Japanese 1970s sexploitation: Roman Porno pink films make comeback
We’ve written before about our love for Japanese “pink cinema”, especially the Nikkatsu Roman Porno series of soft-core adult dramas from the 1970s that has been recently enjoyed renewed attention.
The pink cinema industry was largely killed off by the arrival of adult video in the 1980s. And the adult video industry was threatened by the arrival of the internet in the 2000s. But sexploitation survived (very much so), and so it seems only natural that pink cinema is making a comeback.
Now tastes have matured enough to re-appreciate the charms of the soft-core, sometimes peculiar world of Roman Porno.
The Roman Porno Reboot Project sees several major directors make new erotic films as homages to the 1970s and 1980s films.
Directors as prestigious as Hideo Nakata (Ringu), Sion Sono (Cold Fish, Love Exposure, Tokyo Tribe, Guilty of Romance), Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s Path), Akihiko Shiota (I Just Wanna Hug You) and Isao Yukisada (Parade) are involved, with the five new films rolling out on national release from November.
Pink films, which started in the early 1960s, had a few rules, including a short length and inserting a sex scene every 10 minutes. The Roman Porno series by the studio Nikkatsu was one of the most famous series, especially the films it include about horny houseswives living in danchi housing. This trope has continued to the presented in both common parlance and pornography. Nikkatsu’s entry into the pink cinema industry was significant, since it meant the films could make use of Nikkatsu’s network of theaters around Japan as well as the Nikkatsu’s studios. Roman Porno films had budgets twice that of typical pink films, though far lower than the average commercial movie at the time. The series was the training ground for many film-makers who found later mainstream success, including Yojiro Takita, director of the Oscar winner Departures.
The Akihiko Shiota film stars the lovely Yuki Mamiya (Yuki Mogami), who is no stranger to movie sex scenes.
Nakata’s film, White Lilly, is a steamy lesbian drama starring Rin Asuka, making her nude debut, and Kaori Yaamguchi, while the Sion Sono film, AntiPorno, features Ami Tomite, the former AKB48 idol who has started a new career stripping off for lavish photo shoots.
Shiraishi’s film is Female Cats, a homage to a 1972 Roman Porno film, Night of the Felines, and portrays the lives of call girls in Ikebukuro.
Finally, the Yukisada film’s cast is led by Itsuji Itao, Sumire Ashina, and Izumi Okamura. Based on the promotional images it looks pretty damn fine.
Some would argue, given the continued success of erotic film series like Flower and Snake, that pink films never really went away. Nonetheless, we welcome the return of classic erotic cinema with open arms.
