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This special limited edition Blu-ray comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Steak Mtn.), includes a 40-page perfect bound book, and is limited to 4,000 units. It is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.
The 1970s through 1990s saw a boom in transgressive genre filmmaking throughout Asia, but particularly in Japan where the "Pinku Eiga" became one of the most popular types of films produced in the country. With young filmmakers seizing an opportunity to hone their craft, countless soon-to-be celebrated directors created work which were more daring, unusual, and often shocking than just about any of the other genre cinema ergering across the globe. Pink Line will present exclusive new restorations of select works from key Asian erotic filmmakers, with a focus on Japan's Pinku Eiga genre.
Between his earliest films in the mid 1980s and his 1990s "golden age," Hisayasu Satô consistently developed and honed his cinematic voice. Drawing on contrasts in his work across radically different career stages, these three films offer a range of insights into the artist's most compelling and recurring obsessions.
One of his earliest features, SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME (1986), Satô offers a meta-reflection on learning his craft through the story of two former film students facing the world and their own troubled relationship, through video-voyeurism and sex work. When violence manifests within sexual situations, a sense of fatalism threatens to take the lovers to darker places. A profound meditation upon loneliness and especially distance, both physical and perceived, Satô begins his visual experiments involving rephotographed video textures and discordant dialogue.
In SURVEY MAP OF PARADISE LOST (1988), an investigative reporter gets wrapped up in a story about phone sex clubs, and a sex worker named Midori who worked in one. Unexpectedly thrust into a world of sadomasochism, isolation, and suicidal musings, he struggles to fulfill his job responsibilities. But when it emerges that a recent death involving a sex worker was videotaped, and the reporter obtains the tape, they can hardly avoid becoming more deeply involved. Maintaining his obsession with the poetry of loneliness, Satô weaves a story of characters obsessed with death and exploring the most violent sides of pleasure.
As the theatrical heyday of Pink films was winding down, SOFT SKIN (1998) shows Satô's lens turning to the absurd and comedic, eschewing the cynicism and unhappiness experienced by the characters in his earliest work for something more whimsical. When Minako, a lonely housewife neglected by her busy, self-centered husband and adult children, finds a suitor, they concoct a false kidnapping narrative to tease her family. Meanwhile, a young woman responsible for a series of chainsaw murders is also on the run. While television news (including Minako's daughter as a newscaster) devours these sensational stories, all manner of bizarre interactions unfold as Minako contemplates her future.
directed by: Hisayasu Satô
starring: Moeko Izawa, Toru Nakane, Junko Asahina, Tomomi Kuribayashi, Kiyomi Itō, Rio Yanagawa, Bunmei Tobayama, Ai Kobayashi, Yutaka Ikejima, Hiromi Kuronuma, Kenji Mizuhashi
1998 (SS), 1986 (StLDfM), 1988 (SMoPL) / 88 min (SS), 60 min (StLDfM), 65 min (SMoPL) / 1.85:1 / Japanese 1.0 Mono
Additional info:
Overall rating: 4.712121 / 5 from 66 reviews.
This limited edition Blu-ray set from Pink Line features three films by Hisayasu Satô, including new restorations and exclusive interviews. Customers appreciate the visually appealing and fascinating films, as well as the nice-looking collection. The set is limited to 4,000 units and includes a hard slipcase, slipcover, and a 40-page book.
Review topics: [effort, packaging, texture, picture, style, set, work, collection, film, sato, restoration, movie, release, transfer, volume, plot, cinema, skin].
"I´m so happy that VS started the Pink Line. Finally getting to see the films I´ve only read about. No wonder so many great directors made Pinku Eiga, as long as it contains some nudity etctera they are free to do what they want. Sato has interesting stories. Very Highly Recommended."
"Three bangers. This is my favorite line VinSyn has done so far and I can’t wait for the next. Soft Skin is hilarious and bizarre and reminds me of Visitor Q but still feels very much like a Sato flick. Not a full pinku tho but close enough. Survey Map is top 5 Sato for me. Also the interviews are so cool. Don’t miss out on these if you’re a fan of exploitation or weird Japanese cinema, but they are fairly extreme."
"Here with volume 4 we get to two opposites of his filmography. Survey and Save may feel like classic Sato and in many ways there are. But are also a little more existential. Then we come to the Soft Skin, perhaps the most surprising inclusion of all 4 volumes. His most mature and mainstream effort included so far. Still very much Sato, but evolved."
"A substantial effort that captures Hisayasu Satô at his most confrontational, balancing transgressive imagery with unexpectedly rigorous ideas. The plot of each film is secondary to the emotional and psychological assault, making this a rewarding set for adventurous viewers. The excellent restoration allows the films' stark visual textures to emerge with newfound clarity."
"Great collection I love the recent effort into sato the restorations are good I can actually see what's going on this time around 🤣"
"Another great pink movie set. Always interesting premises in his movies with great visuals."
"Volume four in the pinku Hisayasu Sato series. Odd plots, unique style of cinema and a great presentation of this kind of rarely seen movies outside Japan. A must!"
"Volume 4 of the Sato collection. Three movies on disc 1 with disc 2 containing bonus features. Nice transfer with satisfactory packaging."
"I’ve pre-ordered every single Pink Line Satō release, and the limited versions are the crown jewels of my VinSyn library. The films here are fantastic — the fact that they’re even available, and in such eye-opening quality, fills this reviewer with a crazy amount of happiness. Three points, however: I wish (since the set includes an interview w/ Satō on them) Horse, Woman, Dog and Umagoya no reijō would have been included. The feeling of incompleteness is really hard to ignore in that respect. Also, the complete absence of any of Satō’s gay pink films (especially 1989’s Muscle, or Lunatic Theatre) in the sets released thus far feels like a real travesty. Those movies really need the love that these straight pink films are getting. Last thing — the audio commentaries on each film aren’t advertised on the back of the Blu-ray set, or on the website page. Audio commentaries are one of my top reasons for buying a disc, and if I’d known that Satō Vol. 4 had them, I would have purchased it more readily. Love the commentary work. Bring back Samm Deighan to work on some in the future!"
"This is becoming one of my all-time favorite VS series. Please keep them coming. Love the essays and artwork. Great transfers."
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