Rope Hell
| Rope Hell | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster for Rope Hell (1978) | |
| Directed by | Kōyū Ohara[1] |
| Written by | Kyōhei Konno |
| Produced by | Yoshiki Yūki |
| Starring | Naomi Tani |
| Cinematography | Hidenobu Nimura |
| Edited by | Atsushi Nabeshima |
| Music by | Hajime Kaburagi |
| Distributed by | Nikkatsu |
Release date | June 24, 1978 |
Running time | 69 min. |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Rope Hell (縄地獄, Nawa jigoku) is a 1978 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Kōyū Ohara and starring Naomi Tani.
Synopsis[edit]
Akiko is the heir to a yakuza clan. Hitoshi, who has been kicked out of the rival Hono Clan after attempting to seduce Akiko, kidnaps her at the behest of Hanamura. Hanamura has formed a new gang and intends to use Akiko as a hostage to take over her clan's territory. During the torture and abuse sessions which follow, Akiko comes to enjoy the treatment and forsakes her gangland empire.[2][3]
Cast[edit]
- Naomi Tani: Akiko[4]
- Nami Aoki: Machiko
- Hirokazu Inoue: Saiji
- Hitoshi Takagi: Hitoshi Hanamura
- Kenji Fuji: Gorō
Background[edit]
Rope Hell was based on Oniroku Dan's novel Yakuza Angel (やくざ天使, Yakuza tenshi).[1] Like much of Oniroku Dan's works, Rope Hell uses the theme of a character who is changed through S&M sessions.[2] At the same time that he was creating such dark torture-fests as Rope Hell, Kōyū Ohara was also directing the bright and upbeat Pink Tush Girl films, which were popular with women as well as men.[2][5] Ohara had previously worked with Naomi Tani in Fascination: Portrait of a Lady (1977), and had teamed her with her on-screen tormentor in Rope Hell, Hirokazu Inoue in Fairy in a Cage (also 1977).[2] Both of these films had also based on Dan's writings.[3]
Critical appraisal[edit]
Allmovie judges Rope Hell to be an inferior film compared to Fairy in a Cage.[2] In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, the Weissers also write that Rope Hell is not up to the quality of Ohara and Tani's previous work together, but comment positively on Ohara's visuals.[3] The Weissers judge Oniroku Dan's story to be more objectionable than some of his others, with the message that a woman will choose submission and reject self-expression if given the choice, to be clearer than in his other scripts.[3]
Availability[edit]
Rope Hell was released theatrically in Japan on June 24, 1978.[6] It was released to home video in VHS format in Japan on February 6, 1998.[7]
Bibliography[edit]
English[edit]
- Nawa jigoku at AllMovie
- "NAWA JIGOKU". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- Nawa jigoku (1978) at IMDb
- Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 220, 335. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.
- Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. ISBN 1-889288-52-7.
Japanese[edit]
- 団鬼六「やくざ天使」より 縄地獄(1978) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- 縄地獄 (in Japanese). Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- 縄地獄 (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- 縄地獄(邦画) (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- 団鬼六「やくざ天使」より・縄地獄 (in Japanese). www.nikkatsu-romanporno.com. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b 団鬼六「やくざ天使」より 縄地獄(1978) (in Japanese). allcinema.net. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ a b c d e Firsching, Robert. "Nawa Jigoku". Allmovie. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ a b c d Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. ISBN 1-889288-52-7.
- ^ 縄地獄(邦画) (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ Weisser, p. 313.
- ^ "縄地獄". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Retrieved 2009-09-14.
- ^ "縄地獄 (VHS)" (in Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-09-14.