Tweet
Released by: Mondo Macabro
Released on: 4/28/2009
Director: Chusei Sone
Cast: Hideaki Ezumi, Hitomi Kozue, Maeko Ezawa, Setsuko Ohyama
Year: 1972
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Director Chusei Sone, probably best known to cult audiences for his work on the Angel Guts films, teamed up with screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya to deliver Naked Rashomon, a film that has very little in common with Akira Kurosawa's classic 1950 samurai film starring Toshiro Minfune, although it too is a period piece.
Hideaki Ezumi is Katsuragawa, a powerful nobleman and land owner who enjoys all that the world has to offer. When he knocks up his mistress (Hitomi Kozue) and a pair of twins pop out, however, he has them separated from one another, believing them to be very bad luck. He hires an assassin to kill the mother and his daughter, as he's only interested in a male heir but the assassin, who falls for his target, lets them live unbeknownst to Katsuragawa, who raises the boy as his own. Two decades pass and the twins are now young adults (played by Ezumi and Kozue), neither realizing that they have a sibling. Completely by chance, the two meet and quickly fall in love with one another. In a strange twist of fate, the girl has followed in her mother's tradition and works as a hooker and history repeats itself once more…
If it's possible for a film to be trashy and classy at the same time, this is it. While the movie features some pretty graphic sex, a fair bit of nasty violence and, of course, some naughty incestuous themes, it was shot with such skill and such obvious artistic intent that you can't justifiably label it as just exploitation, there's too much to it. With essentially every frame of the movie looking as good as it can, there was an obvious amount of care put into crafting this twisted slice of sleazy melodrama, which absolutely elevates it above other pictures of the same ilk.
On top of the sumptuous cinematography and atmospheric lighting, the film also features an excellent, unique and evocative score that fits in perfectly with the movie's rather absurd atmosphere. In terms of the performances, Ezumi really stands out. Probably best known to western audiences for his work alongside Seijin Suzuki in Tokyo Drifter, Story Of A Prostitute and Youth Of The Beast, he's got an enjoyable surliness to him that makes his performance in this picture really stand out. The strikingly beautiful Hitomi Kozue, recognizable from a few other Roman Porno/Nikkatsu sex films such as The Story Of A Woman Condemned To Hell (which, despite some decent bootleg offerings, really should get a proper domestic DVD release!), brings an effective sense of frustration that contrasts nicely with her characters inherent vulnerability and makes her performance just as strong as her co-star's.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Mondo Macabro presents Naked Rashomon in a nice 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen progressive scan transfer that is, at times, a little bit on the soft side but otherwise very good. Colors look nice and natural while black levels stay consistently deep. There's a coat of grain noticeable in some spots but perfectly acceptable. There's very little to complain about in terms of print damage, edge enhancement or mpeg compression artifacts. All in all, the movie looks just fine here.
The Japanese language Dolby Digital Stereo mix comes with optional English subtitles sounds just fine. Dialogue is clean and clear and the levels are all well balanced. Being an older low budget film, this isn't a track that has a ton of range but considering the limitations of the original source material, really, it sounds quite good. There are no problems with hiss or distortion and everything sounds nice and crisp and the disco infused score sounds nice.
Mondo Macabro has carried over their documentary, The Erotic Empire (23:50, anamorphic widescreen, interlaced), that begins with some footage of the 2001 Roman Porno festival in Japan where attendees give their thoughts on some of the films screened. Jasper Sharp talks about the history of Nikkatsu while Seijin Suzuki talks about the two different kinds of films that the studio specialized in and why. Japanese film critic Toshiyuki Matsushima explains who 'porno' became introduced into the studio's vocabulary while artist and filmmaker Romaine Slocombe gives his thoughts on the genre.
Actress Kozuko Shirakawa talks about how she didn't want her parents to find out she was working at Nikkatsu and about working on some of the roman porno movies that she appeared in and some of the director's that she worked with, Tanaka in particular. The influence of Edogawa Rampo's writings is covered as is the odd take on sexuality often on display in these films. Plenty of archival clips from various genre entries appear alongside a great selection of poster art to give this documentary plenty of visual flair. Interesting stuff!
From there, check out the interview with Jasper Sharp (anamorphic widescreen, interlaced) entitled Sharp On Sone where the author of Fab Press' Behind The Pink Curtain discusses Naked Rashomon and what sets it apart from other films in the genre. Sharp provides some cultural context for the film and provides some welcome biographical information on the director and the importance of his work. If that weren't enough, they've also carried over the Nikkatsu trailers for the following films: The Watcher In The Attic, Assault! Jack The Ripper, Naked Rashomon, The Sins Of Sister Lucia, The Prosperities Of Vice and Female Prisoner: Caged! All of the trailers are in anamorphic widescreen and flagged for progressive (except Vice, which is interlaced), but sadly, there are no subtitles for any of them.
Rounding out the extras? An essay on the film from Pete Tombs, animated menus, chapter selection, and the ever expanding Mondo Macabro promo reel!
The Final Word:
Another fine release of an obscure but very welcome Roman Porno from Mondo Macabro, Naked Rashomon is pretty odd even by the admittedly odd standards of the genre but it's a very well made picture that fans will definitely enjoy.