Love and Crime 1969 on Blu-ray
88 FILMS

Teruo Ishii may not be widely known to audiences outside Japan, but his career was long and prolific. He directed his first feature film in 1957 with King of the Ring: The World of Glory and bowed out with Blind Beast vs. Dwarf in 2001 before passing away in 2005 at 81. As a director with over 90 credits on his resume, he dabbled in almost every genre but would have a hot streak in the ’60s and ’70s.

His work is given a second life thanks to 88 Films’ 88 Asia Collection. Audiences worldwide can discover the filmmaker and his contributions to cinema by releasing Love and Crime (1969), an anthology with four true tales about murderous women.

The four true tales of murderous women will introduce you to Takahashi Oden, the last woman in Japan to meet her fate by losing her head; Sada Abe, a geisha and prostitute who murders her lover and then takes things one step further; Kunihiko Kodaira, a serial killer and a rapist; and the Toyokaku case which follows a woman who will do absolutely anything to own a hotel.

The title Love and Crime is just a more acceptable way of saying “sex and violence,” which there is a lot of. The film opens with a pretty gnarly autopsy and immediately piques your attention. Each tale is dramatized and done in an exploitative style, adding to the movie’s appeal.

The first story about the Toyokaku case is a bloody affair where a woman decides she’ll take out anyone in her way of owning her own hotel. It’s one of the longer tales, but it’s gripping enough to draw you in.

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The second tale about Sada Abe caught me off guard. It is best known as the subject of the controversial 1976 film In the Realm of the Senses. This version is pretty tame compared to that film, but what’s interesting is that it opens and ends with interview footage of the real Sada.

The third tale about serial killer Kunihiko Kodaira is the only one in black and white and possibly the most brutal of the four. The only time the movie falters is during the final story about Takahashi Oden. It’s only maybe ten minutes long and doesn’t really get too deep into it. Overall, it’s a solid film with good performances, and the ninety-three-minute runtime flies by.

The HD transfer offers a very clear and crisp image with colors that truly pop, especially the red. The 88 Asia Collection included other special features like an audio commentary from Jasper Sharp and Amber T., a newly filmed introduction from Mark Schilling, a stills gallery, trailer, new artwork by Ilan Sheady, a limited-edition booklet, and a limited-edition individually numbered obi strip.

A certain level of quality is always expected from 88 Films, and this release of Love and Crime is no different. It’s exploitation, but there’s more here than meets the eye.

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