Togawa (Joe Shishido, Branded to Kill) is released from prison early by his underworld bosses. They make him execute a daring heist on an armoured vehicle, knowing he has no choice but to do it, as he needs the money for his sister's surgery. With multiple partners and facets to the operation, much is at risk and all is never as it seems. A riff on Stanley Kubrick's The Killing from Nikkatsu's ˜Action' line, Takumi Furukawa directs this yakuza tale with every bit of the deftness found in classic American noir of the 1950s, featuring hard-boiled characters and enough twists to make your fedora spin. SPECIAL FEATURES High-Definition digital transfer of Cruel Gun Story, presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the world Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Audio commentary by author and filmmaker Jasper Sharp (2024) New introduction by critic and programmer Tony Rayns (2024, 21 mins) Visual essay by Japanese cinema expert Hayley Scanlon on Nikkatsu's noir films of the 1960s (2024, 12 mins) Archival interview with actor Joe Shishido (2006, 9 mins) Optional English subtitles
Gate of Flesh is one of the earliest examples of the sado-masochistic films called pinku eiga which galvanized Japanese Cinema during the 1970s. Directed by Seijun Suzuki considered one of the most important and influential voices in Japanese Cinema the film is set amidst the black markets and urban decay of Tokyo shortly after World War II had ended. Maya (Yumiko Nogawa) a young girl from a remote village with nowhere to go finds refuge with a gang of hookers living in a derelict building. The Women maintain order by adhering to a strict code the most important 'no sex without payment'. Those who break the code run the risk of enuring appalling punishment mostly at the hands of the gang's ringleader Komasa Sen (Satoko Kasai). The harmony of the group s broken when a violent ex-soldier on the run from the police Ibuki (Joe Shishido) seeks refuge in the building. All the women are drawn to Ibuki especially Maya resulting in trouble for both of them.
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