This listing is for the standard edition Blu-ray. The limited edition hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Luke Insect) was limited to 4,000 units and is sold out. The two versions are identical, aside from the packaging and 40-page book.
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.
One of the most esteemed and transgressive filmmakers ever to work in Japan's explosively popular Pink Film genre, Hisayasu Satô crafted erotic films that were both genre-defying and artfully-minded. While Satô's work is infused with horror and thriller tropes, it boasts a punk and avant-garde aesthetic singularly his own. In this debut release, Pink Line begins to explore this immense body of work with three of Satô's most outlandish and profound features, each newly and exclusively restored in 2K from their 35mm original camera negatives with newly-translated English subtitles, all under the supervision of Satô himself.
In LUSTMORD (aka Pleasure Kill), Satô commences his meditation on the fusion of sex and death. Eiji, a reclusive and awkward teenage boy, is fixated on creating a serum capable of breaking down the barrier between pleasure and pain, much to the dismay of his research physician mother. Deciding to conduct his own experiments, Eiji slips the serum to several women, but is unprepared for the horrifying results. Later remade by Satô as the straight horror feature Naked Blood, this early directing effort conjures a remarkable waking nightmare approach, as the impending threat of violence and insanity permeates every scene as it builds towards a typically cynical and cryptic conclusion.
RE-WIND (aka Celluloid Nightmare) functions as Satô's tribute to Michael Powell's masterpiece Peeping Tom. After a grisly, point-of-view snuff videotape is found in a refrigerator, a young man becomes obsessed with discovering who made it and whether or not the brutal murder was real. As he delves into Tokyo's underground video scene, his own perversions come to the fore as he grows ever closer to uncovering the shocking truth, alongside a female reporter who calls herself Crime Hunter. Fusing gruesome gore and raw sex while wryly playing with the artifice inherent to the video format, RE-WIND remains one of Satô's most powerful and impressive early works.
LOVE LETTER IN THE SAND (aka Pervert Ward: Torturing the White Uniform), is Satô crafting a noir-inspired erotic thriller, using blazing, heavily-gelled color. During a month of unusually heavy rain in Tokyo, a mystery assailant has been brutally assaulting and killing people with a metal bat. When a handsome young man with amnesia is found outside an area hospital, the nurse who discovered him begins to suspect that he may in fact be the assailant. But her own strange erotic fixations with him, and the questionable involvement of the doctor tasked with the amnesia victim, lead them all down an increasingly twisted path of deeply-rooted trauma and violence.
directed by: Hisayasu Satô
starring: Masae Abe, Sayaka Hitomi, Kiyomi Itô, Maya Shiraki, Yoko Fujita,
Shigeru Sasaki, Nanako Fujitani, Yui Hoshikawa
1987, 1988, 1988 / 58 min, 64 min, 61 min / 1.85:1 / Japanese DTS-HD MA 1.0
Additional info:
LUSTMORD
RE-WIND
LOVE LETTER IN THE SAND
Overall rating: 4.8244276 / 5 from 262 reviews.
This limited edition Blu-ray set of Hisayasu Satô's films offers a stunning release with excellent packaging, fantastic transfer quality, and amazing movies. Customers highly appreciate the artistic touch, the great start to the Pink Line series, and the treasure trove of Japanese films.
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"When I saw this was announced it was . y first introduction to Hisayasu Satô and I'm happy I picked this up because these are some great films. I read about about older releases and this release is lightyears ahead of them. The transfer and picture quality is just outstanding!"
"The fact that Vinger Syndrome/Melusine are putting out these gorgeous editions—spotlighting a full director lineup and bringing pink‑genre films to a whole new audience in pristine HD is genuinely impressive. The region‑free discs are the icing on the cake, making them accessible to collectors everywhere. I’ve gone ahead and picked up all four releases to show my support. If this range continues, I’m absolutely in for more."
"The transfers on these films are great. Let's get that out of the way. This was my first exposure to Sato, and I'm not quite sure these films are for me. The jury is still out on that. I'll probably get the next set to try and form an opinion on that. If you're on the fence about buying this, it has sex and death. If that interests you, then you might want to take the leap like I did."
"Only seen one of Sató's movies prior to grabbing this set, 1989's Muscle, and so far everything I've seen in this box has been just as beautifully shot, horny, and suspenseful. Haven't had a chance to dig into the supplemental material just yet but as is this has been an awesome introduction to pink cinema and Sató, definitely gotta pick up the newer volumes."
"For my full detailed review of these films, see my entry on Letterboxd: @M4N14K Not quite pornography but also still definitely exploitative to the extreme! I viewed these films on The Films of Hisayasu Satô: Volume 1 Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray Limited Edition physical media release and it is the same great premium level of packaging and presentation that you’ve come to expect from the special releases of this boutique label. No other brand beats Vinegar Syndrome at the cardboard game and this great slipcover is no exception to the consistently fantastic artwork and component quality this company produces."
"The Announcement alone had me excited, since Hisayasu Satō’s early work has been far too hard to see properly. The Quality is strong for material this rough and underground, and the set feels handled with real care. As for Fun, it is definitely not casual viewing, but it is bold, strange, and exactly the kind of release that makes boutique collecting exciting."
"For years we've watched beyond muddy VHS transfers, so this announcement rightfully shook the transgressive film community to its core! Seeing the films properly restored only bolsters what we already knew - that Sato should be regarded amongst the greatest filmmakers of all time - exploitation or otherwise. Release of the year no doubt"
"Flummoxed at how to "rate" these films, filled with subject matter and depicting actions I tend to loathe in films (maybe a huge 'no duh' to you'd hope everyone buying this). But they are so visually striking and put together, floating ideas and spinning around in them, that those parts somehow, while still shocking, don't feel as gross -- or are gross in a different way? As maybe a small example, the sexual assault in Mother's Day really took me out of and soured that film for me; these movies have like ten times as much, and couched in softcore porn to boot, but it doesn't feel as nastily exploitative, or something? There's that problem, can't describe them. Try to know what you might be getting into with these. If you think you won't hate them, I'd say it is worth it. Plus the special features on disc were fantastic (admittedly, haven't tried any commentaries yet) and I liked the booklet. I bought the next two sets and plan on getting the fourth and still don't know what I really think/feel about it."
"The announcement of a Hisayasu Sato collection felt like the one VS Made when they gave us the fantastic Doris Wishman trilogy of boxsets. Sato, Know for ultra low budget horror films like Naked Blood, introduced erotic elements in those films but with a bizarre twist. The 3 films in this first volumen features a restoration not common for that kind of films, the package features an elegant pink (no pun intended) design that combines with the 3 volumes that came after. Do yourself a favor and live a visual journey, a very different one with Sato."
"Fantastic transfers by Pink Line. Each film looks beautifully rendered. For those looking to dive into Sato’s filmography (or Pinku in general) this is a great place to start"
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