Nikkatsu "Roman Porno" Films coming to Blu-ray

[McCrutchy]

And here are the Amazon pre-orders (though remember, they are categorized as "Adult" by Amazon, and they will not ship them outside of Japan):

July 4th, 2017:



A box set, which contains:



October 3rd, 2017:



January 6th, 2018:

[Takuma]

The Reboot films are finally coming to BD:

Aroused by Gymnopedies

2017/09/02
Extras:
Making of
Stage greeting
Trailer
Commentary (Isao Yukisada and Itsuji Itao)

Wet Woman in the Wind

2017/09/02
Extras:
Making of
Stage greeting
Trailer
Commentary (Akihiko Shiota, Yuki Mamiya and Tasuku Nagaoka)

Dawn of the Felines

2017/09/02
Extras:
Making of
Stage greeting
Trailer
Commentary (Kazuya Shiraishi, Juri Ihata, Satsuki Maue, Michié)

Antiporno

2017/09/02
Extras:
Making of
Stage greeting
Trailer
Commentary (Sion Sono, Ami Tomite and Mariko Tsutsui)

White Lily

2017/09/02
Extras:
Making of
Stage greeting
Trailer
Commentary (Hideo Nakata, Rin Asuka, Kaori Yamaguchi)


2017/09/02
- All 5 films
- Bonus disc: "That's Roman Porno Reboot"
- Booklet

No subs of course! These should be the theatrical R18 versions, not the R15 versions which Nikkatsu is distributing in Japan via digital platforms and TV.

I saw all of them in cinema!

Aroused by Gymnopedies (Japan, 2016) [DCP] - 4/5
Terrific start for Nikkatsu's Roman Porno Reboot Series. The unexpectedly touching drama follows an indie director past his prime, with a wife is in hospital, a film project demolished by an uncooperative actress, and bills piling up. Like some of the best Roman Porno's, this one feels completely of its time. What is different is not only the low key approach that sets it apart from the more carnivalistic film biz Roman Porno's, but its approach to women. Beautiful as ever, but also independent and fascinating. Case in point: a seductive young lady decides she's not ready for it after all, and rejects him after having undressed. Our protagonist is sent back to his regular state of mixed irritation and melancholy. This wouldn't have happened in the genre back in the day, nor the characterization that immediately follows. Itsuji Itao is excellent as the half-pitiable, half-scumbag director, and co-star Sumire Ashina is a real discovery. Moments of humour are perfectly fused into the otherwise quiet film. Oh, and there are 6 sex scenes in 83 minutes, nearly all justified by the story.

Wet Woman in the Wind (Japan, 2016) [DCP] – 3.5/5
“Times have changed, men have changed, but women’s beauty remains.” Nikkatsu's ad for their Roman Porno reboot captured something essential about the series. At 1100+ films made between 1971 and 1988 the series was incredibly diverse, but always tied to its time. So is this film. The glorious days 35mm smut may be gone, but so are the days when Japanese erotica equalled to women lying on their back and moaning. Wet Woman in the Wind comes with one sexual Duracell bunny of titular character (excellent Yuri Mamiya), a woman who won’t take “no” for an answer from a male playwright seeking peace and solitude by camping alone in the countryside. A sexual war ensues where “he” is the passive party. Loaded with loaded with sex, but unlike most of the 70s and 80s Roman Porno films, there’s both spirit and plenty of laughs to the action. While a drama comedy, the film's tackling of gender issues and social outcasts resembles the films of Tatsumi Kumashiro, whom director Shiota stated as his primary inspiration. With swift pace and solid performances, the only major negative is the piss poor score. A new Roman Porno classic this may not be, but it’s a fun, trendy film, better than 95% of the genre’s original output.

Dawn of the Felines (Japan, 2017) [DCP] - 3/5
Like many slice of life films, this realistic look at the lives of three Tokyo prostitutes is a bit of a slow burner. It takes its time and paints a bleak, de-eroticised image of everyone. Helmed by the youngest of the Roman Porno Reboot directors, Kazuya Shiraishi, it also feels the most modern. The film looks digital and is poorly lit, with next to no shadow detail. An artistic choice perhaps, but combined with shaky handheld camera it works against the film. There are, however, moments where , existential tones shine through the images and the film manages to captures something of its era. In terms of realism, the film gets halfway there. Most of the characters feel real, and you begin to care for them as the film goes on, but there are also once-in-a-lifetime encounters and comedic moments that feel out of place.

Antiporno (Japan, 2016) [DCP] - 4/5
Roman Porno Reboot film no. 4. This takes a bit of digesting. Sion Sono's big middle finger to Roman Porno, society, men, filmmakers. Art, abuse, rape, vomit, schoolgirls. Lots of full frontal. Three hours of dialogue packed into 76 min, delivered almost always shouting. Non-stop classical music. Tokyo Ga-Ga-Ga. Shot mostly in one room. Amazing visuals. Multiple layers of fiction and reality. Metafilm. Feminist statement. Poignant, pretentious, excessive. Likely to anger most audiences regardless of sex. Ami Tomite totally hot. Cool. Take the title seriously.

White Lily (Japan, 2016) [DCP] - 1.5/5
Hideo Nakata hasn't made an interesting film in almost two decades. His Roman Porno Reboot film does little to change this. The embarrassingly bad lesbian drama is like an arthouse film directed with the finesse of a 70s porno director, or alternatively, a horny, heterosexual male without a clue about women. Probably the most ridiculous thing about the film is extremely LOUD moaning from all females from the slightest of touch. There is something good about the film, however. The last 20 minutes is twisted and darkly humoristic; like The Family Game goes Roman Porno. But it's too late. Oh and won't somebody please tell Nakata that combining eros and pottery wheel has been a bad idea since 1991.


Overall I must say the Roman Porno Reboot project was just about the coolest thing to hit the theatres in years. Nikkatsu did terrific job hyping and branding the hell out of this. The release strategy was perfect as well. Where I live they only gave each film only a one week run, releasing them back to back on 5 consecutive weeks. So for I was going to cinema for 5 weeks in a row to see a new Roman Porno film every week. Something to remember!

Speaking of remembering, although my favourites of the films were Antiporno and Aroused by Gymnopedies, it's Wet Woman in the Wind that I will be remembering best. Nikkatsu totally nailed their attempt at trendy new cinema with that one. I took my girlfriend to see that on my second viewing, just so that 40 years from now we can remember how we went to see Roman Porno in cinema when we were young. She enjoyed it quite a bit as well, and it's totally a film that you can take an open minded girl to see as it's lots of fun for both sexes.

[McCrutchy]

Here are the Reboot releases in the database. They aren't actually listed as "adult" items by Amazon.co.jp, but they still cannot be ordered internationally from them:

[King Arthur]

interesting...

[logboy]

quite a long wait, so wondering where else will issue them on discs & how long the wait will be. HK, next year ... ?!

[simaya-san]

I am afraid that only Antiporno will get an english-friendly release. Would love to see the other movies...

[McCrutchy]

Amazon.co.jp exclusive with Post Card set:

[neo_reloaded]

Where can these be ordered that ships internationally?

[Masa]

If Amazon.jp don't ship internationally, then use mail forwarders such as Tenso.

[neo_reloaded]

Is that very expensive?

[Masa]

I don't know how much it costs since i never used it. u can check the cost:

http://www.tenso.com/en/estimate

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Masa

I don't know how much it costs since i never used it. u can check the cost:

https://www.tenso.com/en/estimate

I've used Tenso and Baggage Forward. I prefer the latter but both are fine. Prices are reasonable, all things considered.

[Takuma]

Fantastic news! Happiness will be releasing more Roman Porno films!
- http://www.happinet-p.com/jp3/releases/category/moviej

2018/06/02

DVD
Afternoon Affair: Metamorphosis 昼下りの情事　変身 (1973)
Enka jōshikō: kizudarake no kaben (怨歌情死考　傷だらけの花弁) (1973)
The Rose and the Whip 薔薇と鞭 (1975)
Girl's Pleasure: Man Hunting (横須賀男狩り　少女・悦楽) (1977)
Last Cabaret ラスト・キャバレー (1988)

Blu-ray
Rope Hell 原作・団鬼六「やくざ天使」より　縄地獄 (1978)
Ai no hakuchumu 愛の白昼夢 (1980)
Pink Hip Girl: Proposal Strategy 桃尻娘　プロポーズ大作戦 (1980)

I've seen most of these. Girl's Pleasure: Man Hunting is a small gem, an unpredictable, skillfully written female revenge drama that turns gender gender roles upside down and in some ways pre-dated Tarantino by 15 years. Pink Hip Girl: Proposal Strategy is pretty enjoyable youth film, not as good as the 1st but much better than the 2nd, and filmed very near to where I live! Last Cabaret and Ai no hakuchumu are passable dramas, nothing special though. Rope Hell is one of the more watchable SM films though I don't think it's anything too special.

2018.10.02

DVD
Seduction 2: Embrace of the White Angel 白い天使の抱擁 (1972)
Seigōretsuden: shindemoraimasu 性豪列伝　死んで貰います (1972)
Love Affair Exposed 覗かれた情事 (1972)
Junko’s Bliss 順子わななく (1978)
Lesbians in Uniform 2 制服 百合族　2 (note: title change. Original is セーラー服　百合族２) (1983)

BD
Sayuri Ichijo: Following Desire 一条さゆり　濡れた欲情 (1972)
Jealousy Game ジェラシー・ゲーム (1982)
Lesbians in Uniform 制服 百合族 (note: title change. Original is セーラー服　百合族) (1983)

From these ones I haven't seen that many, but I'm interested in Seigōretsuden: shindemoraimasu just because shinde moraimasu is a yakuza expression, and Jealousy Game which is a pretty good motorbike road movie drama by Yoichi Higashi, starring former pinky violence bunny Reiko Oshida.

2019.02.02

DVD
Confessions of an Adolescent Wife: Shocking! おさな妻の告白　衝撃 ショック (1973)
Office Lady Journal: Poaching ＯＬ日記　密漁 あさる (1973)
New Apartment Wife: Prostitution In Building #113 新・団地妻　売春グループ１３号館 (1975)
Rape Climax: Skinning クライマックスレイプ　剥ぐ！ (1979)
Women In Heat Behind Bars 檻の中の欲しがる女たち (1987)

BD
Lady Moonflower 夕顔夫人 (1976)
Woman’s Trail: Wet Path おんなの細道　濡れた海峡 (1980)
Live Act: Top Stripper (本)噂のストリッパー (1982)

Woman’s Trail: Wet Path is a small gem, a very beautiful and melacholic drama with a truly beautiful score. If Wong Kar Wai had been a Roman Porno director, this is the film he would have made.

Lets hope this isn't all, and that some day we'll finally get some of the real masterpieces like Female Delinquent: A Docu-Drama or Rape Ceremony, or some of the rares that I've never been able to see like Circuit of Sorrow (aka Love and Death at Fuji Speedway).

[p_cqvist]

Thank you very much for the write-up!

Haven't seen any of these so I can't offer any additional insight. I was initially hoping for another Hasebe film but after having checked up on a few of these it looks like a pretty good line-up.

Would've liked a BD of the first Pink Hip Girl entry though as that's one of my favorites, really curious as to why they opted for the third one instead.

[Takuma]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

January 6th, 2018:

btw, this release was cancelled.

Originally Posted by p_cqvist

Would've liked a BD of the first Pink Hip Girl entry though as that's one of my favorites, really curious as to why they opted for the third one instead.

Probably because the first two are already out on DVD... which being said, I would have expected the 3rd one to come out on DVD as as well...

Another funny thing is how they're putting Lesbians in Uniforms 1 out on BD and Lesbians in Uniforms 2 is coming out on DVD the same day...

From all the releases, Girl's Pleasure: Man Hunting is the only one I gonna get for sure. Jealousy Game and Woman’s Trail: Wet Path (which I saw on VoD after missing it bloody 3 times on 35mm!) I might pick up as well. Also slightly interested in Seigōretsuden: shindemoraimasu and Live Act: Top Stripper but I need more convincing first.

[stobbart]

Aside from FAIRY IN A CAGE are there any other of these films that have English friendly releases?

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by stobbart

Aside from FAIRY IN A CAGE are there any other of these films that have English friendly releases?

Not on Blu-ray. 堕靡泥の星 美少女狩り (Star of David: Hunting for Beautiful Girls) (1979) was apparently released in Austria, but only with German and Japanese audio and German subtitles.

Synapse are releasing 檻の中の欲しがる女たち (Woman in Heat Behind Bars) (1987) (which is being released on DVD in Japan next February, per the latest announcement) on DVD in April 2018, but for some reason, that Synapse have not commented on, there won't be a Blu-ray, even though the film was remastered in 2017.

[McCrutchy]

Just added the newly announced releases to the database:

June 2nd, 2018:



October 2nd, 2018:



February 2nd, 2019:



I have to say, I'm not sure what to make of only three releases at a time, and nine releases total. That's four less than the previous 2017-18 wave (three less, if you don't count the January title that got cancelled), without counting the Reboot releases. I hope that Nikkastu aren't winding down the series already, especially when so few of the films have made it to Blu-ray.

[Takuma]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

I hope that Nikkastu aren't winding down the series already, especially when so few of the films have made it to Blu-ray.

Yeah. Especially when so few of the films have made to any any sort of disc at all. Speaking of which, and just for fun, here are my most wanted films that are not available even on DVD anywhere in the world. Blu's would be more than welcome.

Top 10 Wanted: Films I've Never Seen
1. Circuit of Sorrow (aka Love and Death at Fuji Speedway) (哀愁のサーキット) (Toru Murakawa, 1972)
2. Sex Rider: Injured Lust (セックス・ライダー　傷だらけの欲情) (Koretsugu Kurahara, 1973)
3. Attack! (襲え！) (Yukihiro Sawada, 1978)
4. Red Rope - Until I Expire (赤い縄　～果てるまで～) (Junichi Suzuki, 1987) *
5. Rape Frenzy: Five Minutes Before Graduation (卒業五分前　群姦リンチ) (Yukihiro Sawada, 1977)
6. True Story of Sex and Violence In a Female High School (番格　女子高校生のＳＥＸと暴力の実態) (Koretsugu Kurahara, 1973)
7. Kanto County Sex Unit (Bankaku: Kantō sex gundan) (バンカク　関東ＳＥＸ軍団) (Keiichi Ozawa, 1973)
8. Melancholy Flesh Business: Sensuous Zone (官能地帯　哀しみの女街) (1972) (Tooru Murakawa, 1972)
9. Rape Hurricane: Saku (レイプハリケーン　裂く！！) (Nobuaki Shirai, 1979)
10. Love Affair In Purgatory (さいはての情事) (Keiichi Ozawa, 1973)

Top 10 Wanted: Films I've Seen But Lack DVD release
1. Female Delinquent: A Docu-Drama (実録不良少女　姦) (Toshiya Fujita, 1977)
- Fujita's (Lady Snowblood) best film, an ultra-violent, ultra-realistic delinquent girl docu-drama with amazing rock soundtrack and fantastic performances. The best Roman Porno ever made.


2. Rape Ceremony (暴行儀式) (Kichitaro Negishi, 1980)
- Misleadingly titled, existential drama about two generations of violent men. A group of bitter, out of job school graduates take revenge on a former biker gang who disbanded under police pressure and shattered the kids' only plan for future, joining the gang. No rape ceremony in the film. Could easily have been an ATG release. The 2nd best Roman Porno ever.


3. Bu-ra-i no onna (ＢＵ・ＲＡ・Ｉの女) (Osamu Murakami, 1988)
Superb yakuza drama that pre-dated Sonatine by a few years. A young yakuza is sent to Okinawa to assassinate a gang boss, but he doesn't have the courage to do it, and ends up hanging out with old friends instead. Contains the most beautiful and touching love scene I have ever seen.


4. Erotic Liaisons (エロチックな関係) (Yasuharu Hasebe, 1978)
Super stylish, extremely "European" neo-noir based on a French detective novel. Yuya Uchida is a private detective who falls in love with a gangster boss' lady. Notable for exceptionally strong female roles. Koji Wakamatsu released a miserable remake in the 90s.


5. Assault (暴行！) (Yukihiro Sawada, 1976)
Sam Peckinpah meets John Woo in a melancholic thriller drama. A lonely man has to take a stand after his runaway wife comes back home... with a bunch of violent gangsters, one whom has a bullet in his stomach. The last 10 minutes is an amazing ballet of violence.


6. From Orion's Testimony: Formula for Murder (オリオンの殺意より　情事の方程式) (Kichitaro Negishi, 1978)
This was one of the several trendy films Nikkatsu released in the late 70s in an attempt to push Roman Porno to mainstream audiences. A drama thriller of a boy whose step mom convinces him to murder his father. Contains a great non-sexual relationship between the protagonist and a girl who loves listening to African music.


7. Girl and the Wooden Horse Torture (団鬼六　少女木馬責め) (Fumihiko Kato, 1982) **
Visually stylish and surreal psychological drama about a bullied school girl and her (physically) sick teacher who is fired after being framed for rape. They meet years later after she's become a business woman and he's become homeless. Although based on a Oniroku Dan story, this is more like an Angel Guts films with an SM theme. Scrip by Takashi Ishii.


8. Exotic Mask in Hell (団鬼六　妖艶能面地獄) (Fumihiko Kato, 1988) **
Atmospheric horror meet SM tale of a woman who travels to a small village in the mountains and discovers something's rotten with the people there. Another Oniroku Dan story that becomes something more in Fumihiko Kato's hands.


9. Modern Prostitution: Lust Under Uniform (現代娼婦考　制服の下のうずき) (Chusei Sone, 1974)
Stylish, documentary style slice of life drama. Unfairly bashed by Thomas Weisser, who absolutely had not seen it (like most films he has reviewed)


10. Hakuchu no onnagari (白昼の女狩り) (Chusei Sone, 1984/2012)
This isn't necessarily a great film, but it remains a great curiosity. A violent thriller about a bunch of "soldiers" playing human hunting game with live ammo. Completed in 1984 but not released until 2012 (reasons are not clear, but most likely Nikkatsu felt it was too dark for Roman Porno)


* This is not an Angel Guts film, despite Mr. Weisser coming up with fake titles (and fake stories, fake reviews, fake plot summaries etc) for his book and that fake info being distributed over the web...

** These two technically speaking have DVD releases available, however, I believe they are budget releases utilizing old VHS masters, not released by Geneon/Happinet/Nikkatsu.

[jmat91]

Sigh...still no updates on English friendly releases. Such a great catalogue with HD masters ready, can someone please please please pick these up in the US or UK.