So, once again it seems the Amazon release date is for general retail release. This disc can be had now--over 4 months early--by ordering directly from Impulse Pictures here:
https://impulse-pictures.com/product...unter-blu-ray/
I watched this disc tonight and I thought the film was excellent. As I've said before, I am not one for "unpleasant" erotic films or gory horror, but while
Star of David: Beautiful Girl Hunter has many disturbing images and implications, it is done in a mature, classy way that agreed with me. That's not to say there aren't parts that would raise eyebrows even in 2021, and depending on your tolerance, there may be some "gross out" material, but again, I wondered if I would regret this purchase and I can't say that I did.
It may have helped that this had a bigger budget and a longer shooting schedule than most other films in the Roman Porno series, which also probably explains the running time of 100 minutes, which is longer than most Roman Porno films by at least 20-30 minutes, if not more. The additional run time allows for more character and plot development, as well as giving the "erotic" scenes time to build up slowly and to be performed and shot skillfully. Certainly there is a lot of distasteful material, but it has a theatrical feel to it which gives it some legitimacy as a "film" rather than just arousal material.
A lot of the prestige here might be down to the director, Norifumi Suzuki, who had shot numerous mainstream films for Toei and even here was adapting a manga that ran from 1971-1976, so already the material is more mainstream than usual. Performances are good, especially Shun Domon as Tatsuya, the protagonist and Hiromi Namino as Yumiko, who is the girl on the cover. There is also a fairly long scene with Asami Ogawa, where she is bound into a "spider web"-like contraption and forced to touch herself, which I thought was a highlight from an erotic standpoint. But in that department, there are several beautiful ladies cavorting around naked and they don't always seem very upset about it, either. And hey, there is even a cameo from
[Show spoiler]Bunta Sugawara, playing his role from the Torakku Yarō (トラック野郎)
series of comedy films, just to throw in a bit more mainstream credit.
Impulse / Synapse's Blu-ray is really great. The picture quality is of a high standard, accepting that this is an HD master from Nikkatsu and not one prepared by Synapse themselves. Colors, which are important for the elaborate dungeon sets, are sharp and detail is great, with no evidence of digital tinkering and a light layer of grain. As has been the case with other Blu-rays in the series, dialogue has a little sibilance at times, but otherwise, the lossless 2.0 mono sound is fine, with piano selections like Beethoven's
Für Elise coming through well. I believe this is the first of the Synapse Nikkatsu Blu-rays to have on-disc extras besides a trailer and/or a photo gallery, and I think that's because the audio commentary and video interview date back to a previous US DVD release from Discotek Media. Still, it's great that Synapse got them, because now they have HD subtitles, and the audio commentary covers a lot of ground, since Norifumi Suzuki also has a film critic with him to ask questions. Kiichiro Yanashita opens with an introductory line in English before switching to Japanese for the remainder of the track, which to me indicates that the commentary was recorded for a disc release outside of Japan. I will admit that I wished the two had gone into the genre and the erotic elements a bit more, as instead they often point out actors, where they were from and if they had a career after doing the film, almost as though they were doing a commentary for a domestic Japanese audience, or at least those who were already well-versed in Japanese genre films. Both men also dodge referencing much of the violent and sexual content in the film, often ignoring it entirely. Still, Suzuki has plenty of interesting production anecdotes to reveal after a gentle question or two and there is much to take away from what is talked about over a virtually gapless 100-minute track.
I will admit that I did prefer the 15-minute video interview with Suzuki, where he talks about how he got into directing and how he came to Nikkatsu and this film from Toei and so on. Each extra has its own merits, though and I'm glad I viewed both. Note that while this is 1.78:1 and encoded in 1080p, the video looks like it is upscaled from NTSC, but again, the subtitles are HD, which is nice.
Synapse also include an HD theatrical trailer, and as with the film and the other extras, it has optional English subtitles. The subtitles here are nicely comprehensive, covering a lot of marketing text that pops up throughout the two minutes, but I wouldn't watch this if you haven't seen the film as it reveals a lot.
EDIT: I forgot to mention, as with other titles, the cover can be reversed to the uncensored artwork.
I think if you are curious about Roman Porno, you should start with this disc, as the film is one of the best released so far, if not the best, although for the uninitiated, you should be warned that there is some disturbing content in this film, including lots of rape and humiliation, violence and some bloody images in addition to lots of nudity and some (clearly consensual) sex. This Synapse Blu-ray is the best value for money I have seen when it comes to these Roman Porno films, so if you want to experience something unlike anything that would ever be made in the West, you should definitely pick up a copy.
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Star of David: Beautiful Girl Hunter (1979)
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