Pink Wives

Enjoyed the Pink comedy, The Japanese Wife Next Door (2004) with my wife and a sip of 18-year Chivas this evening. The scrumptious Reiko Yamaguchi (right) stars in the title role, giving both an adequate acting job, and enough sex appeal to keep the usually boring sex scenes interesting. Apparently, from what I can determine, this is actually the second film in the duet which Jasper Sharp translates/reviews as "Family Gets Rude". This one is Family Gets Rude Chapter 2: Unequalled Limits (淫乱なる一族　第二章　絶倫の果てに - Inran naru ichizoku: Daini-shô: Zetsurin no hate ni; 2004; theatrical poster: below, left), re-released in 2007 as Sex family 2: Hanayome wa do-inran (セックスファミリー２　花嫁はド淫乱; theatrical poster: below, right). The story concerns a young guy who unknowingly marries a nymphomaniac. Their acrobatic sex wears him out, so she then screws around with his father, next his grandfather, and even works her way over to his frigid sister. It's a good thing the family didn't have a dog! Good old "Mister Pink", Yutaka Ikejima, directed it from a script by his own wife, the prolific Kyôko Godai.
Ikejima's presence also provides this Pink Eiga DVD with some interesting, enthusiastic and informative extras. Eight out of Ten stars from me. My wife enjoyed it too, though she claimed she didn't. Yeah, right, if she doesn't like Pink films, why did she insist I put on Whore Angels after it?

More Toudou with Karen

I spent most of my online time today polishing and posting a few entries to this blog. While doing so I came across a hoard of new pictures of the always-welcome Karen Toudou from her QDN-08 DVD. A considerable percentage of my time online was spent capturing these. Above left you see just one of the many fine and upstanding images from this haul. And at right you can see one more offering from this evening's crop, in which she is relieving some of the strain from her over-stuffed kimono. It's back to Pink Film Archive work tomorrow-- I'll probably start by posting the findings from the past week.


Last night's delving into the realm of B-cinema brought up I Am a Criminal (1938), another in the long and prolific, but lackluster filmography of director William Nigh whose career I seem to be unintentionally following lately. This is actually an above-average effort from the director, for Monogram Pictures. It starts out looking like a typical crime film, as its title, reminiscent of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) led me to expect. But after an early, talky showdown between the new DA and the town's big racketeer, it took a left turn at Albah-koiky and turned into a warm-hearted little buddy-film between the racketeer and an orphan. The ending was actually rather touching. Seven stars out of Ten-- So far in our survey of Nigh's oeuvre, this is his career high-point.

Bulbasaurus Rex

I spent the day's online time making a big push to get the Nakamura Eigeki poster identification project completed. I made a pretty good dent in it, getting up to the last poster (#1399) but I have to go back and pick up a few pages of posters that didn't have text linked to them, which will make their identification much more difficult. The next step, after finishing with these numerical listings, will be to go through the alphabetic listings and swap out any posters that have better resolution. The alphabetic lists also sometimes have better identifying text-- including plot summaries.
I also downloaded the new batch of 15 large posters from the same site today. I found quite a few new films and posters. A highlight of the day's work was a new poster to the 2006 film Hadaka no sanshimai: Inkô in its 2010 re-release as Tonari no sanshimai yari kurabe (隣の三姉妹　やりくらべ; seen above left). Starring the lovely Sakurako Kaoru (right) and picking up awards for Best Film (10th), Best New Director (Yasufumi Tanaka) at the Pink Taishô, and Pearl Prize at the Pinky Ribbon Awards, it sounds like one worth looking for.


In anticipation of the announced Cheech & Chong reunion film my son has been interested in seeing one of their old films. I found a cheap copy of Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (1981), made an Easter gift of it and watched it with him (with Korean subtitles on for the wife). It was the first time for my wife to see one of these-- They were no doubt banned in Korea at the time of release, drug humor being off-limits. She laughed at times, but after the film claimed not to be at all favorably impressed. Come to think of it, even in the wilder Japanese cinema-- as extreme as it can go into sex and violence-- I can't think of any film genre there comparable to our own esteemed drug comedies. As I remember from the old days, Cheech and Chong's films usually started out with a few mildly funny little bits, then drifted off into dull aimlessness. Actually I think this is the first time I ever made it through to the end of one of their films. I wonder if the reunion film is going to be of the same low quality as these old brain-dead comedies, or if the ensuing decades will bring some improvement to their work together... Stupid, gross-out comedies can be fun, of course. They don't need to be god-awful. In fact I enjoy a good one now and then. We'll probably go and see the new one when it comes out no matter the reviews. I'll be prepared for the worst, but hold out dim hopes for better. As far as the old one we saw today: Got a couple real laughs out of it in the first half hour, then was bored for an hour. Six out of Ten. My son's at the age where he's a little too old for an Easter egg hunt, but he's still young enough to be disappointed not to have the Easter egg hunt, so the Cheech and Chong DVD made a good compromise. They now join his other not-to-be-emulated role models Harold and Kumar. Meanwhile, in these pics from her blog, the gorgeous LUU dons a Pokémon get-up to remind dear old Dad of innocent days not so long past. The thought of spending time playing with a couple Bulbasaurs never looked so tempting...

Much Tôdô About Karen

In Boobpedia-worthy news, at left heavenly Karen Toudou announces her upcoming Hyperedge DVD: QDN-17. Ah, full-figured, intelligent-looking Asian women in glasses. Have I mentioned yet my great, life-long fondness for these? And Karen is one of the loveliest such models in the industry. I'm sure we who admire this type all look forward to further news from Ms. Toudou, and wish her well in her future career. Shall we use this as an excuse to recap her work to date? Yes, let's!


She first burst upon the scene in September 2007 inaugurating BBW-specialist director Timio Juvorenup's JAMS New Sexy Zone series with the DVD Ultra Buxom Woman!! Akiba Super Tits Girl (ウルトラボイン！！アキバ系超乳女子 - Urutoraboin!! Akibakei chônyûjoshi; SND-01). She seems to have stuck with JAMS throughout her DVD career. In March 2008 she appeared in the the studio's Three Sets of Super Tits: Made In Busty Girl (３連超乳　－メイド　イン　ボイン－ - 3-ren chônyû: Meido in boin; SND-04), and at right we see her preparing for some heavy dusting in the December 2008 Big Boobs Dance 2 (Bodirasu 2 - ボディラス2; FGB-02).




In February 2009, she appeared in Glamour Idol Obscene Filming Association (グラマーアイドル淫虐撮影会; Guramaa aidoru ingyaku satsueikai; JXD-30). At left she prepares for action in the January 2010 release, Spit and Big Boobs Married Woman (Tsuba guchu boin tsuma: Muchi kosu hatsujô bokki kui Tôdô Karen - (唾ぐちゅボイン妻 むちコス発情勃起喰い　藤堂カレン; VOL-02).










At right she harries her poor working-stiff of husband, just home from the office and can't get no rest! in I Married Big Woman. She Eats Boners! She is Busty Covered with Saliva!! (Okusama wa kyo-onna: Bakushiri bokki kui! Tsuba-guchu boin! ! - 奥様は巨女 爆尻ボッキ喰い！唾ぐちゅボイン！！; April 2011 ; QDN-08, translated title courtesy of Fetish World)... Poor guy!







And above, in her last known appearance, before the one we are all now anticipating, the tables are turned on her. In this scene from the September 2011 Pocha Queen series DVD, Plump, Busty Woman! Marshmellow Body (ハミ乳豊満女子！おさまりきらないマシマロ膨張ボディー - Hami-nyuu houman joshi! Osamari kiranai mashimaro bouchou body; FAT-004) dear Karen takes a rest, unwittingly laying out too tempting a morsel for a fellow to resist.

After this reminiscence of Ms. Toudou's work, the evening's movie entertainment saw me returning to the theme of '30s horror icons mis-cast as Asians. (See March 7, when I took a look at Bela Lugosi in The The Mysterious Mr. Wong). Last night I saw The Fatal Hour (1940) with Boris Karloff as Mr. Wong, detective (no relation to Bela's Mr. Wong, evil coin collector). Karloff takes a different tack from Bela in playing Chinese. Bela hammed it to the hilt, putting on a "Chinese" accent, which came out very bizarre since it was colored by his own thick Hungarian accent. Karloff, on the other hand, plays Mr. Wong as... Karloff, pretty much. He's a bit more soft-spoken than usual, but other than that it's just Karloff. Interesting, except that Karloff doesn't look Chinese by any stretch of the imagination... I have it in a horror collection, which seems odd, since the film is just a middling-to-passable little poverty row mystery. Nothing horrifying about it except for the mis-cast Karloff when there were no doubt dozens of real Asian actors who could have played the role, and the murders inevitable in such mysteries. This is the fourth in Karloff's Mr. Wong series, directed by Monogram Pictures' competent, but pedestrian William Nigh. I give it a solid Five out of Ten.

Gang Busters

I spent my morning 20 minutes online returning to the Nakamura Eigeki project, starting at #AF501, which means I've got about 800 more posters to sift through (though, actually, about half have already been done). I stopped at #500 on Friday, then spent the weekend online time updating this blog, adding chit-chat to justify posting gratuitous images of plump Asian beauties and old movie posters. Speaking of the former, say "Howdy ma'am" to earth-goddess Tamaki Yasuoka at left.

You know, there really ought to be a place online where one can add serious information about an unlimited variety of topics, uncensored, even such traditionally despised fields as B-films and Japanese erotica... You know, sort of a "sum of human knowledge"... Oh right, one was started, but was destroyed from within by narrow-minded, pseudo-intellectual bigots and their nitwit stooges. My serious work goes now to the two Pink Film archives, Boobpedia, and IMDb, and here I chit-chat with myself, rather than co-workers at a larger project, to mull over things and keep it interesting... But then like any American who has lived through the past half century or so, I'm accustomed to seeing good ideas go spectacularly bad. And besides, I swore not to rant about that hellhole anymore. Instead let's say "HOWDY Ma'am!" to Ms. Rose Aoyama at right.

Seeing Guns Don't Argue (1957) the other day put me in the mood to see the film before it, Gang Busters (1955). Again, how much is true, and how much is just police-state fantasy/propaganda, I don't know, but I'd estimate 10% former, 90% latter. Again, it was an entertaining little 70 minutes or so if taken with a pound of salt. This one didn't have the big-name gangster power that Guns did. It told the story of the Public Enemy #4, John Omar Pinson and his even lesser-known cohorts. Pinson's shenanigans and multiple prison-breaks are re-enacted by Myron Healey (who played Dillinger in Guns). It seems kind of strange that they would use these stories for the first film and the big-name gangsters for the second, two years later. Anyway, it's another passably entertaining little cops & robbers yarn. I'd be interested to see the original TV series now. Five out of Ten.

Dekkappai's Plumper Games!

My son dragged me to see The Hunger Games. I went in having no idea what it was about and not knowing what to expect. I began to realize it was supposed to be a (serious) political satire, but couldn't grasp its targets until it dawned on me what the cultural touchstones were here: Reality shows + Iraq = the United States of the past 20-30 years or so = the culture from which I have become so alienated I feel like a foreigner in my own country... Add to that the most nauseating of new camera techniques: constantly moving shaky-cam, random close-ups obscuring the action (during one fight, I didn't realize until it was over that the opponent was a girl), etc. And top it off with ludicrously obvious plot holes, glaring inconsistencies in character and motivation, heavy-handed audience manipulation, a stifling lack of humor, and I had one miserable time at the theater today. I could mention the obvious (and much better) sources stolen/borrowed from to concoct this social commentary (Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale, Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", etc., etc., etc.), but that's an awfully cheap trick, one too low even for me... My son liked it, and I guess it would speak to a brooding teeny-bopper, which I can remember being once, about a century ago, so I watered down my complaints for him during our post-film discussion. Two stars out of Ten for me. Much higher, probably, if you are a young teen.


Given my taste in ladies, however, and the title of the film, it could have been much, much worse: Imagine if it had been a story about pouty, snotty anorexic models. I would have probably run out of the theater. As an antidote to that appalling vision, please join me in a visit with some lovely ladies of the past who, thankfully, appear not to have recently suffered from long bouts of hunger. And without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you now The Anti-Hunger Games, Dekkappai's Plumper Games!

We begin our survey with a tribute to that classic, pioneer of the Japanese BBW genre, Yoko Koizumi, above left.


IZM's Erika (right) made only a couple of original DVDs for the studio (there is a more recent one which appears to be made of old material), but those few made an impact.






The diminutive Usagi Minagi (left), with her long background in the field is an essential pleasure in any discussion of the Japanese BBW.








Oppai label claims their Hitomi Matsumoto (aka Mozuku and Yumi Miyaoka) sets records in the bust department, but she is most obviously recognizable as an incredibly gorgeous BBW.







This year's games wind down with a four-part offering on a Wagnerian scale from another earlier Japanese BBW figure, Anna Watarai at left. And we conclude at the right with one of the grandest finales of all time, from the same model.

Gangster Story

Earth-mother, Tamaki Yasuoka, under her alias Tomomi Nagamine, has a part in the new multi-actress DVD 寝バック素股は危険ヤデ 裏切りのスマタバスター３部作完結編 (WZA-06). At right a couple of lads share a Tamaki sandwich in the DVD, released by JAMS in Japan today.


Last night's film was Gangster Story (1959), directed by and starring Walter Matthau. It was apparently brought to public attention through a showing on Turner Classic Movies (one of the rare aspects of current U.S. TV which makes me consider getting cable. But then I remember the commercials, the crawls, the bugs, the voice-over ads, etc., and I come back to my senses. U.S. TV was never great, but after about 1985 it went straight to Hell.) According to TCM, Matthau directed this on a dare. Upon completion, he recognized that he had no talent for directing, and never helmed another. This film bears the distinction not only of being both the only film Matthau ever directed, it is also the only film in which he appeared in with his wife, Carol Grace. Though it has some pretty obvious draw-backs-- mostly related to the skimpy budget-- Matthau and Grace have (understandably) very good chemistry, and their odd love story is what makes this film bearable. The acting is not bad-- Matthau is his usual, likably cantankerous self-- and the story, if a bit preposterous (though the poster claims it is based on a true story), is entertaining enough. I'm not literate enough in film technique to say exactly why Matthau's direction is bad, but, yes, bad it is. The post-synced soundtrack doesn't do the film any favors as far as polish, but it does give a bit of a home-made charm to it-- Post-syncing is one of the things that gives Pink films their own odd charm. "Charm" in spite of technical deficiencies is something I got out of this film too. The film's editor was Radley Metzger later founder of Audubon Films (importer of the early Pink Film classic Madame O, and the Pinkly-advertised (though not actually Pink) The Warped Ones, 1960) and a respected director of erotica in his own right. Anyway, Matthau's effort here gets a Six out of Ten from me.

These Guns Don't Argue!

Boobpedia news flash!!! IZM announces the return of the spectactular Yui Igarashi (left)! Touting an awe-inspiring 146(Q)-79-124 figure, Yui's two previous appearances have also been with IZM: 146-centimeter Huge Melon Breasts (146cmのデカメロン乳 - 146 cm no dekameron chichi; ICD-141; January 2011) and Super-Boob Princess (超乳姫 - Chounyuu hime; ICD-157; July 2011). Below she is seen in her newest DVD release, Super Big Peach Tits 149cm! (超巨大桃乳149cm - Chôkyodai momo chichi 149 cm; ICD-179), which just came out on March 24.



I decided to doze of with a crime/noir selection, and picked Guns Don't Argue (1957). Someone at IMDb correctly calls it Hooverite revisionism. And that's exactly what it is, of course, no doubt about that. OK. Now, about the movie: It's an entertaining little crime flick with a rock-bottom budget, strung together from three episodes of the Gang Busters TV show. The featured criminals are Pretty Boy Floyd, Ma Barker & her brood, and Dillinger. The latter is played by Myron Healey best known (to me, anyway) for appearing in the U.S. additional footage to Varan the Unbelievable (1962). Entertaining, cheap historical fantasy. Five out of Ten.

Santo Contra las Grandes Tetas Japoneses

First full day back at blog work. Did some patch-up work on the Pink Film Archive(s). Fixed the problem entries at the newer half. Finished uploading new film/re-release/extra images. Started a few entries for older films for which I don't have posters but do have stills. Kôji Wakamatsu's Violated Angels (1967) was the most significant film in this batch.


During my break from serious Pink Film work, I did a little Boobpedia research, and made the pleasing discovery that my favorite, Tamaki Yasuoka has a new release out: Double-O Heaven / MAGURO-027 (ダブルオーヘブン！ ボリューム満点！安岡たまきと超乳かおり夢の最強タッグ実現！) In the still above, our protagonist, a dapper gent of fine taste, ponders the abundant choices presented him. He seems to be favoring Ms. Yasuoka, on his right, which would be my choice as well. Tamaki's co-star, one "Kaori", has a magnificent build, but wears the mask you see in every still of the video I've yet seen. As much a fan I am of the Three B's (boobs, bellies & butts), they're nothing without a face. The Santo-like mask "Kaori" wears therefore nullifies her other rather obvious physical charms. Here's hoping she doffs the wrestling regalia later in her career!

Taking a Break

While Hana Uehara-- at right in もしLカップの上原花が愛人だったら 7つのムチムチ不倫 (Gas-242), to be released next month-- gives some lucky chap a nice rise-and-shine, I spend my own morning uploading the new re-release posters from Nakamura Eigeki. This will make a good stopping point for a break from Pink film poster work for a while while I wander off to do a few other things. I plan to be back to this blog in a week or so.

Obsessions: Hitchcock vs. Dekkappai

The evening's viewing pleasure consisted of re-viewing my choice for Hitchcock's best: Vertigo (1958). I only saw about half of it-- up to Stewart & Novak's first smooch, with the waves crashing in the background and Herrmann swelling up all over the place. Speaking of Herrmann, it was The Artist's borrowing of his score to Vertigo which inspired me to give the original another look.

Nothing against Ms. Novak or Hitchcock's tastes, but were yours truly to film Vertigo, the model of obsession would be a bit more like the voluptuous LUU. Of course given an actress of LUU's entrancing bulk, I supposed the famous scene of Jimmy Stewart carrying Kim Novak out of San Francisco Bay would have be be restaged in the Dekkappai version. He'd have to carry her piggy-back, on shaky legs. LUU is seen at left demonstrating a union of Hitch's fetish for the "cool blond" with Dekkappai's obsession with chubby Asian women.


After that, I put on Paul Leni's Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (1924), and watched it up to the end of Emil Janning's mugging, at the point where Conrad Veidt was about to pick up the ham.

Spent my free time today beginning the uploading of some of the Nakamura Eigeki posters to the Pink Film Archives. I've got about 60 posters to new films sorted and identified, an equal number of re-release posters to existing films, and a few better images than are presently posted, which will replace the old ones. I'll upload them and clean out the backlog, then get back to the project Nakamura Poster project. It's going require going through about 2,000 poster images-- most of them duplicates, of course, but I'm finding a surprising amount of new material also.


The evening's viewing pleasure featured Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947), an entertaining little comic-book noir featuring Boris Karloff as... guess who... The actor who plays Dick Tracy (Ralph Byrd) doesn't have much presence, and Karloff, of course, has presence and then some. Gruesome Meets Dick Tracy might be a more accurate title, as reflected in the order of the cast billing shown in the poster to the left.

Went to see The Artist today. I had been slightly reluctant to see it, for some reason. I love silent film. But maybe it was because we enjoyed Hugo so much and were disappointed it had lost for Best Film & Best Director to this unknown upstart Artist. Anyway, we both absolutely loved it. I rarely agree with the Best Film selections (I couldn't even watch more than 15 minutes of Hurt Locker), but they got it right this time. It's a joyful celebration of film history (a point it shares with Hugo), a treat for film buffs, and just a plain fun, touching, wonderful movie. I look forward to seeing it again.

Everyone seems to assume the main character is based on Valentino, because of his name (George Valentin), but he looks a lot more like Douglas Fairbanks to me. It's put me in the mood to dig out some Fairbanks films from my collection and watch them again.

Spent most of my free time today identifying, labeling and categorizing Pink Film posters from the Nakamura Eigeki theater collection. Tough work, but fascinating and fun work for an old puzzle-solver/collector/list-maker such as myself.

A Princess of Mars

I went to see a film I've been anticipating for a year at least: John Carter. I was initiated into the cult of Edgar Rice Burroughs during my teens, and read the entire Mars, Tarzan, Caspak, Pellucidar series... Hell, I've probably read almost everything the old hack wrote. I wouldn't claim him to be a great author in the normal sense, of course, but he was probably one of the most naturally talented storytellers ever. He just churned them out for decades, like a Mozart of cliff-hangers. I always thought that if he'd ever stopped and thought and planned out a book before starting it, he'd have come up with a real masterpiece. But he wrote for entertainment, popularity, and for money, and in that he succeeds.
The film? Well, not the disaster it could have been, or that the critics are saying it is. Rather enjoyable in parts. A decent way to start a series, if that's what this will turn into, but with plenty of room for improvement in later installments. I rated it 7 (out of 10) at IMDb. Though the Dejah Thoris in the film was quite fine, and nothing against the Frazetta imagining above left, were I to cast this film, my choice for the Princess of Mars would run more to the unearthly stylings of the heavenly Ms. Hana Uehara, presented in costume for your viewing pleasure at the right.

Busy, Busty Business Women

If the sight of my secretary, Miss Asato, back in January, put you in the mood for more working women, you are in luck today. In this post we investigate women in business attire. The stunning LUU, on her way to the office arouses our attention on the left. Let's follow her up to the meeting room, shall we? No tailgaiting!




And here Karen Toudou, in her April 2011 DVD for JAMS, 奥様は巨女　爆尻ボッキ喰い！唾ぐちゅボイン!! (QDN-08), prepares to start the presentation for us, at right, seated on her desk.



We first pause to admire the abundant charms of Tamaki Yasuoka appearing under her alias, Tomomi Nagamine, in her own JAMS DVD, 凄い身体カフェ　肉棒埋没！容赦なき肉体のバリューセット (QDN-10; June 2011), at left.






Noa Serizawa, dressed to kill at right in the JAMS DVD, 凄い乳房!!妄想コスプレ勃起喰い女教師 (VOL-01; December 2009), is the next stop on our office tour.


And Ms. Serizawa continues our survey in a more conservative mode on the left in Mega Busty Expansion! Super Boobs Advertisement Plan (SND-35; May 2010).






And, finally, to round out this display, Karen Toudou returns at right to show that a business woman looks good either coming or going.














The evening's viewing enjoyment was taken up with another woman in costume, the Sherlock Holmes flick, The Woman in Green (1945), with the redoubtable team of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Besides the amusing bumbling of Doc Watson (apparently annoying to Holmes purists, but still enjoyable), and the typically fine acting of Rathbone, the story has some surprisingly gruesome aspects which add to the entertainment value. A Jack the Ripper type is going around London murdering young women and cutting off their fingers. Seven stars out of ten.

Naked Pink Pursuit

Since finishing the first stage of the Pink film archive on February 19, I have been doing some pick-up work: New re-release posters from Xces, new Nikkatsu Roman Porno films and other posters from Cinepo, etc. One of the big news items in the Pink film world is Pink debut of the bountiful AV-idol and former gravure model, Hitomi Tanaka. Here she is, at right, standing next to Ren Azumi in a still from director Yoshikazu Katô's Dosukebe kensa: Naasu bakunyû-zeme (どスケベ検査　ナース爆乳責め), released by OP on February 3rd. Despite her ginormous bazoom, she's too thin, and disproportionate to the Dekkappedlian eye, which prefers an all-around pleasing plumpness. But I can certainly see the attractions... Dare we hope this move could be followed by the recruitment of genuine BBWs like Tamaki Yasuoka!?

Yesternight's viewing combined two of my passions: old, obscure films and Asian eroticism in one unsatisfying package. Naked Pursuit (released by World Eiga in March 1968 as Kôfun [昴奮]) is one of the few examples of early Pink cinema currently available on DVD to the Anglosphere. Slave Widow (1967), Madame O (1967) & The Bite (1966) are the others, and Naked Pursuit is easily the weakest of this quartet. It is, basically, one long rape with a little talk at the start to give the attacks some context. The director-- Toshio Okuwaki-- tries a few camera and sound tricks in a futile attempt to make things a little more interesting, and Pink film stalwart, Masayoshi Nogami (also featured in Slave Widow, as the son/Naomi Tani's fiancee) makes an adequate rapist. But even watched in Fast-Forward, this was pretty hard to take. I'm glad I saw it anyway, to get some historical perspective on the genre. The other three films are of a much higher quality, but this one probably gives a better idea of the average genre entry of the time. If Slave Widow had represented the norm, then Donald Ritchie's 197 essay condemning the "eroduction" ("The Japanese Eroduction", reprinted in A Lateral View: Essays on Culture and Style in Contemporary Japan, 1987) would be inexplicable.

Naked Pursuit owes its current existence to its importation to the U.S. by exploitation mogul Harry Novak. The cross-pollination between the exploitation industries of Japan and the U.S. in the '60s is something that interests me very much, but about which there is very little written. Jasper Sharp devotes a chapter to this subject in his Behind the Pink Curtain, but this is only enough to make one want to know more. One wonders, for one thing, why Naked Pursuit, out of the hundreds of others of presumably higher quality (judging from the other three '60s Pink films on DVD), was selected for U.S. audiences. True, even the fleeting glimpses of partial nudity on display in this film would have been enough titillation to draw in a grindhouse/drive-in audience in the '60s. (The Internet generation probably cannot grasp how difficult it was to come by visual depiction of the nude female form in those days.) But the other existing Pink films from that era show that nudity and quality were not mutually exclusive at that time.

Like many fans of the Japanese erotic entertainment, the violence towards women irritates and bores me, but I don't pretend that this sort of entertainment is unique to Japan. In fact, I suspect the U.S. "roughies" explored this misogynistic territory slightly before the Japanese did. The U.S. "roughies" were shown in Japan during their first release, as attested by contemporary Japanese posters to films such as Scum of the Earth! (1963), Lorna (1964) and The Defilers (1965; Japanese poster at left). It has been claimed that the violence acted out in these softcore productions is to compensate for the inability to "go all the way". (Though misogyny is certainly present in the earlier, non-erotic cinemas of both Japan and the US-- My beloved films noir, for example, are very misogynistic...) The U.S. erotic entertainment industry moved into hardcore, killing off not only the "roughies", but the entire domestic softcore industry. The Japanese, instead, stayed with softcore, and the older "roughie"-like themes. Is hardcore really more acceptable than softcore with sexual violence? Certainly not to me. (I will watch a Japanese Sasori film-- loaded with over-the-top softcore sexual violence-- over any non-violent U.S. hardcore porno any day.) And the U.S. slasher films of the '70s and '80s did mix up violence and sexuality just as many contemporary Japanese softcore films-- Nikkatsu's Roman Pornos for example-- were doing.

Anyway, back to Naked Pursuit: Rape, rape and more rape. Nothing much more to say about it... Three out of Ten stars for the historical value, IMDb's lowest rating (One star) for entertainment value, averaging out to a Two. To get an idea of the type action which your humble servant, old Dekkappai would rather see in a film bearing the title Naked Pursuit, take a look at the scene below, from Karen Toudou's QDN-17.

Tonight I finally finished uploading all my current Pink film posters to the blog-- the Pre-1990 Pink Film blog. Now I'll have to go back and do some catching up-- identify and download the new posters that have been posted to my online sources, and to clean up and then upload the posters I set aside for later work. Also there is a huge collection of smaller (160px wide) posters from the Nakamura Eigeki site which I will have to sort through, identify, sort, and eventually upload. Adding descriptions to the Picasa Web images will be a long, long project, and then linking them to IMDb... Anyway, stage one, started in October, is now officially complete.