Yokai Monsters-trilogy (Japan, 1968-69)

In the mid-60s a "yokai boom" swept across Japan following the successful release of the manga GeGeGe no Kitaro, centered around the spirits from Japanese folklore known as yokai. This prompted film studio Daiei to produce a trilogy of films about these bizarre creatures; Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (1968) and Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969).

It should be said that these films include a great deal of cheesy special effects but instead of feeling hopelessly outdated they're charming and campy in the right kind of way. The films make extensive use of practical special effects known as tokusatsu. They largely make use of actors in costumes and puppetry. In some scenes, there are even examples of traditional animation. 

If nothing else, these films should garner attention to the fascinating and vastly detailed world of yokai mythology which stretches far, far back in Japanese history. 

Genre: Action/Horror/Mystery.

Inferno of Torture (Japan, 1969)

High demand for tattooed geisha generates an entire industry for their "production". Europeans pay more for tattooed beauties. Against this background, and considering the gorgeous tattooed women develop the history of confrontation between two highly skilled masters of tattoo.

You just can't have the romance and the happy-go-lucky films without there being  a polar opposite, a negative to the positive. Inferno of Torture is a torture-porn blood party, with naked bodies covered with tattoos getting suspended and cut up. There's a story here somewhere under the humiliation of young, beautiful women but the dark subject matter definitely has the center stage. 

Directed by Terri Ishii who has been called the Godfather of J-sploitation, a genre of films mostly best watched in good company due to how ridiculous they are, though Inferno has other things going for it than just the gore. The Eastmancolor looks amazing and fits the theme perfectly with red, glowing blood flowing down the glistening skin. Obviously not for everyone but in its own sick, deranged genre it's a gem.

  

Genre: Crime/Drama/Horror

Orgies of Edo (Japan, 1969

A collection of stories dealing with punishment towards women. The first story; involves a woman forced into prostitution. The second: a woman is turned on by unattractive men who has threesomes with dwarfs. Her admirer disfigures himself so she will like him. The third: a sadistic and powerful man who has bulls with flaming horns charge into a courtyard of women wearing red who are forced to strip to avoid being gored.

With a plot like that, many may wonder what kind of freakish film is this? But it's better than it sound on paper. Director Teruo Ishii was known for his pinku films (softcore) and came fresh off the sets of titles such as Shogun's Joys of Torture (1968) and Horrors of Malformed Men (1969). In Orgies we follow different women in their struggles in feudal Japan, and boy does it get twisted. Nowadays the gore isn't something to write home about but just the sheer idea of some of it is really messed up. We see an ugly side of the feudal society that doesn't often gets the spotlight in samurai films. Beyond the nudity and suffering there's great production values, with gorgeous set design and depth to this hell hole rather than being an excuse to show naked women. Ishii gained a huge reputation for himself within his genre and when his smaller pink films was shown in cinemas years later he became known as Japan's King of Cult.

Maybe not a film to see with your loved ones on a Friday night, but if you want to venture into an obscure film history, Orgies may provide an interesting watch.

Genre: Drama/Horror

Eros + Massacre (Japan, 1969)

In the 1920s, the anarchist revolutionary Sakae Osugi is financially supported by his wife, journalist Itsuko Masaoka. He spends his time doing nothing but philosophizing about political systems and free love and visiting with his lovers Yasuko and the earlier feminist Noe Ito. In 1969, twenty-year-old student, Eiko Sokuta is sexually active with various men. Her friend, Wada, is obsessed with fire and they usually play odd games using a camera while they read about Osugi and Ito.

To begin with, Eros is three and a half hours long. No wait, don't go! I promise it's worth it...  Still here? Okay, good. I know it's a long stretch but Eros is visually spellbinding and features heavenly cinematography and composition. The narrative is sometimes confusing and feels very surreal, characters who're supposed to be living in a different time are showing up in present day. So, it's a bit hard to wrap your head around it, but it's one of the most important films from the Japanese New Wave movement which lasted from the late 1950s through the early 1970s. Not a film that everyone can get into, but a fine piece of cinema nonetheless.

Genre: Biography/Drama

Blind Beast (Japan, 1969)

A blind sculpter kidnaps a beautiful young model and takes her back to his home. He and his mother live in a warehouse that he has turned into a surreal tribute to the senses. It is filled with huge sculptures of body parts and the female form. He is obsessed with exploring the senses to the fullest. At first, the model only wants to escape from this bizarre scene, but eventually she succumbs to his strange vision and even surpasses his obsession.

Wow, Blind Beast. What a cool 60's, kinky and great film. The plot is so deliciously perverse and the sets are like the landscapes of a deranged and lonely mind. The script is nothing short of amazing, with lines like "People pity the blind, what a big mistake. I pity those who have sight. They can never know the tactile ecstasy of our caresses", or "The world of touch. The world of insects. The lower orders such as the jellyfish. Those who venture to the edge of such worlds, can expect only a dark, dank death to envelop them".  

Genre: Drama/Horror

Go, Go Second Time Virgin (Japan, 1969)

After being raped in an unknown rooftop, nineteen year-old girl Poppo meets a mysterious boy, and both share their sexual traumas and fears, with fatal consequences.

Go, Go Second Time Virgin I think is the first pink (or Pinku eiga) film on this blog, and it's one of the more well-known in the genre. Pink films are Japanese films with adult content basically, and it's a term that can be applied to many different genres such as drama or action as long they contain the pink film aspects.

Go, Go Second Time Virgin is a particular dark pink film, with an abundance of rape. That sounds very brutal, and it really is. It's not very long either, just barely over an hour, but still encompasses a lot of hardships and twisted youth.

Genre: Drama

Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (Japan, 1969)

Shinjuku Thief is the story of a bookstore thief named Birdey who is led through various adventures in Tokyo's Shinjuku district by salesgirl Umeko.

Shinjuku Thief is a juvenile tale of youth and young love. It's part of the Japanese New Wave that started in the late 50's and one of the directors that got some of the spotlight in this era was Nagisa Oshima. He would sooner direct the film In the Realm of Senses (1976), which is a film that became highly controversial due to its sexual content, but I digress.

It helps if you have an interest in old, Japanese classics, because otherwise it may not be not be your type of film. Look up a trailer for it and decide if it floats your boat. 

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Double Suicide (Japan, 1969)

In 18th Century in Japan, the paper merchant Jihei falls in love for the courtesan Koharu, but he can not afford to redeem her from her master and owner of the brothel, since he spent all his money in the place with Koharu. Jihei's wife Osan tries to keep her husband with his two children and asks Koharu to leave him. The two lovers make a pact of double suicide to escape from the rigid rules of the Japanese society of 1720 and stay together after death.

Double Suicide is based on an old play that was normally performed with puppets. Here, the puppets have been replaced with real actors, but the concept remains the same. Black-clad puppet masters is often seen in the background, hiding in the shadows and controlling the fate of the actors. You could call this a puppet play without strings, a really cool idea.   

Genre:  Drama