Bed Dance (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 1967
Japan
ese pink film directed by Toshio Okuwaki for World Eiga. One of the director's best films, it features an early appearance by Naomi Tani
.
. The poorly thought-out script and conflicting themes, however, are said to be weaknesses of the film.
The film's description at the time of its 2003 showing at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
noted a surprisingly Freudian touch to the film's plot. Allmovie also writes that Bed Dance is one of Okuwaki's better films, and that, besides erotic interest, its storyline provides a glimpse of cultural and sexual mores at a time of rapid change.
, the "Pink Princess" of the first wave of Pink films, Okuwaki is today best remembered for Naked Pursuit (1968), one of the early pink films which has been lost in Japan, but was preserved in the U.S. due to its distribution through Harry Novak
's Box Office International Pictures. 1967, the year of Bed Dances release, was the high-point of Okuwaki's career. Allmovie notes that Okuwaki's career went into decline after making Bed Dance, Onna No Aji and Climax, all from 1967. The Weissers agree, writing that after 1967 Okuwaki became a "notorious studio hack" who directed a "parade of interchangeable sex flicks." A three-film retrospective of Okuwaki's work with Tamaki Katori was a feature at the 2003 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
. Bed Dance was shown at the same festival, paired with an early work by Mamoru Watanabe
.
1967 in film
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film.-Events:* December 26 - The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour airs on British television....
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese pink film directed by Toshio Okuwaki for World Eiga. One of the director's best films, it features an early appearance by Naomi Tani
Naomi Tani
is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.-Early career:Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Tokyo at the age of 18. After arrival in Tokyo, she was featured in a photo layout...
.
Synopsis
The husband of a young wife discovers she has a promiscuous background as a bar hostess. Feeling that his honor has been slighted, he refuses to have intimate relations with her. The woman flees her old-fashioned husband for solace in the arms of a former lover.Critical appraisal
In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser judge Bed Dance to be one of director Toshio Okuwaki's better efforts. The film's cast is noted as one of the strong points of Bed Dance, particularly the appearance early in her career of Naomi TaniNaomi Tani
is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.-Early career:Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Tokyo at the age of 18. After arrival in Tokyo, she was featured in a photo layout...
. The poorly thought-out script and conflicting themes, however, are said to be weaknesses of the film.
The film's description at the time of its 2003 showing at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
noted a surprisingly Freudian touch to the film's plot. Allmovie also writes that Bed Dance is one of Okuwaki's better films, and that, besides erotic interest, its storyline provides a glimpse of cultural and sexual mores at a time of rapid change.
Director Toshio Okuwaki
Director Toshio Okuwaki is generally not well known today. Besides his marriage to Tamaki KatoriTamaki Katori
is a Japanese actress best known for her appearances in pink film during the 1960s and early 1970s. Katori was the star of Flesh Market , the first of these softcore pornographic films made in Japan...
, the "Pink Princess" of the first wave of Pink films, Okuwaki is today best remembered for Naked Pursuit (1968), one of the early pink films which has been lost in Japan, but was preserved in the U.S. due to its distribution through Harry Novak
Harry Novak
Harry Novak, "the sexploitation king," produced and distributed a prolific number of exploitation films from the early 60s to the mid-70s, including William Rotsler's cult classics The Agony of Love and Mantis in Lace and the influential "monster nudie" Kiss Me Quick! among many others...
's Box Office International Pictures. 1967, the year of Bed Dances release, was the high-point of Okuwaki's career. Allmovie notes that Okuwaki's career went into decline after making Bed Dance, Onna No Aji and Climax, all from 1967. The Weissers agree, writing that after 1967 Okuwaki became a "notorious studio hack" who directed a "parade of interchangeable sex flicks." A three-film retrospective of Okuwaki's work with Tamaki Katori was a feature at the 2003 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival is a documentary film festival held biennially in Yamagata, Japan.It was first held in October 1989, which makes it one of the longest running documentary film festivals in the world and the most distinguished such festival in Asia...
. Bed Dance was shown at the same festival, paired with an early work by Mamoru Watanabe
Mamoru Watanabe
is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor, known for his work in the pink film genre. Along with directors Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi, Watanabe is known as one of the "Three Pillars of Pink".-Early life:...
.