is a 1981

1981 in film

-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....

 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 Genji Nakamura. Considered one of the most important pink film makers of the 1980s, this is judged to be one of Nakamura's best films as an independent director. Nakamura later made films in Nikkatsu

Nikkatsu

is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...

's Roman Porno series, and then directed some of the earliest major gay-themed pink films for ENK.

Synopsis

A gang boss orders the execution of a prostitute who witnessed a murder. When the boss' henchman discovers the prostitute is actually blind, he falls in love with her and protects her. The prostitute regains her sight just in time to see the death of her boyfriend. At his funeral, overcome with feelings of mixed joy and grief, she secretly masturbates.

Cast

• Yuka Asagiri
• Maria Satsuki
• Rima Aono
• Atsushi Imaizumi
• Ren Aosugi
• Kenji Uchimura
• Yōichi Iijima
• Tarō Iwate

Critical appraisal

In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give Scarlet Prostitute: Stabbing a rating of three and-a-half out of four stars, writing that director Genji Nakamura handles the far-fetched plot in a skillful way, evoking strong emotions out of the material. According to the Weissers, Nakamura's direction gives the film a "high-level tension punctuated by intricately drawn characters". The depiction of the blind prostitute's daily life is judged to be particularly effective. The final scene in which the prostitute masturbates at her boyfriend's funeral is singled out as especially moving. Though this was a controversial scene at the time of the film's release, the Weissers write that it has "an erotic yet melancholy effect on the audience. Even the most calloused viewer will become misty-eyed."