History of Film, Part 7: 1970-1979 • Page 2

Discussion in 'Entertainment Forum' started by Morrissey, Dec 11, 2025.

  1. George Jan 2, 2026
    (Last edited: Jan 2, 2026)
    George

    Trusted Prestigious

    For something a bit different and off the beaten path a little, I got into watching quite a bit of Japanese Pink films / Pinky violence films, from late 60s and into the heyday of the 70s. Some of these are just trashy sexploitation films, but they're made so cheaply that sometimes you get really interesting directors coming through, or people doing very interesting things with genre films with very little supervision or eyes over their shoulder. They're also often very political, with quite a few directors linked to the far-left Red Army around this time. They almost all come in at 90 minutes or less too, which is nice.

    I particularly like Koji Wakamatsu, who was incredibly prolific from the late 60s until the mid 70s or so. I've watched around 30 of his films in the past couple of years and the vast majority are between 66 and 75. Really interesting politically, and some really striking looking films. Some good (though with the caveat that they're not for everyone) films from him;

    Go Go Second Time Virgin
    Violated Angels
    Ecstasy of the Angels
    Running in Madness, Dying in Love
    Violent Virgin
    Shinjuku Mad
    Violence Without a Cause
    The Woman Who Wanted to Die
    Season of Terror
    Secret Flower

    For the maybe more palatable, "fun" genre films, there's a lot of really good ones that just take more established genre fare and trash it up a bit. I particularly like;

    Sex and Fury
    Zero Woman Red Handcuffs
    Girl Boss Guerrilla (a series of 6-7 films)
    Blind Woman's Curse
    School of the Holy Beast (sometimes called The Transgressor, which is a much more boring title)
    Wandering Ginza Butterfly
    Female Prisoner Scorpion (a series of 4 films)
    Terrifying Girls’ High School (a series of 4 films)

    These are all relatively accessible and just good fun watches.

    There's then a handful that I think I like, but are extremely provocative, though not aimlessly, but do quite push the boat out in terms of content and "respectability". Worth a watch if you don't mind that sort of thing;

    Star of David Beauty Hunting
    Fairy in a Cage
    Angel Guts
    The Watcher in the Attic
    Flower and Snake
    The Woman with Red Hair


    All of these films can be quite unpleasant, but if you like American exploitation cinema of the 70s and 80s, there's a lot of overlap and interesting films to seek out. Happy to share any links if anybody is interested in any of the films.
     
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  2. soggytime

    Trusted

    Speaking of blindspots - just saw Sorcerer for the first time. My god, what a picture
     
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  3. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter

    1980s babyyyyyy!
     
  4. OhTheWater

    Let it run Supporter