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Japan
A Wicked Woman - 1958
A Biopic of renowned female Japanese murderer Takahashi Oden who was eventually tried and executed by beheading
Quality: 8.5/10, Japan, Subs
Stars: Katsuko Wakasugi, Jûzaburô Akechi, Tetsurô Tanba
Dir: Nobuo Nakagawa
Abnormal Blood - 1967 + doc
After learning that a rapist shares the same ancestral village as him, the arresting police detective proceeds to narrate the dark history of rape, violence and vengeance
Quality: 9/10, Japan, Subs
Stars: Masayoshi Nogami, Akiko Yamao
Dir: Kôji Wakamatsu
*Includes documentary*
Flesh Pier - 1958
Another world of illicit pleasures lies beneath the glittering neon surface of Tokyo. I really enjoyed this one, super-sleazy
Quality: 8.5/10, Japan, Subs
Stars: Ken Utsui, Akemi Tsukushi, Yôko Mihara
Ghosts Of Kasane Swamp - 1957 aka The Depths
A blind masseur visits a samurai to request the return of a loan. The samurai kills him in anger, then has his servant dump the body in the Kasane swamp
Quality: 9/10, subs
Stars: Katsuko Wakasugi, Takashi Wada, Noriko Kitazawa
Ghost Story of the Snow Witch - 1968
The lives of a master sculptor and his young apprentice are changed forever when they meet an evil witch during a snow storm
Quality: 8.5/10, letterbox
Stars: Shiho Fujimura, Akira Ishihama, Machiko Hasegawa
The Haunted Castle - 1969
A young woman turns to the supernatural to wreak revenge on an murderous warlord
Quality: 9/10 aka Hiroku kaibyô-den
Stars: Kôjirô Hongô, Naomi Kobayashi, Mitsuyo Kamei
The House Where Evil Dwells - 1982
A young American family moves to a House in Kyoto, Japan. It turns out to be haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her lover, who were killed by the woman's husband, as well as the ghost of the husband, who killed himself afterward
Quality: 9/10, Japan/USA
Stars: Edward Albert, Susan George, Doug McClure, Amy Barrett
Perfect Game - 1958
A group of five college students decide to fix a bicycle race and claim the money to pay off their debts, but when the bookie cannot pay, they take up his offer of collateral as revenge and complexities begin to unravel and ruin their scheme
Quality: 8.5/10, Japan, Subs, aka Kanzenna Yûgi
Stars: Tomio Aoki, Izumi Ashikawa, Ryôji Hayama
Dir: Toshio Masuda
Punishment Room - 1956
Katsumi is a university student who has no respect for his hardworking parents, his professors, or even his friends. He helps one friend obtain a loan to finance a dance, by humiliating his father at the bank where he works. He drugs and rapes Akiko, one of the girls in his class. She becomes infatuated with him, even though he remains aloof. He enjoys goading a rival gang in the pool hall. Finally, when facing the gang, he goes too far in trying to prove his courage. Highly recommended!
Quality: 8.5/10, Japan, Subs
Stars: Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Keizô Kawasaki, Ayako Wakao
Dir: Kon Ichikawa
Rainbow Man - 1949 aka Nijiotoko
When a young woman is named as the prime suspect in a murder, her girlfriend and her girlfriend's boyfriend set out to prove her innocence
Quality: 9/10, subs
Stars: Keiju Kobayashi, Teruko Akatsuki, Katsuko Wakasugi
Sexy Line - 1961
A man meets a woman and becomes a suspect following the murder of her lover. She is a petty thief who's been drawn into a gangland prostitution and crime syndicate against her will
Quality: 9/10, Japan, subs
Stars: Teruo Yoshida, Yôko Mihara, Mako Sanjô
Suzaki Paradise - 1956
A directionless couple get on the bus for Tsukishima and get off at Suzaki. Across the bridge they see the sign for Suzaki Paradise, a red-light district where Tsutae once worked as a prostitute. Tsutae spots an ad for a waitress at a bar near the bridge and she rushes in to get the job
Quality: 9/10, Japan, Subs - a real gem! aka Red Light District
Stars:Michiyo Aratama, Yukiko Todoroki
Dir: Yûzô Kawashima
To Sleep So As To Dream - 1986
An aging silent film actress hires a private eye and his wacky assistant to track down her missing daughter, Bellflower. The two follow a succession of bizarre, obscure clues, until they track down the location of the kidnappers
Quality: 9/10, subs
Stars: Morio Agata, Kenji Endo, Fujiko Fukamizu
Underworld Beauty - 1958
After being released from prison, a gangster retrieves diamonds by cutting them out of the person who swallowed them, before a rival gang get to them. Super-stylish stuff
Quality: 9/10, Japan, Subs, aka Ankokugai No Bijo
Stars: Michitarô Mizushima, Mari Shiraki, Shinsuke Ashida
Dir: Seijun Suzuki
The Warped Ones - 1960
A juvenile delinquent gets out of prison and causes reckless mayhem, mostly directed at the girlfriend of the journalist who helped send him up
Quality: 9/10, Japan, Subs, a brilliantly stylised Crime-Drama
Stars: Tamio Kawaji, Yuko Chiyo, Eiji Gô