Il fiore e il serpente

Incredibly hot Aya Sugimoto stars as Shizuko,a bored and unfulfilled wife of a wealthy businessman.When her husband is blackmailed by the Yakuza,Shizuko is sold to Oyabun Tashiro as payment.Tashiro quickly places Shizuko in a private S&M show for an elite audience in order to satisfy his own unfulfilled sexual needs.Shizuko is then subjected to sexual humiliation in front of the masked audience."Flower and Snake" is based on Oniroku Dan's highly successful novel.The film is perverse and sexually explicit,so fans of Japanese pinku eiga should get it as soon as possible.A famous Japanese singer and model Aya Sugimoto spends lots of her screen time naked and she has truly wonderful body.The story may be shocking for casual viewers,however if you are curious give this stunningly erotic masterpiece a look.9 out of 10.

This is what Eyes Wide Shut should have been. This is Zalman King eroticism with a sharp story line and excellent acting. Super erotic without blatant pornography; that would seem to be the test of great acting/directing/storytelling. I'd give it 10 but the ending seems subject to much interpretation. Although much of the movie is involved in bondage and forms of S&M, I get easily bored if THAT'S all that is going on. There's much more to this, the sequences do not feel contrived, and the reaction of the actors seems very genuine. This is not a slasher/blood splatter flick. In many respects, this is more erotic than what an actual porn flick would be. Overall, a very well done movie!

The first of director Takashi Ishii's own versions of this tale of BDSM and honour, following the very first in 1974. Here we have a much more sexy tale, a lot of the edge has been smoothed away. We still have an enema scene of sorts here but it is by no means as central to the lead character's degradation as it was in the first films. So, whilst this film will appear totally unacceptable to the average film-goer, it is much easier and less uncomfortable to fans of extreme Japanese cinema. In some ways this may be a more transgressive movie because we do come extremely close here to an acceptance, possibly an enjoyment and even an empowerment as a result of the pain, suffering and ultimate 'showing of the real face'. Having said all that for those partial to the sight of female bodies in exquisite bondage, this is the movie for you. Pubic hair is also, unusually, on view and this is certainly the greatest film ever made featuring extreme bondage and ballroom dancing. The men come off very badly, as usual, spending all their time in power games whilst they hand the power straight to the ladies.

A rich businessman is blackmailed & given a choice by the Yakuza. Either pay then basically all his money or give his wife for the amusement of their 95 year old leader. He gives up his wife. She is then subjected to bondage, some torture & rape.

This is a reboot of the 1974 movie Flower and Snake which was based on a novel. Yet, this uses almost none of the story from the original movie & novel.

The story starts out very interesting. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on your expectations) it then just becomes an hour of scenes of nude women, bondage, torture & sex. That wouldn't be bad except the torture (sadomasochism) after all for the Flower and Snake original stories and movies it was a central theme, is extremely mild, often dumb. A vibrator to a women's torso is torture? Sadomasochism involves pain and there really (yes I know fake) isn't any. No whipping, paddling or administering pain.

Aya Sugimoto who plays the lead is nude (according to Japanese law) through most of the movie. She is one of the most beautiful woman in the world so seeing her adds some points. Plus she gives an excellent performance.

The other faults lie in the movie itself. There's a number of short (30-90 second) clips that are unrelated to the previous or later scene. Just excuses to show nudity of bondage. Plus there are several continuity issues and a few things that are unexplained. I guess some other reviewers here don't care.

I am a fan of the Flower and Snake films of the 1970's & 1980's but not this one.

I don't know who writes these parents guides but they must have seen a different movie than I did! Mostly breasts are just shown and a few shots of thick pubic hair. No genitals ever shown, which is ok, just really tired of the morons who write the parents guide. They will write an entire essay describing every kiss or low cut dress! They even include when a guy is shirtless now!! It is however a torture/bondage film and not too bad in that respect.