Japanese veteran actor Tetsuro Tanba stars as Shino the samurai assassin in Teruo Ishii’s blood-soaked and bodacious Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight. The film is adapted from a manga written by famed author Kazumo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub, Lady Snowblood) but there’s actually very little information out there about the original work – specifically if it’s as riddled with violence and nudity as this ero-guro picture suggests. Ishii is no stranger to the format though; by this time he had already brought a number of explicit Edo-period films to life including Shogun’s Joy of Torture, Orgies of Edo, and the pinky violence film Blind Woman’s Curse. With Bohachi Bushido, he hones in on the samurai code – or lack thereof – among the Bohachi clan, who run a number of elite brothels in the Yoshiwara area and repeatedly clash with a warring clan in the area while operating under the radar of the local government.
As the film begins, viewers are treated to a stylized swordfight sequence before an exhausted Shino, sick of this lifestyle, decides to throw himself from a bridge into the river. Rescued by the Bohachi clan at the request of Shirobei Daimon (Tatsuo Endo), Shino is nursed back to health and initiated into the clan so long as he can forget the eight elements of noble samurai code; the Bohachi clan prides themselves on being as sick and perverse as possible, routinely adding women to their prostitution racket by literally raping them into submission. All of these actions are, of course, showcased for the viewer and Shino as he’s given a tour of the place before signing on to work with them. Ultimately, though, Bohachi Bushido refrains from allowing Shino to speak his mind, and much of his priorities are hidden behind terse statements about life and death that don’t reveal too much about his respect for the samurai code.
While Bohachi Bushido is first and foremost a porno period piece in true Ishii fashion, it does present a pretty interesting storyline all things considered. Tanba gives a stoic performance here that works well to hide any of the character’s thoughts and feelings, leaving the viewer constantly searching for a hero – especially in the first half of the film, which tasks Shino with murdering various purveyors of Yoshiwara’s “bathhouses” to take out the Bohachi clan’s business competition. While Shino’s values may leave the audience perplexed, there’s also a wider view of the rampant sex work, brutality, and intentional government ignorance of this period that suggests the Bohachi clan aren’t the only ones needing a better moral compass.
Ultimately, though, it’s the boobs and blood that will have most audiences titillated. This isn’t some vaguely-disguised hardcore CAT III feature, but Ishii effectively fills the film with a veritable parade of naked women on display. Numerous scenes of bathhouses, implied rape, and woman-on-woman sexuality are featured here; there are probably about 50-100 naked extras throughout the whole running time. There’s even a nude fight sequence between the Bohachi’s women fighters and a ninja that is quite wild (and gropey)! As for action choreography, Bohachi Bushido has some great sequences with mid-range shots of Shino fighting against groups of men; fountains of blood and severed limbs abound, sometimes to comical effect when the film shows its wires in the snow-covered conclusion.
While no one is going to argue Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight is in the same category as some of the best ronin/samurai pictures in Japanese cinema, it’s undeniably an entertaining film that takes some care to showcase authentic Edo-period set designs amidst its bevy of Bohachi women in the buff. And at 80 minutes, it’s really the perfect runtime to tune in and enjoy the over-the-top ero guro theatrics without needing to overthink things. It helps to have Tanba here to keep things a bit more grounded – and that’s even including his opium-addled duel!
Blu-ray
Mondo Macabro has released Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight with new 4K scan of the original camera negative in its 2.35:1 aspect ratio. This restoration looks quite good, though one might argue Bohachi Bushido is not a technical marvel for film. With a medium-bodied grain, the image remains filmic and offers up some great close-up textures especially when it comes to a focus on Shino and his grizzled appearance; other elements, like interior bathhouse designs and exterior Yoshiwara city shots, also fare very well. Black levels are not extremely deep but also don’t suffer from any notable crush or loss of clarity. Color grading is consistent, and does a great job of showcasing some of the film’s stylish purple color lighting in the last act. It does appear that the negative utilized a bit of stock footage – mostly exterior city shots – that are noticeably poorer in quality. Overall, though, Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight looks great on Blu-ray.
Audio is presented with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono Japanese track, with defaulted English subtitles. This sounds great, with strong dialogue that doesn’t suffer from any noticeable muffling or reverb. The dynamic soundtrack is well-represented here.
For extras, Mondo Macabro has supplied two new options for viewers. The first is an audio commentary from Tom Mes; he provides overviews of the cast and crew, as well as the historical context of Toei’s switch to what he refers to as “delinquent films.” He also dives pretty deep into Ishii’s filmography and style. The second new offering here is an 18 minute interview with Shinya Tsukamoto, presented in Japanese with English subtitles and reminiscing about Ishii’s filmmaking and its inspiration on Tsukamoto as a director. In the second half he discusses Bohachi Bushido specifically and its sexuality, as well as acting in a late-career Ishii film.
Also included are two archival interviews that were previously released on a Discotek DVD. The first is with Yuriko Hishimi, who plays one of the Bohachi women Omon in the film; she discusses her acting career and later working on the film, especially handling the many nude and sex scenes that were included (and going into why the women cover their pubic hair due to censorship at the time). The second archival featurette is an interview with J-Taro Sugisaku in which he explores the pinky violence sub-genre of Japanese cinema; he offers his favorite of the sub-genre as Hell’s Tattooers. An archival audio commentary with Yoshiki Hayashi, Takao Nakano, and Sugisaku, presented in Japanese audio with subtitles, is also ported from the Discotek disc. Along with this is an introduction video showing the three commentators.
Finally, an original trailer is also included in high definition.
Extra Features
- NEW 4K restoration from the original negative
- Region A locked
- NEW Audio commentary by Japanese film expert and author Tom Mes
- Archive audio commentary from film makers J-Taro Sugisaku and Takao Nakano
- NEW Interview with Shinya Tsukamoto about the film and the career of Teruo Ishii (1080p; 17:44)
- Archival interview with actress Yuriko Hishimi (1080p; 21:05)
- Archival interview with J-Taro Sugisaku (1080p; 15:33)
- Archival introducing the commentators (1080p; 0:42)
- Trailer (1080p; 3:11)
Verdict
Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight is a great example of how porno period films can still successfully entertain with satisfying storylines, and this release from Mondo Macabro features a lovingly-restored scan and a surprisingly large number of extras, both new and ported from a previous Discotek release.
