The Alphabet Meme: An A-Z of Nikkatsu Sleaze and Action

I've been tagged by my friend and neighbor Glenn Kenny to participate in the alphabet meme, in which bloggers are asked to create (duh) an A-Z list of their favorite films, or something. To be honest, the thought of coming up with twenty-six titles that will no doubt pop up on other peoples lists isn't all that appealing, nor do I find it terribly interesting for you, my dear readers.

So, for a bit of fun (as well as a reprieve from working on part two of my Synecdoche, New York review) I thought I'd create an A-Z of films produced by The Nikkatsu Corporation, Japan's oldest movie studio. However, I've limited the selection to their classic action films of the 50s and 60s and their roman porno titles from the 70s and 80s. For added fun, I've included the poorly translated descriptions of the films as they appear in Nikkatsu's sales catalog for distributors.

• Again Like a Beast (1981) - Beasts in their birth suits who do not know how to stop. 
• Branded to Kill (1967) - One mistake leads to death. Hard action. 
• College Dorm VS Nurse Dorm (1984) - Wanted! Pen or injection. 
• Dirty Mary (1974) - A female cop challenges to a photo maniac & sadistic criminal. 
• Eighteen (1979) - Two youngsters who "play" suicide time to time. (Hochi Film Award winner!) 
• Flesh Bed (1975) - 18th century, a man with penis enlargement surgery, and his life. Comedy. 
• Goodbye, Mr. Tears (1966) - Love and friendship of band members towards a girl from America. 
• Her Thighs: Zoom Up (1982) - A photographer gets too close to the bottom half of women. Comedy. 
• If Her Parents Knew... (1982) - I get sick if I don't have enough sex! (Ed: Greatest. Synopsis. Ever.) 
• Jealousy Game (1982) - Since that night, he was supposed to be mine... 
• Knock Down (1960) - Never give up, just beat them up... Boxing spectacle. 
• Lily Tribe 2 (1983) - "Rose" homosexuals vs. "Lily" lesbians. 
• Mini Skirt Lynchers (1969) - The Yokohama women student gang. (See pic on right.) 
• Ninja Swastika (1974) - Erotic strategy for female Ninja. The way to win!! 
• Office Slave (1981) - A man who loves a woman secretly leads her into the hell of insults. 
• Pink Hip Girl: Love Attack (1979) - A man and a woman leave for a virgin road of pleasure. 
• Quick Shooter (1960) - A quick shooter goes around the town. 
• Rope and Breasts (1983) - A couple who travels around stripping get into the real S&M. 
• Savage Wolf Pack (1969) - Continuous speedy actions which give you goose bumps. 
• That Guy and I (1961) - New way of love and life for young people. 
• Uniform Classification Office (1982) - School with no rules, students are gathered in an office... 
• Virgin Blues (1974) - Female student's love toward a middle aged man, and vice versa. 
• Wet and Hit! (1984) - Girls in tennis wears, focusing from the head to the ground. (Winner: Best director, Yokohama Film Festival) 
• ?????????? 
• Young Days (1976) - Shiny and fragile youthful days. 
• Zero Fighter, The (1962) - The unit left behind on a deserted island. Truth, love, and action.

I'm meant to tag five more people, but I can't be bothered to find out if they've been tagged already. Anyway, here goes:

Coffee coffee & more coffee
Girish
Out of Focus
Idiot Savant Online
MC Hammer  (hey, why not?)

Comments

[colinr]

I like the synopsis from If Her Parents Knew... as well! The plot reminds me a little of those French films I Am A Nymphomaniac and its much less successful sequel I Am Frigid....Why? (who would have thought that a film with frigid in the title would prove such a turn off?)

I'm only bringing this up for the chance to quote one of my favourite lines from Frigid...Why?, spoken during a quarrel between the main characters - "Let's say for a moment that I AM as stupid as you think I am!"

[That French Girl]

Look at the face of boyfriend in the background. Reminds me of Lost in Translation; "with more intensity."

[Daniel]

Great interpretation of this meme! Do I smell a massive, mostly erotic, Benten boxset coming soon?

[Toby]

Cripes, all those movies look incredible. Are any of them readily available here in the US?

[Filmbrain]

Well, Branded to Kill is available through Criterion, but I don't know if any others are available on DVD in the States. Many are on DVD in Japan (I have about a dozen of them) but without subtitles.

[Peter Nellhaus]

I was tagged by the Siren. I'll have my list up early next week when the film festival is over here in Denver.

[lichman]

i may be taking ninja swastika from you for a bit.

for...research...on...ninja nazis?

[Peter Nellhaus]

By the way, great list. I hope I can see some of those films listed (aside from Branded to Kill which was my into to Seijun Suzuki).

[Joshua]

I always liked Glass Johnny : Looks Like A Beast, and A Colt is my Passport. Good list!

[john john]

Another dull meme bites the dust. Bravo. Good illustration, too.

[Bob Turnbull]

I want to see every single one of those films. And I want to see them now. OK, I've seen "Branded To Kill" a ton of times, but I'll watch that again right now too. If I remember correctly, it too had "continuous speedy actions".

I did three of these lists (one of them is all documentaries), but none of them has a title as cool as "Mini Skirt Lynchers".