer.
We talked just last week about Rie Nakagawa's film Danjo Seiji-gaku: Kojin jugyo, aka Man & Woman Sexology: Private Lessons, and we also wrote up her film Kaben no shizuku, aka Beads from a Petal back in February. News came that she died of cancer in Tokyo yesterday. Though known mainly for her roman porno films, she had continued working and had appeared on television as recently as last year. Japanese cinema is a bit less luminous today.
JapanDanjo Seiji-gaku: Kojin jugyoMan & Woman Sexology: Private LessonsKaben no shizukuBeads from a PetalRie Nakagawaroman pornocinemadeaths
| Vintage Pulp | Jun 8 2016 |
Nakagawa demonstrates the benefits of one-on-one teaching.
Above, a promo poster for Danjo Seiji-gaku: Kojin jugyo, aka Man & Woman Sexology: Private Lessons. Haven't seen this one, but reviews exist online, if you can read Japanese or are inclined to use Google translate. Basically, it's about an impotent man who rescues a woman from an assault in a park, and her subsequent attempts to sexually rejuvenate him. Starring Rie Nakagawa, Danjo Seiji-gaku: Kojin jugyo premiered today in 1974.
JapanNikkatsuDanjo Seiji-gaku: Kojin jugyoMan & Woman Sexology: Private LessonsRie Nakagawaposter artroman pornocinema
| Vintage Pulp | Feb 9 2016 |
Tips for perking up a wilting flower.
This beautiful poster was made for the drama Kaben no shizuku, which was known in English as Beads from a Petal, as in beads of moisture. A lot of Japanese softcore movies have titles referencing beads of moisture, or dew, or the various parts of flowers, such as pistils and petals and whatnot. In this one Rie Nakagawa plays a married woman who is unfulfilled by sex. When her husband strays, the betrayal sends her seeking help, which she eventually gets from a psychiatrist (an ex of hers actually, which we're sure is unethical, but whatever) and he is able to determine that her aversion to sex has to do with the repressed memory of having seen her parents making love when she was young. Nakagawa really chews the scenery in this one with a performance we can only call overwrought, complete with multiple bouts of hysterical screaming, but you'll get used to it. Kaben no shizuku premiered in Japan today in 1972.
JapanNikkatsuKaben no shizukuBeads from a PetalRie Nakagawapinkuroman pornoposter artcinemamovie review
