Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight

"Porno Jidaigeki: Bohachi Bushido" aka. "Bohachi: Clan Of The Forgotten Eight" of 1973, should be interesting to all my fellow fans of Japanese Exploitation cinema, as it is a film that combines the work of Teruo Ishii and Kazuo Koike. Teruo Ishii is the brilliant director responsible for films such as "Female Yakuza Tale", "The Black Cat's Revenge", "The Executioner" or "Horrors Of Malformed Men". Kazuo Koike is the genius writer behind such masterpieces as the "Kozure Ôkami" films with Tomisaburo Wakayama, the "Hanzo The Razor" films with Shintaro Katsu, or "Lady Snowblood" with Meiko Kaji (Koike wrote the comic-books these films were based on, and, in most cases, the screenplays). The pairing of Koike and Ishii promises something stylish, brutal and sleazy, and this memorable film truly has all these attributes. While "Porno Jidaigeki" is not one of the most memorable Chambara/Sexploitation crossovers (films like "Hanzo The Razor: Sword Of Justice" and "Sex And Fury" come with my highest possible recommendations) this is definitely a very interesting, blood-soaked and delightfully sleazy film that fans of Japanese Exploitation cinema should not miss.

In 17th century Japan, a Ronin named Shiro (Tetsuro Tamba) is recruited by the ruthless Bohachi-Clan, which controls prostitution in the area. The Bohachi-Clan's forces include the 'Bohachi Women', some sort of mixture between prostitutes and beautiful but lethal (and mostly naked) female assassins. Shiro is to wipe out the Clan's competitors in prostitution business... Tetsuro Tamba is stone-cold and bad-ass as always, and he was the perfect choice to play Shiro. The yummy female cast members are naked for about 99% of their screen time, and the film is filled with vast amounts of perverted sleaze as well as lost of stylish bloodshed, so most of my fellow Exploitation-lovers should be satisfied. The score is also pretty cool, and the photography and choreography are great. The story may be a bit messy, but the film's great style, and, especially, the sexy female cast and tons of sleaze and violence make up for this easily. Overall, "Bohachi: Clan Of The Forgotten Eight" is a more than entertaining film that should satisfy all my fellow fans of Japanese Exploitation cinema. Highly Recommended.

Bohachi Bushido is the story of an ex-samurai named Shiro. Believing life and death to be the same hell, he tries to kill himself by jumping into a river. A very hard man to kill, Shiro is revived by members of the Clan of the Forgotten Eight- an organization of men and women who have discarded god, servitude, loyalty, trust, propriety, justice, conscience, and shame. The Forgotten Eight run Japan's cruel sex industry and they recruit Shiro to rid them of their competition. Shiro agrees to work for them, more out of boredom than any real convictions.

So, we have a bad ass samurai running through the sexual underworld of 17th century Edo directed by Teruro Ishii for Toei studios in 1973. That means blood, lots of nudity, perhaps some misogyny, a couple moments of brilliant cinematography, and maybe just a little more nudity. Not a great movie, but definitely a lot of fun!

Tetsuro Tamba plays a wonderful "Shiro", both pained and bemused by the hell of life. Gorou Ibuki as "Kesazo Shirakubi", the Bohachi second in command, has a great chemistry with Tamba. Ibuki would pretty much play the "Shiro" role in another Bohachi film a few years later as a similar (but sicker) life loathing ex-samurai in "Bohachi Bushido: Saburai" with the lovely Reiko Ike as a pistol wielding Bohachi woman.

Staggering soft-porn samurai picture that impresses by stunning visual, utterly choreographed on those numberless mist night fights, almost shot at sound stage which is easily noticed on the projector focuses the light on the Ronin during one fight scenes, a clever insight of the director of photography, also a well-conceived story about a lonely Ronin Shinô Ashita (Tetsurô Tanba) on his fabulous dexterity on the use of sword against a crowd, he is invites to enter in a mighty Borachi's clan, led by an old wicked Shirobei Daimon (Tatsuo Endo) and their evil lackeys, the appealing is about the rules to became one of them, the applicant ought swear outright leave all eight virtues which he got, regret, lowliness, magnanimity, charity, meekness, temperance, continence and finally forgiveness, the Clan exploits a high profile w.h.o.r.e.d.o.m.

He is accepts on the Borachi's clan even had failed on a phony test, nonetheless the thoughtful boss has a bold plan to stand out of the opposite Yoshihara's Clan that shares the same dirty business on nearby on the town with cheapest prostitutes, also the gorgeous women are used as skillful bodyguards, thus the forthcoming and relentless clash took effects, ends up in the bloodshed, the emperor's forces spring into action at Magistrate's behest, the strife has to be end, although it has a price, a fair agreement which both sides must yeld, the sneaky Boss also shall deliver the expendable Shino's head.

Based in a grass-roots comic book the cunning and dared director Teruo Ishii made a masterful feature, even being labeled as pornographic, whereby it is today an eligible soft one only, where the most hard-nose puritans wouldn't give a s.h.i.t for it, actually a bashful eroticism deployed gave a faint hope for those that were seeking something a little harder, a fine piece of sexploitation mixing with epic samurai tale, colorful and essential, I've agree with a reviewer who wrote that stuff sounds like Russ Meyer did in America and was thereafter worshipped by countless fanatic cinephiles including myself !!

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First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8.

This film is so typically an effort of Teruo Ishii, adhering strictly to a range of conventions enacted by the director himself, that one may have hardships in distinguishing it from his other works. As significant drawbacks, the protagonist has rather restrained expressions of his substantial nihilism and other characters are seemingly superficial, even to the extent of being trivial. For those who search for a glimpse of the dark and wicked Bohachi universe, I would better recommend Takashi Harada's inspiring masterpiece, which gets to reveal Goro Ibuki's true potential to incarnate a surrealistically genuine nihilistic yet overtly conscious character, opposed to the one he is assigned in this film.

The wanted assassin Shiro is recruited by the immoral Bohachi clan after he is nursed back to health due to injuries suffered from throwing himself into a river to escape capture. The Bohachi clan run an organized prostitution ring and enlist the help of Shiro to kill any prostitute and john who risk doing business freelance and not paying the clan fee. Shiro is granted temporary immunity from the government but as his body count escalates every one is after his head including his own clan. This film is gorgeously shot with empathize on a variety of color tones and spectacular wide angle shots when swordplay is initiated. The female nudity is plentiful and beautifully captured filling the screen with a lethal dose of sensual atmosphere and mean spirited sleaze. The final act is an opium induced orgy that transcends into an epic final showdown that features dismemberments and blood geysers aplenty!