Femmes criminelles

I recently watched the Japanese film 🇯🇵 Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968) on Tubi. The story follows a young woman whose brother is accused of horrific crimes and killed. In an effort to clear his name, she assumes both the blame and the brutal consequences that follow.

Directed by Teruo Ishii (Blind Woman's Curse), the film stars Teruo Yoshida (Goke, Bodysnatcher from Hell), Masumi Tachibana (Yakuza Law), Fumio Watanabe (Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance), and Mie Hanabusa (Horrors of Malformed Men).

As with many of Ishii's works, the film does a strong job immersing you in its world. The acting, period attire, sets, and props all contribute to a sense of gritty realism. The female leads-particularly Mitsu and a blonde who appears later-are strikingly beautiful, and the camera certainly doesn't ignore that. However, the torture scenes, while intense and stylized, are handled with a seriousness that keeps them from feeling purely exploitative.

The plot develops in a fairly grounded way, holding your attention even if it doesn't quite break new ground.

In the end, Shogun's Joy of Torture isn't a standout in the genre, but it offers enough to make it worth a watch for fans of vintage Japanese exploitation cinema. I'd give it a 6/10.

"Shogun's Joy Of Torture" is the first part in Teruo Ishii's so-called "Tokugawa Series".This episode is set in seventeenth century Japan,when members of the Tokugawa clan ruled the country with fear and terror.Punishment for those who broke the rules set by the Shogunate was brutal and severe."Shogun's Joy Of Torture" tells three terrifying stories about guilt,crime,and punishment.The film is loaded with some truly shocking torture scenes,so some unprepared viewers will be offended.Women are decapitated,burned alive,beaten,whipped or torn in two by oxen.The production values are high,the cinematography is polished and the soundtrack is moody and sad."Joy of Torture" spawned seven sequels from Teruo Ishii.All of them are truly sadistic spectacles of violence and misogyny,so fans of Japanese exploitation should check them out.9 out of 10.

Three tales of punishment and torture.

As the title would suggest, this is no Disney film. It's a Japanese exploitation film from 1968 and that's pretty much all you need to know in advance. It is about gratuitous nudity, sex and violence. Plot (well, plots - there's three stories) is basic and doesn't always make sense.

On the plus side, production values are pretty good for the time and performances are reasonably solid for something that is clearly no Citizen Kane.

Teruo Ishii's extremely provocative movie set in the 1600 in feudal Japan. 3 short stories dealing with punishment and torture. The first deals with incest where a woman is beaten and tortured to death for having an affair with her dying brother. The second is about lesbian nuns and the third story shows a crazy tattoo artist who kidnaps a woman to use as his canvas. Even though this movie is over 35 years old, the effects and the gore are amazing! Humans burned at barbeques, decapitations and more torture than you could possibly wish for makes this classic videonasty a must have for all fans of good and gory movies!

Don't miss out on the even more extreme sequel; The Joys of Torture 2: Oxen Split Torturing!

Three separate approximately 30 minute stories. Each story is just a normal story but will involve torture at some point. Each story stands on their own tho they are connected by a magistrate that is going through the records of three incidents.

The tortures are the glue that binds each individual story. The tortures shown are historically accurate. The special effects and editing are mostly very good with a couple of exceptions. This is a Ero Guro film, not a Pink Eiga. There is some nudity but it's often subdued. At times when nudity would have fit, they instead covered up. Any sex scenes are definitely not erotic or explicit.

The first story kind of drags a little although still interesting. The second and third are really done well. The sets and acting are above average. Seems like there was a decent budget for this film.

This movie wasn't well received originally but since then has become a well respected classic. It will not be for everyone. For those it is, they will enjoy watching.