The 1970s through 1990s saw a boom in transgressive genre filmmaking throughout Asia, but particularly in Japan where the "Pinku Eiga" became one of the most popular types of films produced in the country. With young filmmakers seizing an opportunity to hone their craft, countless soon-to-be celebrated directors created work which were more daring, unusual, and often shocking than just about any of the other genre cinema ergering across the globe. Pink Line will present exclusive new restorations of select works from key Asian erotic filmmakers, with a focus on Japan's Pinku Eiga genre.
Releases
PL-001: The Films of Hisayasu Satō: Volume #1 — Lustmord aka Pleasure Kill (1987) / Re-Wind aka Celluloid Nightmare (1988) / Love Letter In the Sand aka Pervert Ward: Torturing the White Uniform (1988) [Limited Edition][Standard Edition]
[Show spoiler]
Quote:
The Films of Hisayasu Satō: Volume #1 - Re-Wind / Lustmord / Love Letter In the Sand
The 1970s through 1990s saw a boom in transgressive genre filmmaking throughout Asia, but particularly in Japan where the "Pinku Eiga" became one of the most popular types of films produced in the country. With young filmmakers seizing an opportunity to hone their craft, countless soon-to-be celebrated directors created work which were more daring, unusual, and often shocking than just about any of the other genre cinema ergering across the globe. Pink Line will present exclusive new restorations of select works from key Asian erotic filmmakers, with a focus on Japan's Pinku Eiga genre.
One of the most esteemed and transgressive filmmakers ever to work in Japan's explosively popular Pink Film genre, Hisayasu Satô crafted erotic films that were both genre-defying and artfully-minded. While Satô's work is infused with horror and thriller tropes, it boasts a punk and avant-garde aesthetic singularly his own. In this debut release, Pink Line begins to explore this immense body of work with three of Satô's most outlandish and profound features, each newly and exclusively restored in 2K from their 35mm original camera negatives with newly-translated English subtitles, all under the supervision of Satô himself.
In LUSTMORD (aka Pleasure Kill), Satô commences his meditation on the fusion of sex and death. Eiji, a reclusive and awkward teenage boy, is fixated on creating a serum capable of breaking down the barrier between pleasure and pain, much to the dismay of his research physician mother. Deciding to conduct his own experiments, Eiji slips the serum to several women, but is unprepared for the horrifying results. Later remade by Satô as the straight horror feature Naked Blood, this early directing effort conjures a remarkable waking nightmare approach, as the impending threat of violence and insanity permeates every scene as it builds towards a typically cynical and cryptic conclusion.
RE-WIND (aka Celluloid Nightmare) functions as Satô's tribute to Michael Powell's masterpiece Peeping Tom. After a grisly, point-of-view snuff videotape is found in a refrigerator, a young man becomes obsessed with discovering who made it and whether or not the brutal murder was real. As he delves into Tokyo's underground video scene, his own perversions come to the fore as he grows ever closer to uncovering the shocking truth, alongside a female reporter who calls herself Crime Hunter. Fusing gruesome gore and raw sex while wryly playing with the artifice inherent to the video format, RE-WIND remains one of Satô's most powerful and impressive early works.
LOVE LETTER IN THE SAND (aka Pervert Ward: Torturing the White Uniform), is Satô crafting a noir-inspired erotic thriller, using blazing, heavily-gelled color. During a month of unusually heavy rain in Tokyo, a mystery assailant has been brutally assaulting and killing people with a metal bat. When a handsome young man with amnesia is found outside an area hospital, the nurse who discovered him begins to suspect that he may in fact be the assailant. But her own strange erotic fixations with him, and the questionable involvement of the doctor tasked with the amnesia victim, lead them all down an increasingly twisted path of deeply-rooted trauma and violence.
Additional info:
* 2-Disc Region Free Blu-ray
* 40-page perfect bound book (limited edition only) includes essays by Ariel Esteban Cayer, Tori Potenza, and Jasper Sharp
* Reversible cover artwork
* Newly translated English subtitles
Lustmord
* Commentary track with Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp for Lustmord
* "Kill Kill" - an interview with director Hisayasu Satô
* "Written in Blood" - an interview with writer Taketoshi Watari
* "Walking in Circles" - a locations featurette with director Hisayasu Satô covering all three films
Re-Wind
* Commentary track with film critic Simon Abrams
* "Visual Pleasure" - an interview with director Hisayasu Satô
* "Caught in the Act" - an interview with actress Kiyomi Itô
* "Shooting His Shot" - an interview with writer Yumeno Shiro
Love Letter in the Sand
* Commentary track with film historian & author Samm Deighan
* "Medical Mayhem" - an interview with director Hisayasu Satô
* "Pretty in Pink" - an interview with filmmaker Risaku Kiridoshi
I would give … a ridiculous amount… for a Hisayasu Satô gay pinku collection.
I hope it’s not just stuff 88 has already released in the UK, high hopes for some real insane stuff.
Most of Sato's movies are great. His gay pink films are really interesting and visually striking such as "Muscle" and "Bondage Ecstasy". I'm curious if any film material exists for either movie. The current video editions look awful.
Would like to see the rest of the Flower and Snake films get released, I believe the first one was released on blu from Synapse. Basically anything with Naomi Tani I will buy.
... but am i to take it these pink titles will only be through VS and not other retailers?
a potential killer on navigating postage to the UK.
Only if they sell out quick. Otherwise I'll just buy them from VS, postage is around £16 at the moment so I wait until there's enough I want to buy to justify spending that. I have noticed that most of what I buy gets put out at sale prices before I've gotten around to watching it so I don't think I'm saving much money but that's the routine.
Only if they sell out quick. Otherwise I'll just buy them from VS, postage is around £16 at the moment so I wait until there's enough I want to buy to justify spending that.
only had a few VS, and not for years. wowhd do stock some, but not reliable. more a question of no stock going elsewhere, where i would be possible to save. i have asked wowhd for 'freeze me', but they're happy with 'the golden child', and haven't moved yet.
Can’t keep up, how do people know this is a set and not a single release dropping Monday?
From an e-mail newsletter sent Wednesday:
"the debut of our new Sub-Label Pink Line on both the VS and Mélusine sites, which will likely rank as amongst the craziest multi-film sets we've ever done.*"
only had a few VS, and not for years. wowhd do stock some, but not reliable. more a question of no stock going elsewhere, where i would be possible to save. i have asked wowhd for 'freeze me', but they're happy with 'the golden child', and haven't moved yet.
Fair enough, if you only buy the odd title then I agree it is a pain. Personally I buy direct mainly because of the customer service, VS discs do sometimes come damaged or even broken (I've had at least three cracked from the centre) and they replace them stress-free.
From an e-mail newsletter sent Wednesday:
"the debut of our new Sub-Label Pink Line on both the VS and Mélusine sites, which will likely rank as amongst the craziest multi-film sets we've ever done.*"
Thanks, I’m 100% in for this one no matter what it is in that case.
I really hope Pink Line releases "Girl and the Wooden Horse Torture", one of the best pink films ever made. The movie has a creative storyline and gorgeous cinematography.
Since I don't know about pink films I watched a 12-minute documentary last night that because it's so short really doesn't go too much in depth, but it still is informative for those who have no experience with the genre. It touches on budgets, editing, censorship and gives a brief history. There's also some personal viewpoints from stars and directors. I thought it was worth seeing.
I would link to it but the site it was on is NSFW and I assume moderators frown upon that sort of thing here. But I'm sure you can find it with a quick google search (the doc has quite a bit of nudity fyi).
What is Pink Eiga? (2011)
Directed by Ayumu Oda
Featuring: Asami, Daisuke Gotô, Masahide Iioka, Yutaka Ikejima, Reiko Yamaguchi, Yukio Kitazawa, Yōko Satomi
I’m excited for all their releases and if what they’re saying about not repeating the same titles as 88 Films is true then that’s even better.
the nikkatsu RP? slightly different stuff. pink films are independent studio productions, low budget. nikkatsu created the roman porno identity to differentiate them as their productions, with higher budgets.
Since I don't know about pink films I watched a 12-minute documentary last night that because it's so short really doesn't go too much in depth, but it still is informative for those who have no experience with the genre. It touches on budgets, editing, censorship and gives a brief history. There's also some personal viewpoints from stars and directors. I thought it was worth seeing.
I would link to it but the site it was on is NSFW and I assume moderators frown upon that sort of thing here. But I'm sure you can find it with a quick google search (the doc has quite a bit of nudity fyi).
What is Pink Eiga? (2011)
Directed by Ayumu Oda
Featuring: Asami, Daisuke Gotô, Masahide Iioka, Yutaka Ikejima, Reiko Yamaguchi, Yukio Kitazawa, Yōko Satomi
That was great, thanks. I am getting more excited for this sublabel the more I hear about the genre. I knew nothing about it when VS first announced it. Only a half hour until we get to see VS's first release!
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