Skin of Roses (Japan, 1978)

Ritsuko is a popular madame of a nightclub. But, ever since her gangster husband got caught and imprisoned, her life has taken a turn for the worst. Now, in order to pay off his debts to a yakuza loan shark, Lady Ritsuko is forced to engage in private sex shows for the VIP clientele. After a year of these special shows, the loan is almost paid off.

Skin of Roses might be a hard sell for people uninitiated in the pinku eiga genre (pink film), but compared to many other entries in that field it feels more accessible and looks great too. It does venture into being torture porn as time goes on, but by then it had my full attention and induces feelings of painful sympathy rather than disregard. 

Like I said, for being a pink film it's very ambitious and a strong cinematic vision is present during the whole film. I mean, the director of the film, Katsuhiko Fuji, previously made films with titles such as Female Doctor: Flesh Slave, Rape Climax: Skinning and Horny Working Girl: From 5 to 9, so it's understandable if expectations aren't soaring, but in this particularly outlandish genre it's a welcomed, although sometimes uncomfortable experience.

Genre: Romance/Drama

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