Gate of Flesh

Those lovely folk at Pagan Films have been digging hard once again to bring yet another rare release out on the shiny disc format. This time round it's the turn of Seijun Suzuki's classic 'Gate of Flesh' (aka Nikutai No Mon) to make its world DVD premiere.

The story is set just after the war, where we follow the trials of a group of young prostitutes on the streets of Tokyo. They're a very close knit gang and with no 'pimp' controlling them they live by their own rules - some of which lead to brutal punishment if broken. The girls lives are changed when an ex-soldier turned criminal called Shintaro walks into their lives.

Made back in 1964 'Gate of Flesh' is a very polished production that outshines its little known recognition. Suzuki's direction is fluid throughout the film and at times is very stylish indeed. At times the film has a very theatrical feel, looking like it would be at home as a stage production as much as on screen itself. The cast give a strong performance with the core group of girls each playing off each other to nice effect.

Whilst the title and plotline may seem to some folk that they're going to be watching some kind of erotic extravaganza, be warned it's not. What you do get is a very stylish but straight drama with just a touch of the unavoidable politics of that time (well hey, the war had just ended and Johnny GI was all over their streets).

Genre titalation fans don't lose out though, there are some very strong scenes of the graphic violence nature throughout. Whenever the girls administer their own brand of punishment you wonder in amazment at the BBFC's relaxed manner these days (not that I'm complaining in any way - nice one!) and animal lovers should look away when Shintaro shows off his carving skills!

As ever with Pagan releases the widescreen print sourced is great with those cool positionable subtitles (a nice touch that I find very welcome!) The extras here are pretty barebone with just a still gallery and biography section. But again as ever with Pagan, the biographys are just great. Sprawling pages of information on the film and its director that make for a fascinating read.

Maybe not to everyones taste (well don't watch it looking for a laugh and a wank!), but if your looking for some quality classic Japanese cinema then you can't go wrong here. Check it out.