1971-1980

Toshiharu Ikeda made his directorial debut in 1980 with SUKEBAN MAFIA, a pinku eiga set around high school girls. After the opening requisite showdown between the female lead Onichan and one of the toughs from the local gang we witness one of the more brutal punishments you’ll see in anything pink. The Sukeban Mafia, the name the girl gang has chosen, not proper yakuza, invite Onichan and Miki to join them. First stop, working their prostitution ring. Miki is captivated by the power of the gang and ready to please but Onichan isn’t impressed. Of course the Sukeban Mafia will tolerate nothing less than complete devotion and the trouble begins…Read More »

Yumi, an exceptionally beautiful call girl, has a close call with death when a client forces her to die with him. An old cop pities her and agrees to be her guarantor so that she could join a Nishijin weaver workshop. Yumi wishes to put her dark past behind her, but she’s exposed by an ex-client. Despite the unwavered support of the old cop, she sees no way out and uses her seductive body again to get what she wants. Hiroyuki, her co-worker at the weaver workshop, is a pure-hearted young man who may redeem Yumi from her deadly path as a femme fatale.Read More »

After her husband goes to work, a Dutch housewife escapes into the world of erotic dreams.Read More »

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Troubled and sexually repressed Rosemary has serious issues with her estranged father abandoning her as a little girl at an orphanage. Rosemary neglects the carnal needs of her boyfriend John, so John turns to prostitute Unis to satisfy his lascivious desires. In the wake of her father’s sudden passing, Rosemary sinks into a deep depression and finds herself caught up in a surreal erotic nightmare world of sex and death.Read More »

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Dusty, a street smart, but desperately unhappy prostitute who works in Times Square, uses her body to survive; seducing, conning, and ripping off her johns. After moving in with Cherry, a cross-dressing male prostitute, Dusty hopes to find more solid financial footing and a stable future in the sex trade, that is, until she meets Bob, a young lawyer who lives on Staten Island, who falls in love with her, and she with him. With a chance to escape her miserable existence becoming a possibility, Dusty starts dreaming of a future she never thought possible. But can she escape her own destiny?Read More »

Cinderella traces the misadventures of our heroine, who, via the help of her “fairy” godmother, is granted heightened sexual prowess to win over Prince Charming.Read More »

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It is the story of a young man and a young woman who, despite suffering and tragedy, find their way to each other. Kumai tells the story with such sensitivity and intelligence and emotion to move everyone to the very depths of his soul. The music by Teizo Matsumura is perfect.Read More »

Shuji Terayama and J.A.Seazer’s phantasmagoric folk-psych-symph-prog-rock opera. Historical Tenjo Sajiki performance from 1978. A brief synopsis (for a somewhat different version of the play) is given below. Much of the symbolism of Shintokumaru is shared with Terayama’s earlier masterpiece motion picture Pastoral: to die in the country (also known as Pastoral hide-and-seek).Read More »

“The Dancing Hawk” refers to the son of a peasant who senses he can climb to the job in troubled times by playing his cards right. His slavery to work match his ambitions, and gradually he reaches the social position he desires. But the costs have included a dehumanized soul and a loss of a moral conscience. People have had to pay for his advancement, including those nearest to him. The downfall is equally painful: either imprisonment or the easy wasy out are offered as the alternatives.Read More »