Woman on the Night Train
Encyclopedia
aka Night Train Woman is a 1972
Japan
ese film in Nikkatsu
's Roman porno series, directed by Noboru Tanaka
and starring Mari Tanaka.
Japanese critics noted the influence of European filmmakers on Tanaka's style.
The use of metaphor and symbolism in the film was said to be similar to some of Roger Vadim
's films. Luis Buñuel
's Diary of a Chambermaid
(1964), and Octave Mirbeau
's original novel were said to be particular influences on Woman on the Night Train.
In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give Woman on the Night Train a rating of three out of four stars. They judge the film's weakness to be the rambling and far-fetched plot, but they write that this is compensated for by Tanaka's visuals and camera work, which they call, "some of the best in any pink film". They also note the welcome influence of French cinema on Tanaka's style. They single out the flashback scene in which the father seduces the maid as indicative of Tanaka's visual flair. Rather than staging the scene in a mundane bedroom setting, Tanaka makes the seduction more shocking by filming it among the stuffy, professorial father's books and papers in his study.
Allmovie judges Woman on the Night Train "memorable", "[s]tylish and absorbing", and one of Nikkatsu's best entries in the softcore genre of this period. They note that this film set a high standard against which Tanaka's later work often seemed lesser in comparison.
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
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 film 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, directed by Noboru Tanaka
Noboru Tanaka
was a Japanese film director best known known for his Roman Porno films, including three critically respected films known as the Showa trilogy: A Woman Called Sada Abe , Watcher in the Attic , and Beauty's Exotic Dance: Torture! , all three starring Nikkatsu Roman porno queen Junko Miyashita...
and starring Mari Tanaka.
Synopsis
Saeko is abnormally attached to her older sister, Yumi. When Yumi becomes engaged to Arikawa, Saeko schemes to separate the two. She seduces Arikawa who then becomes confused over his attraction to both sisters. He approaches their father about his dilemma. The father explains that the two are actually half-sisters, Saeko being the result of his affair with Tomoko, a family maid. After Arikawa explains this to the sisters, Saeko's obsession with Yumi seems to end. However, when Yumi and Arikawa leave for a vacation together, Saeko follows them on the night train. When she catches up to them, she kills her sister with a razor blade and then kills herself.Cast
- Mari Tanaka as Saeko Mizuki
- Keiko Tsuzuki as Yumi Mizuki
- Tomoko Katsura as Hiroko
- Kibaji Tankoba as Okajima
- Akemi Yamaguchi as Mika
- Keisuke Yukioka as Hajime Mizuki
- Toshihiko Oda as Yōji Arikawa
- Hidetoshi Kageyama as Gorō
- Hiroyuki Mikawa as Kishibe
Critical appraisal
During Woman on the Night TrainsJapanese critics noted the influence of European filmmakers on Tanaka's style.
The use of metaphor and symbolism in the film was said to be similar to some of Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...
's films. Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
's Diary of a Chambermaid
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964 film)
Diary of a Chambermaid is a 1964 film. It is one of several French films made by Spanish-born filmmaker Luis Buñuel but lacks the surrealist imagery and plot twists of his other films...
(1964), and Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau was a French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, while still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde...
's original novel were said to be particular influences on Woman on the Night Train.
In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser give Woman on the Night Train a rating of three out of four stars. They judge the film's weakness to be the rambling and far-fetched plot, but they write that this is compensated for by Tanaka's visuals and camera work, which they call, "some of the best in any pink film". They also note the welcome influence of French cinema on Tanaka's style. They single out the flashback scene in which the father seduces the maid as indicative of Tanaka's visual flair. Rather than staging the scene in a mundane bedroom setting, Tanaka makes the seduction more shocking by filming it among the stuffy, professorial father's books and papers in his study.
Allmovie judges Woman on the Night Train "memorable", "[s]tylish and absorbing", and one of Nikkatsu's best entries in the softcore genre of this period. They note that this film set a high standard against which Tanaka's later work often seemed lesser in comparison.