Nikkatsu Naughties, Part 9: Going the Extra Mile

February 12, 2015 | By

OfficeLoveBehindClosedDoors

What began as regularly released couplings of vintage Nikkatsu adult productions has somewhat slowed down a wee bit at Impulse Pictures, but the following titles, originally released separately, represent the studio’s attempt, or perhaps willingness, to make rare feature-length adult films.

Most Nikkatsu Roman Porno films run no more than 64 mins., so the test in these two works is whether the writers and directors, perhaps aspiring to break free from the studio’s formulaic smut line, were able to show their skills, and perhaps managed to escape into mainstream film, assuming there was a shift in the industry and enabling filmmakers to go straight; or assuming the filmmakers wanted to go straight in the first place.

SheCat1983

Both Office Love: Behind Closed Doors / Ofisu rabu: Mahiru no kinryôku (1985) and She Cat / Female Cat / Meneko (1983) try and mix multiple genre conventions, and although She Cat is by far the most complex and ambitious, it’s also the most convoluted, making the end result a little wonky.

Both were made within tight budgets, and yet the use of of actual locations adds huge production value. It would be ironic if the best snapshots of urban Japan during the seventies and early eighties reside in smut productions – unintentional time capsules of coastal and city centres likely transformed by heavier residential and industrial development.

Coming next: reviews of John Wick and Nightcrawler.

Cheers,

 

 

Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com

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Category: EDITOR'S BLOG

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