Description
Title: Female Ninjas: In Bed with the Enemy (1976)
Alternate Title: Kunoichi ninpo: Kannon biraki
Genre: Action
Plot Synopsis:
In 1976, a gold chest containing 30,000 ryo intended for Edo Castle’s repairs is stolen in a violent robbery. The Sanada clan is tasked with retrieving the treasure. They deploy female ninjas, or “kunoichi,” who use their skills and charms to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks. These kunoichi go undercover—sometimes under bed covers—to investigate the disappearance of the gold chest, employing both seduction and lethal force to achieve their mission.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Takayuki Minagawa
- Writers: Seiko Shimura, Isao Matsumoto
- Cast:
- Megumi Hori
- Keiko Kinugasa
- Maki Tachibana
- Akira Shioji
- Maki Carrousel
IMDb Link:
Female Ninjas: In Bed with the Enemy (1976)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
-
Lou (rhymes with wow!) – ★★★½
“This starts off rather respectable but gradually moves towards racy pinku territory. Female Ninjas manages to spice things up by adding plenty of naked skin, some hardcore tongue action and a woman boasting that she has a large vagina by furiously pantomiming.” -
SubToretto – ★★★½
“This does not waste time in setting up its plot as the first seconds already has an ambush and robbery that will propel the rest of the plot. And there is an actual plot; this is surprisingly not just an excuse for sexy ninja shenanigans.” -
Irreversible – ★★★★
“This is a somewhat schizophrenic film, starting out in an outrageous tempo with awesome sword fights, hilarious jokes and lots of sex, only to completely change character halfway through.”
Meta Description:
“Female Ninjas: In Bed with the Enemy” (1976), directed by Takayuki Minagawa, is a Japanese action film that follows a trio of female ninjas on a mission to recover stolen gold. Utilizing their seductive skills and combat prowess, they infiltrate enemy lines, blending eroticism with martial arts in a thrilling narrative.
Title: High Noon Ripper (1984)
Alternate Title: Mahiru no kirisakima
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Plot Synopsis:
A female journalist and her photographer colleague investigate a series of brutal daylight murders committed by a notorious serial killer. As they delve deeper into the case, they uncover unsettling truths that blur the lines between observer and participant.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Yôjirô Takita
- Writer: Shirô Yumeno
- Cast:
- Kaoru Orimoto as Noriko
- Usagi Asô
- Yûko Aoki
- Yutaka Ikejima
- Kiyomi Itô
IMDb Link:
High Noon Ripper (1984)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
- Lou (rhymes with wow!) – ★★★☆☆
“High Noon Ripper is the essence of what pinkus are about. It is a movie about a serial killer, but the story is a flimsy one at best. This is really just an excuse to show s&xual acts every other scene. Here it is quite amazing actually. When there are no men around, the women just can’t help but rub themselves against every possible surface available to them. Doors, bathtubs/showerheads and even belts aren’t safe from these hypers&xual ladies. They are such slaves to their inhibitions that it’s amazing they’re able to lead normal lives and get shit done. Make no mistake about it, this movie is trash in every sense of the word, and that’s exactly the reason I enjoyed it so much. While it’s not the best that the genre has to offer, it did deliver the goods (in spades.)” - Dave Jackson – ★★★½☆
“It’s always fun to dive into a Yojiro Takita pinku with the knowledge that you’re seeing relentless scenes of women m4sturbating directed by a future Oscar winner. Though High Noon Ripper didn’t quite live up to my expectations, it’s still a solid pink film with a lot of insanity and nice touches to make it worth a watch. Sadly it doesn’t dig into its serial killer/Nightcrawler aspect too deeply, instead getting side-lined by weird tangents. Tonally it’s all over the place, but that’s part of the fun.”
Meta Description:
“High Noon Ripper” (1984), directed by Yôjirô Takita, is a Japanese horror-thriller that follows a journalist and her photographer as they investigate a series of gruesome daylight murders by a notorious serial killer.
Title: Red Violation (1980)
Alternate Title: Akai bôkô
Genre: Drama, Romance
Plot Synopsis:
The film follows the rock band “Devils” both on stage and in their personal lives, highlighting the various romantic escapades of its members. As they navigate the challenges of the music industry, the band members grapple with relationships, ambitions, and the pursuit of success.
Cast and Crew:
- Director: Chūsei Sone
- Writer: Susumu Saji
- Cast:
- Megumi Saki as Mari Ikemoto
- Fujio Takahashi as Fujito
- Yuri Yamashina as Hitomi Edagawa
- Yûya Uchida as Yuya
- Hiromi Okamoto as Mina Akagi
IMDb Link:
Red Violation (1980)
Reviews from Letterboxd:
- evilbjork – ★★★☆☆
“This movie has no business being as well directed as it is. I was expecting the usual low-quality filmmaking of most pinku films but with some cool scenes, but what I got was the opposite. It’s a fairly simple movie with little going on in the plot, but the camera work and atmosphere are so good that it turns this into a really memorable movie. There are tons of long takes, shots of the streets in Tokyo, and the movie starts with a band performance scene with wild editing. Pinku movies were often used as a way for filmmakers to get funding for the movies they actually wanted to make, and this feels like a good example of that.” - AuteurTheory – ★★★★☆
“RED VIOLATION follows a young rock band called The Devils, as they play shows, have relationships with girls, and try to scrape enough money together to get by. It’s a laidback drama, with some humor and some s&x. The s&x is all awkward teenager shit. It’s not choreographed, cinematic p0rn0. Even though not much happens, I loved the raw, neorealist style. Things take a disturbing, unexpected turn towards the end. The practice scenes brought me back to my old band days. That’s what being in a band is like most of the time: fighting and rehearsing. There’s a part where a guy breaks a guitar string… that used to happen to us all the time, and we were too poor to have backups. So if we broke a string or a drumstick, practice was over for the day… or week!” - nagoya – ★★★★½
“One of the greatest films on youth, friendship and (the dream of) rock & roll. Fantastic cinematography. It’s a great example of how much underrated Chūsei Sone is…”
Meta Description:
“Red Violation” (1980), directed by Chūsei Sone, is a Japanese drama that chronicles the lives of the rock band “Devils” as they navigate the challenges of the music industry and their personal relationships.
