7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Joy of Torture is an anthology that is made up of three separate stories that all intersect: The first segment is about Shinza who was hurt while working when a log hit him on the head, and now sister Mitsu is forced to give herself to her brother's boss Mr. Mino in order to help pay for Shinza's doctor bills. The second segment is about the arrival of mother Reiho and her servant Rintoku at the Jukuin monastery. The monastery is located near a temple inhabited by priests and one day when one of them named Shunkei runs by Reiho he arouses something inside of her. The final segment is about a tattoo artist named Horicho who has just given Kimicho his greatest tattoo to date. While showing his work off to a group of people, a man named Lord Nambera walks by mocking the tattoo and its lack of realism.
Starring: Teruo Yoshida, Fumio Watanabe, Yukie Kagawa, Shin'ichirô Hayashi, Asao KoikeForeign | 100% |
Horror | 33% |
Drama | 10% |
Period | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
“Joy” and “torture” probably don’t reside all that easily next to each other in any given formulation, but of course part of the provocative aspect of the title of Shogun’s Joy of Torture is that very disconnect. In fact writer and director Teruo Ishii made a whole series of similar films which have been banded together under the rubric Joys of Torture, which may only add to the overall unsettling feeling of things. Shogun’s Joy of Torture was the first entry in the franchise, part of Ishii’s wide ranging attempts to supposedly document historical Japan’s evident obsession with certain kinkinesses. Just the opening few moments of the film, which play out during the credits sequence, help alert the audience as to what’s in store, with various scenes detailing both the beheading and the vivisection of some poor, helpless woman who has been tied and bound and hung from a tree, another woman being burned alive and a third being ripped apart. Arrow Video, long the purveyor of cult cinema, has been releasing Ishii's films over the past few years, and in my review of their Blu-ray release of Orgies of Edo, I mentioned how the general presentiment of "outsiders" with a familiarity of Japanese culture is how "polite" and "nice" the Japanese are seen to be, and in that regard it might be salient to note that Shogun's Joy of Torture was evidently met with shock by the critical class, but maybe hilariously with awe by the ticket buying public, as so often tends to be the case, and not just in Japan. The film was something of a cause célèbre in its day, which no doubt led to even greater renown and probably ironically helped encourage Toie and Ishii to keep churning out subsequent efforts. Even by Ishii standards Shogun's Joy of Torture can be a bit stomach churning at times, and as some of the supplements get into, it's virtually impossible to ignore what many will no doubt consider misogynistic currents wafting through the film.
Shogun's Joy of Torture is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is another Toie offering where Arrow's insert booklet contains only the following pretty generic verbiage on the transfer:
Shogun's Joy of Torture is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 [sic] with mono sound.As has also been the case with other Toie supplied masters, there are some variabilities at play here, though on the whole the presentation can often offer good to excellent detail levels, especially since Ishii loves to zoom in for extreme close-ups of faces, where everything from pores to flyaway hairs can be easily visible. That said, there are a number of fairly soft looking moments, and there are even some brief interludes that have peculiar anomalies, as in what looks like momentary anamorphic stretching (see screenshot 6) or even a defective lens that is adding to what looks like fringing (see screenshot 19). There are also a couple of moments that frankly look out of focus. The palette also experiences some fluctuations, and looked a bit faded overall to my eyes, with flesh tones veering toward browns at times. That said, there are sections that look nicely vivid, and the blood reds can be quite impressive. Grain resolves without any issues.
The High Definition master was produced and supplied by Toie, with additional grading by Arrow Films at R3Store Studios, London.
Shogun's Joy of Torture offers an enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track in the original Japanese. Some of the score choices, including what sound like taiko drums pounding out an almost feral rhythm as the film opens, are nicely full bodied and display no signs of distortion or breaking up. Many of the outdoor scenes have at least passing attempts at ambient environmental fill in the background, and sound fine also. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, though it did look and sound to me like there had been copious post looping. Optional English subtitles are available.
There are actually three morality plays "with a twist" on display in Shogun's Joy of Torture which make this aggregation almost seem like a slightly erotic-grotesque version of something like Rod Serling's old Night Gallery series. The character studies are often quite fascinating, but viewers had best be prepared for a little blood, gore and smackdown of females along the way. Video is a little rough looking at times, but audio is fine and as usual with Arrow's releases, the supplemental package is quite well done. With caveats noted, and for Ishii fans in particular, Recommended.
残酷異常虐待物語 元禄女系図 / Zankoku ijō gyakutai monogatari: Genroku on'na keizu
1969
2011
四谷怪談 / Yotsuya Kaidan
1959
狂った一頁 / Kurutta ippêji
1926
1969
地獄 / Jigoku / Hell | Standard Edition
1979
1993
Limited Edition of 1000 Made
2020
1986
Lubię nietoperze
1986
Le temps du loup
2003
Tras el cristal
1986
No es bueno que el hombre esté solo
1973
Il demonio
1963
鬼婆
1964
藪の中の黒猫 / Yabu no naka no kuroneko
1968
Лептирица | The She-Butterfly | Limited Edition
1973
Chi o suu bara
1974
2004
Der Todesking
1990