nochvemo-redux

[nochvemo-redux]

Classical Romance (1989)

Richard Mailer's "Classical Romance" is Porno Chic, shot on the film at the end of the theatrical era and all the better for it. It has exactly the same theme as the horribly overrated clunker "La La Land", but was far more entertaining for me. That's because "La La", touted by sycophantic critics as "for people who love movies" was phony as a 3 dollar bill. I sat through at least a thousand movie musicals, mostly in theaters (revival houses) and appreciated the artistry of the form when directed by the likes of Busby Berkeley, Mark Sandrich, Minnelli and Donen, but that latest pastiche from the "jazz for dummies" creep who made "Whiplash" (in whose universe the giants of jazz are white guys) severely bungled the durable theme pitting selling out vs. sticking true to one's artistic goals. By lor_​

[nochvemo-redux]

檻の中の欲しがる女たち (Ori no naka no hoshigaru onnatachi) (1987) AKA Women in Heat Behind Bars

Shinobu is bullied and abused by inmates and guards and after being framed for starting a fight, is taken away and tied up by the prison's infamous Mr. Kiya. Through flashbacks, we discover why many of the women have been locked up here, and soon, in one great act of defiance, they rise up to overtake the prison in a bloody, violent riot. Can the shy Himeno ever escape this living hell? Shinobu Himeno (Shinobu Wakana), gets thrown in the clink after a botched robbery and once there she suffers all the indignities that the other inmates and the guards throw at her. Pretty much a by the numbers WIP plot, it checks off all the boxes for this genre, sadistic warden and guards? Check! Convict on convict action? Check! Prison Riot? Check! And that old standby, body cavity searches? Check!(this one you gotta see). At 69 mins, it moves at a good clip, never lagging, and keeps the sex scenes and degradations coming. Recommended for Nikkatsu aficionados and WIP fans in general. By dekkard8​