Storyline:Teruo
Ishii''s extremely provocative movie set in the 1600 in
feudal Japan. 3 short stories dealing with punishment
and torture. The first deals with incest where a woman
is beaten and tortured to death for having an affair
with her dying brother. The second is about lesbian nuns
and the third story shows a crazy tattoo artist who
kidnaps a woman to use as his canvas. Even though this
movie is over 35 years old, the effects and the gore are
amazing! Humans burned at barbeques, decapitations and
more torture than you could possibly wish for makes this
classic videonasty a must have for all fans of good and
gory movies.
Special Features:
- Trailer
- Image Gallery
Review:
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 give herself to her brothers boss Mr. Mino in
order to help pay for Shinzas doctors bills. Mitsu
agrees to talk to Mr. Mino about her brothers bill.
Only he doesnt want to talk and decides to collect the
debt owed to him from even if she was unwilling. Mitsu
returns home after being raped by Mr. Mino only to find
herself now being violated by her brother who now
professes his love for her. They decide to keep their
incestuous love a secret until one day when Mr. Mino
shows up unexpected and catches them in the act. Mr.
Mino threatens to report them o the police if Mitsu
doesnt submit to himself once and for all as his
mistress.
The second segment is about the arrival of mother Reiho and her
servant Rintoku at the Jukuin monastery. The monastery
is located new to e temple inhabited by priest and one
day when one of them named Shunkei runs by Reiho he
arouses something inside of her. Reiho secretly watches
from the bushes as Myushin and Shunkei have sexual
rendezvous in the woods. Reiho who has developed an
infatuation with Shunkei threatens to blackmail him into
having have sex with her. Reihos obsession for Shunkei
grows after he spurns her advances which leads to even
more trouble for the woman he loves Myushin.
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 it lack of
realism. Distraught Horicho begins to doubt himself as
he looks high and low for the perfect subject for his
next creation. In ordered to capture the essence of the
realism he so desperately wants to capture in his
tattoos Horicho asks Lord Nambera if he would allow him
to witness the torturing sessions that go on during
interrogations. With his masterpiece near completed he
asks one more favor of Lord Nambera that will help fill
in the final blank.
All three stories in Shoguns Joy of Torture are connected by
similar themes that connect them as a whole. The three
stories are all well written and the acting as a whole
is really good for a film with such dark subject matter.
The films violence builds as the film progresses with
each new segment up the level torture and mayhem. The
Joy of Torture is a melting pot of sleaze that has all
the staples we have come to expect from exploitation
films like incest, nuns, rape, genital mutilation,
beheadings, crucifixions and various other forms of
torture. Despite the disturbing images that are
contained the film every frame has been carefully
designed and beautifully photographed. Director Teruo
Ishii has never been known for his subtleness or
unwillingness to take on controversial subjects. His
direction in The Joy of Torture is inspired with stand
out moments being the films two main torture sequences
that leave very little for the imagination with their go
for the throat mentality. Overall The Joy of Torture is
solid film that foreshadows the visceral style of cinema
that would dominate most of the 1970′s.
Very harsh Japanese torture film.
by HumanoidOfFlesh
"Shogun''s Joy Of Torture" is the first part in Teruo
Ishii''s so-called "Tokugawa Series".This episode is set
in seventeenth century Japan,when members of the
Tokugawa clan ruled the country with fear and
terror.Punishment for those who broke the rules set by
the Shogunate was brutal and severe."Shogun''s Joy Of
Torture" tells three terrifying stories about
guilt,crime,and punishment.The film is loaded with some
truly shocking torture scenes,so some unprepared viewers
will be offended.Women are decapitated,burned
alive,beaten,whipped or torn in two by oxen.The
production values are high,the cinematography is
polished and the soundtrack is moody and sad."Joy of
Torture" spawned seven sequels from Teruo Ishii.All of
them are truly sadistic spectacles of violence and
misogyny,so fans of Japanese exploitation should check
them out.9 out of 10.
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