As with its twin release Story of a Prostitute, producer Curtis Tsui's disc has an incisive A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife. Maya feels it worse, seeing him as replacement for her brother (who died in Borneo). Maya, a young woman whose family has died, joins the group. Or is it the hate filled ex-soldier (played by the great Joe Shishido!) One month free trial! Need some help finding the best things to watch on Netflix? She takes him after a night of drunken revelry, and both are ostracized. Author's note:A special thanks to The Dark Somnium and Creepy Podcast for the narrations. Sets were slapped together on the backlot using materials purloined from studio warehouses, and theatrical set design techniques which could compromise the film's "realism." There are three other film versions (1948), (1977), (1988 starring Katase Rino), and a recent 2008 TV drama series. The occupying Americans who use the prostitutes? They were my friends and they’re gone now. Directed by Seijun Suzuki. Shigeyoshi Mine's rich photography almost has a 3-D quality, it is so textured. A prison truck is assaulted and the two convicts inside are murdered. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. This FAQ is empty. Gate of Flesh is miles away from the sedation and austerity of 1965's Story of a Prostitute (also just out on a Criterion disc), a black and white love story with none of … Directed by Seijun Suzuki. Director : Shogoro NishimuraWriters : Taijiro Tamura (novel) , Yôzô Tanaka (writer) Released , 'Gate of Flesh' stars Jō Shishido, Kōji Wada, Yumiko Nogawa, Tamiko Ishii The movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 30 min, and received a user … Nikkatsu ’s fast pace of production allowed a mere 10 days of pre-production and 25 days of shooting time, yet what designer Takeo Kimura has managed to come up with … Four prostitutes in post-war Tokyo, a bombed out, rickety metropolis of crowds and slums, set up house together with some strict rules. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Gate of Flesh (肉体の門, Nikutai no mon) is a 1964 Japanese film based on a novel by Taijiro Tamura and directed by Seijun Suzuki. Utterly ignored by the Japanese in 1964 and still not on Kinema Junpo‘s Top 200 list of 2009, it has become a classic in American and French film studies.What seems to be most admired is its wild mix of real and artificial, of intense realism and saturated color … Suzuki intended the cow butchering to be just one more over-the-top surprise, but it’s very gruesome and interferes with the Go-Go groove. After his own gang sets him up to kill a rival mobster, a hit man is forced to flee with his younger brother. It’s also sexy, fun, and full of visual surprises. Into the mix comes Shin, a thief who's killed a G.I. There’s a hole in my life where they were. Gate of Flesh (1964) "Nikutai no mon" (original title) 90 min - Drama - 11 December 1964 (USA) After World War II, some Tokyo prostitutes band together with a strict code: no pimps, attack any street walker who comes into our territory, defend the abandoned building we call home, and punish whomever gives away sex (who falls in love). Synopsis. GATE OF FLESH Nikutai no mon. The resulting production has been lauded for its resulting visual flair. Directed by. Sometimes I’ll remember something they said or did and it’ll hit me like a ton of bricks. Drama. After World War II, some Tokyo prostitutes band together with a strict code: no pimps, attack any street walker who comes into our territory, defend the abandoned building we call home, and punish whomever gives away sex (who falls in love). Gate of Flesh is one of the earliest examples of the sado-masochistic soft-core sex films called pinku eiga that would grow by the 1970s into one of Japan's largest, and domestically most popular, genres. “Gate of Flesh” is most fascinating in its production design. Trashy pulp? Well, it’s in The Criterion Collection, so it must be good, right? Retrograde trash? who controls the women? Gate of Flesh (肉体の門, Nikutai no mon) is a 1964 Japanese film based on a novel by Taijiro Tamura and directed by Seijun Suzuki.[1]. Suzuki is the master! Gate of Flesh is a visually outrageous film, with color effects, sets, and costumes unlike anything else other than another Suzuki movie. An injured thief on the run finds sanctuary within a brothel of united, ruthless women. The women allow him to hide while recovering from wounds, but then he won't leave. View production, box office, & company info. Seijun Suzuki directed this gritty, stridently anti-American account of prostitution, set in the black markets and rubble of Tokyo during the immediate postwar era. All of them?? An injured thief on the run finds sanctuary within a brothel of united, ruthless women. 6 of 9 people found this review helpful. Gate of Flesh Synopsis: After World War II, some Tokyo prostitutes band together with a strict code: no pimps, attack any street walker who comes into our territory, defend the abandoned building we call home, and punish whomever gives away sex (who falls in love). Each of them starts to crave Ibuki, placing strains on the group. Fast, free delivery. Arty, subverting cinema? In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a… After a badly done assignment, a hitman finds himself in conflict with his organisation, and one mysterious and dangerous fellow-hitman in particular. Whether it's the Yakuza of films like Tokyo Drifter or Branded To Kill or the comfort women of Story Of A Prostitute or the old fashioned street whores of Gate Of Flesh, it seems that his best films relate to the criminal element.An interesting trend, when you consider that he … Title: An ex-soldier, Shintaro Ibuki (Joe Shishido), is shot nearby and holes up with the girls. They’re gone now and … With Jô Shishido, Kôji Wada, Yumiko Nogawa, Tomiko Ishii. Gate Of Flesh, the first film in the trilogy and the only in color, tracks a band of prostitutes living in a bombed out portion of Tokyo as they attempt to survive during the immediate postwar years. A new girl, Maya (Yumiko Nogawa), joins their group and learns the trade. (1964). Gate of Flesh by Seijun Suzuki provides a dark and dismal perspective of post-war Tokyo through a small number of characters portraying a large part of the Japanese society. Months later I can remember all of them, down to the slightest idiosyncrasies and quirks. 1 and take their place. [2], Most female actresses at Nikkatsu refused to work in the film due to the nudity and subject matter, so the cast's female roles were filled by actresses from outside the studio.[2]. After World War II, some Tokyo prostitutes band together with a strict code: no pimps, attack any street walker who comes into our territory, defend the abandoned building we call home, and punish whomever gives away sex (who falls in love). Maya is drawn to him, discovering as she falls in love that she can feel again; she's now more fully human, but at the same time, she's endangered herself and her livelihood. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. Gate of Flesh. Was this review helpful to you? Add the first question. The thirty-fifth film in the long and extraordinary career of Nikkatsu Studios’ famously fired and vociferously admired subversive genius masquerading as B-picture hack, Gate of Flesh marked a welcome change of pace for the then forty-one-year-old Suzuki. Gate of Flesh Directed by Seijun Suzuki • 1964 • Japan Starring Joe Shishido, Yumiko Nogawa, Satoko Kasai In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post-World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. The picture of the immediate post-war world which Suzuki paints in Gate of Flesh (肉体の門, Nikutai no Mon) is fairly hellish – crowded, smelly marketplaces thronging with desperate people. Planned as an "adult release" (Japanese films were classified by the country's film board as "general release" or "adult"), the usual pace of production at Nikkatsu (10 days pre-production, 25 days shooting, three days post-production) allowed Suzuki and his innovative production designer Takeo Kimura precious little time to construct sets to recreate post-war firebombed Tokyo. . From The Way of the Dragon to Minari, we take a look back at the cinematic history of Asian/Pacific American filmmakers. Police detective Tajima, tasked with tracking down stolen firearms, turns an underworld grudge into a blood-bath. Suzuki transforms a colorful pot-boiler into an on-target send-up of cultural colonialism and post-war greed. 3 assassin of Japan is given the chance to usurp No. But who is the real monster of the film? With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions. Use the HTML below. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards! Film Review: Gate of Flesh (1964) by Seijun Suzuki, Film Review: Fighting Elegy (1966) by Seijun Suzuki, Japanese Films I Will Be Forcing DD To Watch, Neuchatel Fantastic Film Festival - NIFFF 2017, 42nd Street Memories: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Street. With Jô Shishido, Kôji Wada, Yumiko Nogawa, Tomiko Ishii. A tale of prostitutes in American-occupied Japan, following the end of World War 2. Suzuki’s Gate of Flesh is a (perhaps the) classic case of a movie rescued from oblivion by foreign critics. Agreeing to run away together, he is shot in a double-cross, and she is left as she was at the beginning of the film—alone and hopeless. Trailer. Criterion's DVD of Gate of Fleshhas an eye-popping enhanced transfer and excellent sound; the film is a visual feast for the eyes, guaranteed to cure color blindness. Gate of Flesh by Seijun Suzuki provides a dark and dismal perspective of post-war Tokyo through a small number of characters portraying a large part of the Japanese society. A violent thug plays opposing yakuza bosses against each other. Can she and Shin make it out of Tokyo to establish life as a couple? 90. An injured thief on the run finds sanctuary within a brothel of united, ruthless women. Hormones raging, the young man channels his unsatisfied lust into the only outlet available: savage, crazed violence. Somehow they eke out a living together. The No. The prison guard on duty gets suspended for negligence and takes it upon himself to track down the killers. Maya is drawn to him, discovering as she falls in love that she can feel again; she's now more fully human, but at the same time, she's endangered herself and her livelihood. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Get unlimited DVD Movies & TV Shows delivered to your door with no late fees, ever. Gate of Flesh In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. Gate of Flesh Heralded as one of the first in a strain of sadomasochistic films to come from Japan, 'Gate of Flesh' (1964) is renowned director Seijun Suzuki's strange cross … In an impoverished and burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post-World War II Japan, a band of prostitutes defend their territory, squatting in a bombed-out building. Rent Gate of Flesh (1964) starring Yumiko Nogawa and Jo Shishido on DVD and Blu-ray. Stories of Bastards: Born Under a Bad Star, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gate_of_Flesh&oldid=1004194460, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox film with unknown empty parameters, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles needing additional references from February 2010, All articles needing additional references, Articles with Japanese-language sources (ja), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 1 February 2021, at 13:54. Into the mix comes Shin, a thief who's killed a G.I. After his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him. A surreal period film following an university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways. Let our editors help you find what's trending and what's worth your time. Can she and Shin make it out of Tokyo to establish life as a couple? This B-movie from 1964 is discombobulating. The lurid 1964 melodrama Gate Of Flesh splits the difference between staid and nutty. In WW2 Manchuria, a prostitute grows to resent an abusive adjutant and falls in love with his aide. The way he uses a different color to represent each of the prostitutes almost makes them appear like demons in that underground lair of theirs. The prostitutes themselves? Seijun Suzuki. Forming a sort of family in an environment where everyone (American soldiers and Japanese yakuza) is a potential antagonist, the girls cajole each other, and ruthlessly punish any of their group who violate the cardinal rule—no having sex for free. Written by The women allow him to hide while recovering from wounds, but then he won't leave. 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