BOHACHI BUSHIDO: CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT (1972)
Label: Mondo Macabro
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 Minutes 12 Seconds
Audio: Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 with English subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Teruo Ishii
Cast: Tetsurō Tamba, Gorō Ibuki, Yuriko Hishimi, Tatsuo Endō
The Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman's Curse) directed Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1972) stars Tetsuro Tanba (Violent Streets) as the assassin-swordsman Shinô Ashita. The film opens with a very striking and highly stylized sequence of him battling samurai on a bridge over a river, vastly outnumbered he slices his way through many of them, limbs are severed and the blood streams in torrents, but having grown weary of the samurai code he relents, noting that “To die is hell, but to live, is also hell”, choosing to throw himself off the bridge into the icy river below in a suicide attempt. His would-be suicide is thwarted when the Bohachi clan, a vicious gang who have forsaken any semblance of honor, abandoning the eight virtues of humanity: godliness, loyalty, respect for your elders, trust, modesty, justice, conscience, and shame, who are lead by Shirobei Daimon (Tatsuo Endô, Sex and Fury), manage to retrieve his unconscious body from the river and nurse him back to health, warming his body with the warm flesh naked women. Hid current state of mind pairs well with their ideology, and they successfully recruit him to take out their flesh-peddling brothel competitors in the village, offering him protection from the law in return, which he accepts.
The film has some pretty awesome stylized sequences with garish lighting, the sword fights are bloody as Hell and action-packed, and the nudity come fast and furious throughout - the sheer amount of breasts seen here is quite breathtaking. The final set piece is a another huge battle with Shiro taking on another horde of sword-wilding attackers, this time he's drug-addled with opium, The scene having a hallucinatory quality to it that is both bloody and surreal with plenty of slicing and dicing, making for a wonderfully surreal and quite sleazy exploitation spectacle, chock full of nihilism, eroticism and bloody sword violence.
Audio/Video: Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (1972) makes it's worldwide Blu-ray debut from Mondo Macabro, advertised as a 4K scan of the original negative, framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, in 1080p HD. The source looks terrific, grain structures are intact, fine detail and textures are pleasing, and the skin tones, and there's a lot of skin on display here, looks warm and supple. The heavily stylized sequences are look quite wonderful, great use of colors and they look great. Some shots are softer than others due to source limitations, but generally this is a very pleasing presentation. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue exchanges are delivered without issue, no age-related wear and tear to speak of, sequences of violence and clanging swords have oomph, and the score by Hajime Kaburagi’s (Eighteen Years in Prison) has heft. It's vintage mono and lacks depth but still has solid fidelity for what it is.
Extras kick off with a new Audio Commentary with Japanese film expert Tom Mes who gives his usual well-informed and researched input, getting into the decline of Japanese cinema in the 60s and the rise of the pinky violence films, and analyzing the film itself and it's handling of the edo-era. We also get Archival Audio Commentary with Japanese film makers J-Taro Sugisaku and Takao Nakano, in Japanese with subtitles. There's also a 42-sec Introducing the Commentators that establishes the archival commentator's bona fides. We also get a 18-min Interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto about working with Bohachi Bushido director Teruo Ishii, plus a 21-min Archival interview with actress Yuriko Hishimi; and a 16-min Archival interview “What is Pinky Violence?”. Disc extras are buttoned-up with a 3-mn Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc standard version Blu-ray edition arrives in standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring a terrific looking Justin Coffee illustration that nicety captures the tone of the film.
Special Features:
- Interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto about working with BOHACHI BUSHIDO director Teruo Ishii (17:44)
- Archival interview with actress Yuriko Hishimi (21:04)
- Archival interview “What is Pinky Violence?” (15:33)
- Audio Commentary with Japanese film expert Tom Mes.
- Archival Audio Commentary with Japanese film makers J-Taro Sugisaku and Takao Nakano
- Introducing the Commentators (0:42)
- Theatrical Trailer (3:11)
Screenshots from the Mondo Macabro Blu-ray:
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