Gate of Flesh
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| Gate of Flesh | |
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| Directed by | Seijun Suzuki |
| Produced by | Kaneo Iwai |
| Starring | Joe Shishido Satoko Kasai Yumiko Nogawa |
| Music by | Naozumi Yamamoto |
| Cinematography | Shigeyoshi Mine |
| Release date(s) |  May 31, 1964 Dec 11,1964 |
| Running time | 90 min |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Gate of Flesh (肉体の門 Nikutai no mon?) is a 1964 film directed by Seijun Suzuki.
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[edit] Synopsis
In the impoverished and burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post-World War II Japan, a band of prostitutes defend their territory, squat in a bombed-out building. Somehow they eke out a living together. Forming a sort of family in an environment where everyone (American soldiers and Japanese entrepreneurs) is a potential antagonist, the girls joke and cajole each other, and ruthlessly punish any of their group who violate the cardinal rule -- no having sex for free. A new girl, Maya, joins their group and learns the trade. An ex-soldier, Shintaro Ibuki, is shot nearby and holes up with the girls. Each of them starts to crave Ibuki, placing strains on the group. Maya feels it worse, seeing him as replacement for her brother (who died in Borneo). She takes him after a night of drunken revelry, and both are ostracized. Agreeing to run away together, he is shot in a double- cross, and she is left as she was at the beginning of the film -- alone and hopeless.
[edit] Production
Planned as an "adult release" (Japanese films were classified by the country's film board as "general release" or "adult"), the usual pace of production at Nikkatsu (10 days pre-production, 25 days shooting, 3 days post-production) allowed Suzuki and his innovative production designer Takeo Mimura precious little time to construct sets ot recreate post-war firebombed Tokyo. Sets were slapped together on the backlot using materials purloined from studio warehouses, and theatrical set design techniques which could compromise the film's "realism." The resulting production has been lauded for its resulting visual flair.
Most female actresses at Nikkatsu refused to the work in the film due to the nudity and subject matter, so the cast's female roles were filled with actresses outside the studio.
[edit] Cast
- Joe Shishido … Shintaro Ibuki
- Yumiko Nogawa … Borneo Maya
- Satoko Kasai … Komasa Sen
- Koji Wada … Abe
- Tomiko Ishii … Roku
- Kayo Matsuo … Mino
- Misako Tominaga … Machiko
- Keisuke Noro … Ishii
- Chico Rolando … Catholic Priest
[edit] References
Seijun Suzuki, Takeo Kimura. (2005). Gate of Flesh (Interviews) (.com) [DVD]. The Criterion Collection. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
[edit] External links
- Gate of Flesh at the Internet Movie Database
- Criterion Collection essay by Chuck Stephens
- Gate of Flesh at the Japanese Movie Database
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| Japanese Cinema |  |
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| Films directed by Seijun Suzuki | ||
| 1950s | Victory Is Mine | Pure Emotions of the Sea | Satan's Town | Inn of the Floating Weeds | Eight Hours of Terror | The Naked Woman and the Gun | Underworld Beauty | Spring Never Came | Young Breasts | Voice Without a Shadow | Love Letter | Passport to Darkness | Age of Nudity | |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | Take Aim at the Police Van | Sleep of the Beast | Clandestine Zero Line | Everything Goes Wrong | Fighting Delinquents | Tokyo Knights | The Big Boss Who Needs No Gun | Man with a Shotgun | A New Wind Over the Mountain Pass | Blood Red Water in the Channel | Million Dollar Smash and Grab | Teen Yakuza | The Guys Who Put Money on Me | Detective Bureau 23: Go to Hell, Bastards! | Youth of the Beast | The Bastard | Kanto Wanderer | The Flower and the Angry Waves | Gate of Flesh | Our Blood Will Not Forgive | Story of a Prostitute | Story of a Bastard: Born Under a Bad Star | Tattooed Life | Carmen of Kawachi | Tokyo Drifter | Fighting Elegy | Branded to Kill | |
| 1970s | A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness | |
| 1980s | Zigeunerweisen |Kagero-za | Capone Cries a Lot | Lupin III: Legend of the Gold of Babylon | |
| 1990s | Yumeji | Marriage | |
| 2000s | Pistol Opera | Princess Raccoon | |
