Kōji Wakamatsu

Documentary on one of the most famous branches of Japanese filmmaking, the erotic Pink film genre, known as Pinku Eiga, and the closely related Roman Porno cult films series produced by notorious Nikkatsu studios from 1971 to 1988.

A story about a female reporter investigating sex workers in Shinjuku.

The insane gynecologist, Dr. Marukido Sadao (Marquis de Sade), theorizes that a woman is unable to become pregnant if she is writhing in intense pain during intercourse. He sets about testing this new method of birth control by torturing women during sex.

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.

Documentary filmmaker Kenjiro Fujii takes a look at the history of a distinctly Japanese brand of softcore pornography in this extensive examination of the "pinku eiga" genre (ピンク映画 Pinku eiga or Pinkeiga). For more than 40 years, so-called "pink" films have served as both a key source of revenue for the Japanese film industry as well as a launching pad for the careers of such mainstream filmmakers as Kiyoshi Kurosawa. After providing a detailed history of the still-profitable and popular genre through interviews with a variety of behind-the-scenes players and clips from such classic pink films as Fish Bait Boobies, director Fujii shifts his focus to the production of an upcoming pink film to offer a glimpse into the creative and stylistic evolution of the genre.

A documentary on sixties counterculture in Japan featuring Donald Richie, Tadanori Yokoo, Masao Adachi, Koji Wakamatsu, Toshio Matsumoto and Akaji Maro among others.

The late Fujio Akatsuka is revered by many Japanese artists and scholars for his developments to early comedy manga, but his contributions aren't just limited to the world of print media. Featuring commentary from family, friends, colleagues, and celebrity fans, Fujio Akatsuka's story is told with archival footage and animation, showcasing the life of the man who went beyond manga.

No synopsis available yet.

Kiryu Mamoru, a subordinate boss of the Tomogashira Group, earns a living through the shady business of "yamikin" or underground lending. He preys on desperate customers who cannot get loans from legitimate lenders, charging exorbitant interest rates of 30% in 10 days or even 90% in some cases, in violation of the law. With the backing of his yakuza group, he employs extremely vicious and unethical methods...

A man who was once a student activist marries the daughter of the head of a big trust company. He uses his position as an elite salaryman to do whatever he pleases. However, a shadow from his past starts to creep into his life...

Kayo, who is famous for her beauty, own a bar in a port town. The establishment is always crowded with customers infatuated with her. For the past three years, Kayo has been in a relationship with Murakami, a city councilman. One day, a young man and woman, Jun and Yoko, come to town. They are planning to stow away somewhere, but no one will take them in. Exhausted, they happen to come to Kayo's bar. Eventually, Kayo's past and the man she used to be with are revealed, and Jun and Yoko's desperate actions lead to the story's conclusion...

Interview with members of the crew on the making of the 1978 film "Empire of Passion."

During a militant attack on an airport, the hand grenade of 'M', one of three terrorists, malfunctions, leading to him being captured and held indefinitely in prison. Exposed to mistreatment behind bars, he slowly loses his grip on reality as he is forced to confront his ideological convictions.

Works commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan mapping Supervision Association

During clashes between demonstrators and police that rage on the streets of Tokyo, a young man hides in the house of his brother - a police officer. The latter is accidentally shot by his wife, which forces the young man to flee with her.

A young man is unable to save a young woman from being assaulted, despite her having helped him out of a difficult situation in the past. Wracked with regret, he decides to provide assistance to her younger twin sister who is plotting revenge against society.

The film follows Nanba, a shunned outcast who doesn’t have a girlfriend, any money or prospects, a turnaround from his glory days in high school when he played on the baseball team; his former teammate Ishioka, who is now a policeman because of an elbow injury; and baseball fanatic Eiko, a hopeless alcoholic who spends more of her time drunk than sober. The three share an intense love of baseball — and their destinies are forever intertwined.

A girl living with her grandma in the countryside has a strange dream. When she goes to school the next day, she finds out everybody else had the same dream.

Documentary about the making of Nagisa Oshima's 1976 film.

You-chan is a young man who delivers eggs from Tochigi Prefecture to Tokyo's city center, and he is an avid fan of yakuza movies. One day, he encounters an escaped prisoner during deliveries and becomes friends with him. Detective Arabuka shoots the man dead, and You-chan is arrested for obstruction of justice. After three days in jail, he becomes a member of the dead prisoner's organization.

Since she was a little girl, Nagisa Yoko had two dreams: one was to have a song written for her by Aku Yu; the other was to sing at the Shinjuku Koma Theater. Aku Yu had already had written an original song for her. When Nagisa heard that the Shinjuku Koma Theater was to close down, she decided that she would have to rent the hall herself, in order to realize her dream. The concert was a great success, aided by many of her friends, including Wakamatsu Koji, Yamaya Hatsuo, Naito Chin, and Mikami Kan, who grew up in Shinjuku. Director Kawanaka Nobuhiro has fond memories from decades ago, when he was delivering milk and had a chance to talk with the Shinkokugeki actor Ogata Ken in the Shinjuku Koma Theater dressing room. He returns to that room in this film.

In the Edo era, two man arrive in a village and engage in criminal activity. While one of them becomes successful and rich, the other gets betrayed and ends up in prison, burning for revenge. The truth changes with the viewpoint in this Wakamatsu film, which has inspired comparisons to Rashomon.

In the Edo era, two man arrive in a village and engage in criminal activity. While one of them becomes successful and rich, the other gets betrayed and ends up in prison, burning for revenge. The truth changes with the viewpoint in this Wakamatsu film, which has inspired comparisons to Rashomon.

No synopsis available yet.

Naomi is sent to prison in place of her brother, who is involved with a violent gang. There, she experiences various forms of vigilante justice at the hands of the sexually frustrated female inmates. From being tortured with leftover food to being stripped naked and forced to crawl around and lick the genitals of other female inmates, she endures insidious sexual abuse. To make matters worse, the female guard is a lesbian. Then, a virgin woman whom her brother had saved arrives in the communal cell, now a depraved prostitute. When Naomi learns that her brother was killed by a gang leader, she seeks revenge upon her parole...

LEAD TOMBSTONE tracks the progress of a young sociopathic rake who had, immediately post-WW2, rescued his country farmer mother from rape by stabbing the offending American soldier in the back with a pitchfork. Once grown, the boy continues his violent life as a hoodlum on the run, repaying an outlaw couple who have sheltered him by raping the wife, then, at his boss’s behest, murdering the husband. He’s also not above strangling a girl in her bathtub for kicks. The one spot of normalcy in his life is his shop girl girlfriend, an innocent who, once she discovers his other life, confronts his boss… (from OUTLAW MASTERS OF JAPANESE CINEMA by Chris D)

No synopsis available yet.

After saving a girl from rape, a bored rail worker finds out about a chemical that makes people sleep and gets carried away into a new, violent world of ideas.

Go, Go, Second Time Virgin is the story of two damned and abused teenagers who meet and fall in mutant love on a Tokyo rooftop. Their only hope is to cement their love with an escape into oblivion.

A brother and sister live as outcasts from their hamlet due to a belief that mental illness runs in their family. A group of villagers plot to steal their property by beating and hanging the brother and gang-raping the sister. Believing the brother to be dead, scheming to kill the sister, and making both deaths look like accidents... unbeknownst to them, the brother survives and proceeds on a mission to slaughter those responsible in the hamlet.

A brother and sister live as outcasts from their hamlet due to a belief that mental illness runs in their family. A group of villagers plot to steal their property by beating and hanging the brother and gang-raping the sister. Believing the brother to be dead, scheming to kill the sister, and making both deaths look like accidents... unbeknownst to them, the brother survives and proceeds on a mission to slaughter those responsible in the hamlet.

A critique of the Japanese family, seen here as militaristic, absurdly incestuous and patriarchal with the father dominating his family sexually and violently. Nihilistic destruction by the young ones seems to be the only way out.

Based on the Chinese classic "Jin Ping Mei". Original Japanese cut directed by Koji Wakamatsu and produced by Shochiku. Set in Song-dynasty China, Wu Song rises to fame and becomes a guard captain. He is captivated by his brother’s wife, Pan Jinlian, whose beauty also ensnares the wealthy libertine Ximen Qing. To possess her, Ximen Qing has Wu Song’s brother murdered. When the corrupt authorities refuse justice, Wu Song is imprisoned, escapes with the help of the Liangshan bandits, and joins their ranks. Ximen Qing descends further into decadence, but Wu Song eventually returns, leading an attack on the town.

Pinku directed by Kôji Wakamatsu.

Fumiya owes 5 million yen to a female load shark for a gambling debt, while having affair an with Mrs. Hosoi who offers him 5 million to murder her husband. Fumiya has no choice but to kill Mr. Hosoi. Unfortunately he's see by a neighbor. In the escape, he meets a girl named Akiko. He hides in her house. Later on, Fumiya and Akiko fall in love and have sex. After that, he finds that the house owner Shin kidnapped Akiko whem she was a little girl and has kept her in the house for over a decade. Fumiya is determined to take her away from Shin's brutal confinement. A battle of wills between jailer, prisoner and accidental savior begins….

Two of the most radical student groups form the United Red Army (URA) and head into the mountains to conduct a training camp. Ideology devolves into despotism, and the URA's leaders begin to arbitrarily persecute their followers, a harrowing ordeal that culminates in violence and murder.

Two of the most radical student groups form the United Red Army (URA) and head into the mountains to conduct a training camp. Ideology devolves into despotism, and the URA's leaders begin to arbitrarily persecute their followers, a harrowing ordeal that culminates in violence and murder.

A girl becomes a pawn in the game between two rival gangs gangster.

A girl becomes a pawn in the game between two rival gangs gangster.

An office worker who dreams of a peaceful happiness with her boyfriend is forced into prostitution by yakuza.

The story of a village woman given the grueling task of looking after (and fulfilling the sexual needs of) her quadruple amputee husband, a Japanese soldier in the Second Sino-Japanese War who has been decreed a "War God" by the Emperor.

The story of a village woman given the grueling task of looking after (and fulfilling the sexual needs of) her quadruple amputee husband, a Japanese soldier in the Second Sino-Japanese War who has been decreed a "War God" by the Emperor.

A story about a female reporter investigating sex workers in Shinjuku.

A story about a female reporter investigating sex workers in Shinjuku.

Biopic about jazz saxophonist Kaoru Abe and his wife, noted writer Izumi Suzuki.