Nikkatsu Naughties: Part 3 + Spotlight Japan at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
Seriously: she can act.
The TIFF Bell Lightbox announced yesterday their new Spotlight Japan which actually consists of several thematic streams, including The Catch: Masterworks of Eighties Japanese Cinema (March 5 – April 6), Japanese Divas: Great Actresses of Classic Japanese Cinema (January 24 – March 31), and Tokyo Drifters: 100 Years of Nikkatsu (January 19 – April 6).
It’s a surprisingly huge roster of films, and fans of Kinjo Fukasaku (Battle Royale [M]) can catch a free screening of Fall Guy on Sunday March 17 at 7pm. Those familiar with Nikkatsu ought to enjoy the studio’s mix of exploitation films, although for obvious reasons there’s no inclusion of the studio’s adult product when it switched from familiar genres to smut to reinvigorate its dwindling film revenues.
Synapse have been distributing Impulse Pictures Nikkatsu Erotic Films Collection for a year now, with 10 volumes of naughty films with Wrong material now available, and I’ve uploaded another set: Female Teacher: Dirty Afternoon / Onna kyôshi: Yogoreta hôkago [M] (1981), where the return of a traumatic event from the past upsets a teacher’s libido and sends her on a soul-searching quest with a socially Wrong finale; and Sex Hunter: Wet Target / Sekkusu hantâ: Nureta hyôteki [M] (1972), in which a recently paroled half-breed seeks out the defilers and killers of his baby sister while moonlighting as a barman and live sex performer.
It’s still blows the mind that Nikkatsu’s adult stream was filmed in ‘scope, and featured an arguably highbrow mix of graphic Wrong sex and actual screenplays. As production was amped up over a 10 year period things seemed to get looser and crazier, but certainly the above two films could stand as erotic dramas if their adult content was trimmed, and most of the graphic Wrongness was inferred rather than splayed up front in 2.35:1.
The 2012 Shinsedai Film Festival tested the waters by offering a pink double-bill, so perhaps the broad distribution of Nikkatsu’s adult line – dubbed the Roman Porno series – might make some of the more adventurous entries okay for special screenings. Then again, boffing one’s aggressor to gain freedom isn’t an acceptable message, so… maybe not.
Coming next: a podcast with composer Atli Orvarsson with assorted soundtrack reviews.
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Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com ( Main Site / Mobile Site )
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Nikkatsu Naughties recently released on Video: Amazon.ca
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Category: EDITOR'S BLOG, FILM REVIEWS
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