Nikkatsu Roman Porn Trailer Collection

Japanese Cult Erotica

Impulse Pictures

R1

Since World War II pornography was gradually making its way into Japanese film. The films were quite popular and were shown widely, unlike other countries that tried to ban it or at least keep it suppressed through censorship. The Japanese directors were restricted by censorship laws in what they could show. Genitals and even pubic hair were definitely out although rape and torture were allowable. Genitalia could always be hidden by a strategically placed piece of furniture or a prop or simply blotted out by pixelation or a grey oval over the offending parts. They were treated as mainstream cinema and for a time were one of the most popular genres at the theatres. They were known generally as “Pink” films. The style first appeared in the 1960s, made by many small studios. Gradually the films fell into a formula.

According to researchers Donald Richie and Pia Harrittz there were certain basics that a film needed to fall into the genre.

It had a quota of sex scenes, usually about one every ten minutes.

It should last about an hour.

It would be filmed on 16mm or 35mm film

It would be low-budget and usually shot within a week

Within these parameters directors were free to indulge themselves. They usually had a story of sorts to work to and in this they were more like the European filmmakers.

“Roman” porn was an abbreviation of “romantic pornography”, and Nikkatsu was one of the leading producers of the genre from the early 1970s along with Toei. The main difference between Pink films and Roman Porn is that the latter was made by better-funded studios.

The growth of home video in the 80s just about finished off the genre for the small producers. Some of the larger studios like Nikkatsu moved into the area, producing high quality Roman Porn films using better equipment and staff than the small producers could afford.

Although the Roman Porno (or Pink) films are technically porn they fit more into the erotica or at worst soft porn categories. The display of genitalia was still banned but the cinematography was lavish and top-class and the higher production values lifted the films from porn to erotica. The subtlety of this is in sharp contrast with the cruder more vulgar U.S. productions developing at the time. The difference is that the U.S. producers were determined to shock and titillate but the Japanese producers already had an established market with quite sophisticated tastes.

In 1984 stronger censorship laws marked the death of the genre. Now that porn was sneaking into mainstream theatrical films it was hard to maintain sales. In 1988 “Bed Partner” was Nikkatsu’s final Roman Porn film. They continued to distribute Pink films through a variety of company names but the genre never regained its popularity. Nikkatsu went bankrupt in 1993.

Surprisingly there has been a revival in interest in the Pink genre in the 2000s. Impulse Pictures plans to reissue many of the Nikkatsu films. From the brief examples shown on the DVD the quality will be superb. There are thirty eight trailers, all taken from what looks like the original film masters. There is also a full length short film, Ryoko’s Lesbian Flight. Like so many of these films it doesn’t really deliver what the title suggests. It is the titles of the trailers that show the range covered by Roman porn. In many countries even now the films would be banned just because of the lurid titles. The treatment of women would rouse the feminists into a frenzy.

Titles include Apartment Wife: Afternoon Affair, Coed report: Yoko’s White Breasts, Confidential Report: Prostitute Torture Hell, Female Teacher Hunting (teachers are a popular theme), Nurses Gone Wild (so are nurses); Nympho Diver: G String Festival; Rape!; Rape Me; Sex Hunter and Zoom In: Rape Apartments.

The girls are almost universally attractive and natural looking, the cinematography is tasteful and the plots, though short, are usually reasonably intelligent. It is a pleasant change from the rather crude and genital-obsessed U.S. productions. Erotic? Definitely. Pornographic? No way. I look forward to seeing the films themselves.

Reviews appear on the Synergy website with a single cover image. In the digital and print edition, reviews appear with multiple images and with expanded content.

This review will appear in Volume 4 No. 2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy.

We recommend you download the free digital edition (or buy the print edition) to get the most from Synergy. The print and digital editions of Synergy also include a large selection of articles and features not found on the website. If you have a limited download quota you can view the digital edition via the Issuu viewer on the digital edition page.

If you came to this page directly (and missed our menu), click here to go to the front page of Synergy Website or use the following link: http://www.synergy-magazine.com