| Modern Pulp | Jul 26 2021 |
Keeping your problems bottled up is sometimes the best solution.
We had to watch this film. There was no choice. The poster removed all free will. When we first saw this art about ten years ago the movie wasn't available, but that's been fixed. This was painted for the roman porno drama Binzume jigoku, aka Hell in a Bottle, which premiered in Japan today in 1986. You may have noticed a similarity to this poster, and indeed it was painted by the same artist, who signed it at lower left but is still unknown to us. Looking at the art, you're probably thinking there's no way it can be literal, but you'd be wrong, as the screenshots below will show. We always wonder about the genesis of bizarro films like these. In this case: a 1928 story by author and Zen priest Yasumichi Sugiyama, who wrote as Yumeno Kyusaku.
The movie stars Chiyoko Ogura, Jun Numaoka, and the lovely Hitomi Kobayashi, who in addition to being an actress was popular as a photobook model, headlining at least ten. Plotwise, what you get here is a tale of forbidden attraction between siblings Numaoka and Ogura. They're on an isolated island along with Numaoka's girlfriend, played by Kobayashi, who is pretty much gobsmacked when she realizes the brother/sister attraction she's witnessing might actually come, so to speak, to fruition. She threatens her reckless boyfriend with a gun at one point, but nothing can stand the way of feverish incestuous fantasy, and eventually Numaoka and Ogura cast Kobayashi adrift in a bottle. That's a spoiler of course, but what are we to do when the poster art gives it away? If we told you she didn't end up in a bottle would you even bother to watch the movie? The good news is that imprisoning Kobayashi isn't the only use of bottles, so there's more to see than just her hallucinatory departure.
We're not sure what the point of the movie is. The plot is foreshadowed by another unfortunate incestuous love that took place in the past, ended in tragedy, and is described in an old diary, so the point could be that history repeats—particularly within families, since the previous diary was left by Numaoka's dead father. Does this original sin angle mean that Binzume jigoku is something more than just a piece of lowbrow exploitation? Sure, we guess. Is it recommendable? Are you kidding? Recommend a movie about unquenchable carnal desire between a brother and sister? Not a chance. This is roman porno, which generally leaves us adrift like Kobayashi in her bottle, even when it strives for deep metaphor. Watch the movie if you wish, but don't pretend you got the green light from us.
JapanNikkatsuBinzume jigokuHell in a BottleChiyoko OguraJun NumaokaHitomi KobayashiYasumichi SugiyamaYumeno Kyusakupinkuroman pornonudityposter artcinemamovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 23 2021 |
Red tide brings a flood of problems to a coastal community.
If you've been to our site often you can look at the above poster and immediately know it was made to promote an ama movie. This niche of Japanese vintage cinema, like the tides, just keeps coming. This film was called Yobai ama and was known in English as Nasty Diver. Sounded promising, so we watched it and it deals with assorted marital problems in a fishing village. Yôko Azusa plays an ama working days diving in the bay, working nights as a bar hostess, and working as a part-time domestic for a local geisha, while her husband does who-knows-what.
Trouble starts when Yôko's husband refuses to have sex during her period. He makes numerous excuses, including that it's bad for her health, but she isn't fooled for a second. She walks out on him and of course this is big news in this fishing village, which brings an opportunist out of the woodwork eager to take advantage of Yôko's separation. He's the local pimp, Yoto, glib and persuasive as movie pimps tend to be. Will Yôko end up on the game? Will she get back together with her period-squeamish hubby? You won't find out from us. This is lightweight stuff from Nikkatsu, but certainly we've done worse with sixty-nine minutes of spare time. Yobai ama premiered in Japan today in 1977.
JapanNikkatsuYobai amaNasty DiverYôko AzusaReika MakiAoi Nakajimaposter artcinemapinkuroman pornonuditymovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 20 2021 |
I'm wearing Cartier jewels, a Borbonese fur, and Halston opera gloves. Am I mesmerizing or what?
Above, a 1955 Technicolor lithograph featuring an unknown but very beautiful model. A piece of well known fashion advice states that, in order to avoid overdressing, a woman should face away from a mirror, then turn quickly and see what catches her eye first. Remove that item and she's good to go. That must have been one garish blouse.
| Sex Files | Jul 15 2021 |
Clear your schedule. National Informer is back.
National Informer Weekly Reader is one of the more amusing vintage tabloids we've collected. This one is from today in 1973, and has time killing features such as two narrative brainteasers and a slate of predictions for the future by the inimitable seer Mark Travis, he of the 6.9% accuracy rate. It also has what purports to be an interview about zany fame with television and film star Goldie Hawn, but it's just a few lines and we didn't bother to scan it. But we did scan a hilarious story on Gloria Simpson, who editors tell us is in love with own body. Shouldn't we all be in love with our bodies? We mean in a perfect world, as the great rhythmic philosopher George Benson put it when he said that learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all? Well, we haven't yet achieved that utopia, so you'll have to be told about self love by Gloria. We made a nice box containing her tale so that, for strictly educational purposes, you can read some hardcore porn masquerading as journalism. Enjoy that, and the boner it's supposed to give you. National Informer Weekly Reader will return.
| Femmes Fatales | Jul 14 2021 |
Reiko starts the day out behind again.
We're beginning to get the impression that Japanese filmgoers liked pinku actress Reiko Ike's rear end. We say that because it seems to be featured more than is usual in promo images of pinku stars. Well, here it is again, attached to the rest of her lovely form, and unlike the last time we discussed her posterior anatomy, there's no confusion today, because instead of referring to it as her buns or bun, we're going with cheeks. And there's no doubt people have two cheeks—a left one and the other one. It's good to finally have cleared that up.
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 12 2021 |
They may be cannibals but you have to credit their exquisite culinary taste.
The above poster for was made to promote Sergio Martino's La montagne du dieu cannibale, which was originally filmed in Italy as La montagna del dio cannibale, and in English was known as Slave of the Cannibal God and The Mountain of the Cannibal God. Basically, Ursula Andress ventures into the New Guinean jungle to find her husband, who disappeared during an expedition to Ra Ra Me Mountain, considered by native tribes to be cursed. The movie was actually shot in Sri Lanka, but details, details. Andress is accompanied on her quest by her brother, played by Antonio Marsina, a professor, played by Stacy Keach, and some unlucky locals. Their jungle trek brings on interpersonal strife, native attacks, gruesome murders, eventual capture, and additional gruesome murders, all to the accompaniment of creepy drum and synth music.
You'll sometimes see this movie classified as horror, but it's really a mondo revulsion flick, padded with real animal deaths that most people will find unwatchable. These gross-outs are somewhat balanced by the imminently watchable Ursula Andress, who's forty-two here and looking just fine. We don't mention that in passing. The entire point of this gorefest is to get her tied to a stake, stripped, and caressed by hot native girls. The plot about her missing husband—which morphs into a scheme to get rich with uranium—is just a fig leaf. We don't recommend the movie even with Andress undressed in it, but if you watch it maybe don't eat lunch beforehand. After originally premiering in West Germany, La montagne du dieu cannibale opened in France today in 1978.
New GuineaItalyFranceLa montagne du dieu cannibaleLa montagna del dio cannibaleSlave of the Cannibal GodThe Mountain of the Cannibal GodUrsula AndressStacy KeachClaudio CassinelliAntonio MarsinaSergio MartinoLuigina Rocchiposter artcinemanuditymovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jun 16 2021 |
Forså puts her name on the Marquis.
Above you see a poster for the erotic comedy Justine och Juliette, also known as Swedish Minx, which opened in Sweden today in 1975. We usually focus on beautiful art, but there's obviously nothing special about this particular promo. We watched the film anyway because one of its co-stars is Marie Forså, and you know how we feel about her. She's credited here as Marie Lynn, a pseudonym (sometimes it was Maria Lynn) she used in Flossie and Molly, though we didn't mention it when we talked about those movies.
Theoretically Justine och Juliette is based on the Marquis de Sade novels Justine, published in 1791, and Juliette, published in 1797. Forså and Annie Bie Warburg play sisters who take different paths trying to survive in the cruel world. Forså has principles, which lead to poverty, while Warburg will do anything for money and a flashy lifestyle. Forså, try as she might, can't keep herself from being sucked into Warburg's coterie of weirdoes, and pretty soon there's a sex film that was secretly shot with Forså as the unwitting star.
Justine och Juliette is one of those erotic films that had hardcore footage inserted, but instead of jarring close-ups of anonymous stunt genitals meant to deceive you into thinking Forså did the deed (which she sometimes did, just not in this movie), you get actual porn performers in action. Among them are Harry Reems, the aforementioned Warburg, and Brigitte Maier. They give the movie a bit of extra spark, but overall it just doesn't compare to the best ’70s sexploitation flicks. We're not calling it a dud, but it's not worth seeking out either, unless, like us, you're fans of the divine Miss Forså.
SwedenJustine och JulietteJustine and JulietteSwedish MinxMarie ForsåHarry ReemsAnne Bie WarburgBrigitte Maierposter artcinemasexploitationnudity
| Femmes Fatales | Jun 13 2021 |
We couldn't let her slide any longer.
We've had this sitting around for ten whole years. We were reluctant to post it because it's so rare. This tug of war went on forever, but today we've finally overcome our reservations because, after all, even though the scan will proliferate on the internet—and possibly even end up on Ebay like some of our other scans—we still have the physical item. So above you see iconic Japanese pinku actress Miki Sugimoto, star of such films as Zeroka no onna: Akai wappa, aka Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs and Sukeban gerira, aka Girl Boss Guerilla. A photographer named Takeo Sano was responsible for the image, and it was published as a four panel centerfold in the magazine Purei Comikku, or Play Comic, in 1973. Sugimoto has provided plenty of material for our website over the years. It's difficult to choose her greatest hits, but if forced, we'd say her best are here, here, and here. And maybe here too.
JapanPurei ComikkuPlay ComicZeroka no onna: Akai wappaZero Woman: Red HandcuffsSukeban geriraGirl Boss GuerillaMiki Sugimotopinkupinky violencenudity
| Modern Pulp | May 31 2021 |
It takes a lot of guts to watch these sometimes.
A long while back we put together a collection of posters for bdsm themed Japanese pinku films. Why? Why not. But we hadn't seen the movies. One was called Shojo no harawata, aka Entrails of Virgin, aka Guts of a Virgin, and we came across it recently and figured let's watch this thing. The story concerns a slimy fashion photographer and his equally slimy buddies who take two models to a secluded cabin with the intent to take advantage of them, but are attacked by a hairy monster from the woods who has a massive boner. The film is part of Kazuo Komizu's, aka Gaira's, “splatter-eros” trilogy along with Bijo no harawata, aka Guts of a Beautiful Woman and Gômon kifujin, aka Female Inquisitor. A few of his other directorial credits include Violence porno: Jôkan and Violence porno: Nawa to bôkô. You get the idea.
We try not to make any cultural judgments when we watch these pinkus. There's a line from James M. Cain (you knew we'd work in a pulp author somehow) where one of his characters says of bullfights, “If it was my own country I'd be against it, but when it's somebody else's, I go.” That's how we feel. When something in a pinku flick confuses us or weirds us out, we generally shrug and go, “Not my place to criticize.” And now, of course, we'll criticize. In terms of Japanese erotica, the actresses make noises of pleasure that are indistinguishable—at least to our ears—from noises of pain. Not cool. It's sort of a whining, like this feels soooo good I'm on the verge of tears. That's one reason we don't generally get turned on by pinku movies. While the women are uniformly fantastic, their erotic acting is way off target for us.
The blurred line between pleasure and pain in this movie is liable to do a number on your head. And if it doesn't, the scene where a model masturbates with a severed arm while blowing the monster certainly will. Hope we didn't give too much away there. As far as the entrails aspect, well, the title is provocative, but while there's a virgin, we see no entrails. Thank fucking God. And because sex in pinku movies is mostly implied due to laws against the showing of pubic hair or sex organs, the sexualized violence is largely implied too. It's cleverly implied though. So be forewarned. We can't recommend this movie, but the poster art is so amazing we had to share it. It's signed—see just below—but we were not able to ascertain by whom. Too bad. There's real talent there. More so than in the film. Shojo no harawata premiered in Japan today in 1986.
JapanRokugatsu GekijôShojo no harawataGuts of a VirginEntrails of a VirginBijo no harawataGuts of a Beautiful WomanGômon kifujinFemale InquisitorViolence porno: JôkanViolence porno: Nawa to bôkôSaeko KizukiNaomi HagioMegumi KawashimaKazuo KomizuGairasexploitationhorrorposter artpinkunuditycinemamovie review
| Vintage Pulp | May 26 2021 |
Just slow down. Where I come from it's called polygamy and people say it's bad. I see now they're wrong, but I still need a minute.
We love Adam magazine's South Seas stories. Even the ones that aren't particularly good have the bonus of being exotic to gringos like us. Geoffrey Allen's tale “M'Kutu Island” is a good example. You see an illustration for it on the cover of this May 1978 issue. It deals with a boat journey in the Pacific, a storm, a shipwreck, and a stranding on a tropical isle occupied by Amazonian type beauties. The women on M'Kutu Island have male slaves and use them for mating, but the men are wasting away because the women have enormous sexual appetites. The sailors don't realize that at first, and are like giggling schoolboys when they realize they're going to get all the strange they could ever desire, but when they can't meet the constant sexual demands they get to repairing their boat fast so they can get the hell off the island. Do they make it? Does it matter? Only the fantasy was important to readers, we suspect. Elsewhere in the magazine you get a table-of-contents shot of beloved British glamour model Stephanie Marrian, and a multi-page feature of equally popular British model Jane Warner. Seems as if Adam's Aussie publishers had a hotline direct to the motherland's top nudie photographers. We can think of worse people to have on the other end of the phone. We have thirty-plus scans below.
