| Naked Rashomon | |
| Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic) / Production Year: 1972 / | |
Synopsis: A nobleman with a barren wife finds a mistress who is fertile and able to give him the heir he desperately wants. When his mistress gives birth to twins (a boy and a girl). The nobleman orders his bodyguard to kill his mistress and her infant daughter. The bodyguard is unable to bring himself to commit murder and he helps the nobleman’s mistress and her infant daughter find a new life. Flash forward nineteen years, the daughter the nobleman never wanted and thought was dead re-emerges and falls in love with the nobleman’s son (her brother).
Naked Rashomon was directed by Chusei Sone, whose other notable films include Hellish Love, Angel Guts: High School Coed and Angel Guts: Red Classroom. The screenplay for Naked Rashomon was written by Atsushi Yamatoya who diverse screenwriting credits include Black Narcissus of Lust, Branded to Kill, Violent Virgin, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter and The Fang in the Hole.
Despite the film’s title, Naked Rashomon bears little to the 1950 Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon, which is borrows its name from. In fact the structure for Naked Rashomon is told in a linear way, unlike Rashomon which is told from several people’s point of views. Naked Rashomon is a period era drama that is populated with dysfunctional characters that lose themselves in their decadent behavior. The plot features nobleman with mistress, a cheating wife, prostitutes and some incest thrown in for good measure. The plot never tries to overreach itself and everything is easy enough to follow. The film’s final act feels abrupt. With all of the craziness that unfolds in this movie the ending does a good job wrapping things up.
The sex scenes are quick and to the point. Anyone who is familiar with Japanese erotica cinema is familiar with the use of mosaic or other devices to cover up genitals. Throughout the film many unique and some that border on intrusive ways of covering up the naughty bits has been employed. Also the fact that so many different ways are used throughout the film leads me to believe that this on purpose and most likely a stylistic choice by director Chusei Sone. Visually the film is not as inventive as other Nikkatsu Roman Porno’s when it comes to the sex scenes. Despite this film’s lackluster sex scene that is not to say that this film is not without its stylish moments with a moment where a prostitute who slashes her lovers’ throats and rivers of the red blood start flowing being a standout moment.
Performance wise all of the cast are more than adequate in their respective roles. Cast in the films two lead roles Hideaki Esumi in the role of the nobleman’s bodyguard and Hitomi Kozue in the dual role of the nobleman’s mistress / daughter. Hideaki Esumi frequently worked with director Seijun Suzuki on films like Youth of the Beast, Kanto Wanderer, The Flower and the Angry Waves, Story of a Prostitute and Tokyo Drifter. Other notable films that he has appeared in include The World of Geisha, Street of Joy, A Woman Called Sada Abe, Panic in High School, The Demon, The Resurrection of the Golden Wolf and Fossilized Wilderness. Naked Rashomon was one of Hitomi Kozue’s first films and other notable films that she appeared in include True Story of Woman Condemned: Sex Hell, True Story of Woman Condemned Continues and New True Story of Woman Condemned to Hell. Ultimately Naked Rashomon is a flawed film that never fully lives up to its potential.
| Features: |
| Exclusive Documentary On Japanese Cinema Original Theatrical Trailer Introduction By Film historian Jasper Sharp Mondo Macadro Previews |
| Video: |
| Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic) |
| Audio: |
| JAPANESE: Dolby Digital Stereo |
| Subtitles: |
| English |
Extras Review:
Some of the extras included on this release like a text piece about Nikkatsu Studios, a twenty four minute documentary titled “The Erotic Empire” and trailers for Female Prisoner: Caged!, Watcher in the Attic, Naked Rashomon, Sins of Sister Lucia, The Prosperities of the Vice and Assault! Jack the Ripper, these extras also appear on the Mondo Macabro DVD release’s for Assault! Jack the Ripper, Watcher in the Attic, Sins of Sister Lucia and Female Prisoner: Caged! Extras new to this release include a text piece about Naked Rashomon and a ten minute interview with Jasper Sharp who discusses Naked Rashomon and the films of Chusei Sone. Rounding out the extras is the Mondo Macabro preview trailer which includes clips from titles they have currently released or about to release. Overall Naked Rashomon gets a superb DVD released that is on par with Mondo Macabro’s other Nikkatsu Roman Porno DVD releases.
| Marquis De Sade's Prosperities Of Vice | |
| Widescreen 1.85:1 Color / Production Year: 1988 / | |
Synopsis: A sadistic count recruits criminals as actors in his theater recreations of the works of the Marquis De Sade.
Marquis De Sade’s Prosperities of Vice was directed by Akio Jissoji, whose diverse filmography includes a 1979 feature film adaption of Ultraman, Art House films like Poem and Lived in a Dream, Erotica like Utamaro: Dreams and Knowledge and The Waltz, three films based on the works of Rampo Edogawa The D-Slope Murder Case, Rampo Noir and Yaneura no sanposha and the Anime Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis. Masao Nakabori the cinematographer Marquis De Sade’s Prosperities of Vice frequently worked with director Akio Jissoji. Visually Marquis De Sade’s Prosperities of Vice fluid camera movements and juxtapositioning of objects and characters for maximum effect is this films strongest asset. Another area where this film excels is in its sound design which exaggerates sounds like dripping water, thunder, the ticking of a clock and heartbeats.
The plot interweaves the writings of the Marquis De Sade with the lives of the criminals who perform for the Count. Each characters back-story is fully illustrated by showing parallels in their lives that correlate with events from the writings of the Marquis De Sade. The story takes a darker turn when life imitates art and one of the actors at the counts theater is murdered. The counts downward spiral and those who he surrounds himself with faithfully capture the essence of the Marquis De Sade.
Marquis De Sade’s Prosperities of Vice should not be viewed in the same way that one would expect when watching a Nikkatsu Roman Porno. This film is one of the first made by Nikkatsu after they decided to take a step back from the Roman Porno genre. This new style / genre, was given the brand name Ropponica. Sex scenes are not the focus as they are tame by Roman Porno standards and for those who are easily annoyed by the use of mosaic to blur naughty bits, there is no use of mosaic or any other obtrusive devices in this film. The acting ranges from good to exceptional with the standout performance coming from Koji Shimizu in the role of the count. One of the film’s more memorable moments is a scene where the Count is pretending to whip his wife as part of the play they are participating in. Without warning his wife turns around and she is lashed across her chest with the whip causing her to show her no found ecstasy in a moment of pain.
| Features: |
| Exclusive Documentary On Japanese Cinema Original Theatrical Trailer Introduction By Film Historian Jasper Sharp |
| Video: |
| Widescreen 1.85:1 Color |
| Audio: |
| JAPANESE: Dolby Digital Stereo |
| Subtitles: |
| English |
Extras Review:
Some of the extras included on this release like a text piece about Nikkatsu Studios, a twenty four minute documentary titled “The Erotic Empire” and trailers for Female Prisoner: Caged!, Watcher in the Attic, Naked Rashomon, Sins of Sister Lucia, The Prosperities of the Vice and Assault! Jack the Ripper, these extras also appear on the Mondo Macabro DVD release’s for Assault! Jack the Ripper, Watcher in the Attic, Sins of Sister Lucia, Naked Rashomon and Female Prisoner: Caged! “The Erotic Empire” documentary includes comments from actress Kozuko Shirakawa, Jasper Sharp author of “Behind the Pink Curtain”, director Seijin Suzuki, film critic Toshiyuki Matsushima and artist/filmmaker Romaine Slocombe. This documentary gives a well rounded overview of the Nikkatsu Roman Porno genre. Extras new to this release include a text piece about The Prosperities of the Vice and a seven minute interview with Jasper Sharp who discusses Ropponica (Nikkatsu Studios attempt to re-brand the Roman Porno genre), director Akio Jissoji’s eclectic filmography and the censoring of the works of the Marquise De Sade in Japan. Overall this is another superb DVD release from Mondo Macabro.
ENLACES:
Showa onnamichi: Rashomon (1972)
- http://10kbullets.com/reviews/n/naked-rashomon/
- http://twitchfilm.net/reviews/2009/05/naked-rashomon-dvd-review.php
- http://alligatographe.blogspot.com/2009/07/showa-onnamichi-rashomon.html
Akutoku no sakae (1988)
Marquis de Sade's Prosperities of Vice USA (DVD title)
Vice Amply Rewarded Japan (English title)
- http://10kbullets.com/reviews/m/marquis-de-sades-prosperities-of-vice/
- http://twitchfilm.net/reviews/2009/08/dvd-review-akio-jissoji-prosperities-of-vice.php
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