Watch Gate of Flesh For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

After World War II came to an end, a great number of Japan's major cities were left in shambles. However, the Japanese began to rebuild almost immediately after the war came to the end. The earliest post-war settlements were shantytowns and the remains of scorched buildings. Because of the chronic lack of food, most individuals were forced to purchase food at the black market. Although illegal, the black market was the only source of essential foodstuffs. Also, during this time period, a number of women, whose fathers, brothers, and sons were killed during the war, were forced into prostitution to support themselves. With tens of thousands former Japanese soldiers and American soldiers swarming into the country, there were definitely enough men to garner money from.Seijun Suzuki's 1964 film takes place in one of these shantytowns and it follows the lives of five such prostitutes: The refined Machiko; the tattooed Sen; the chubby Roku; the boisterous Mino; and the youngest of the group Maya. The film begins with Maya fleeing from a man who had tried to pimp her to an American soldier, however, luckily for her Sen intervenes. Struggling to survive, Maya follows Sen back to the latter's home and soon joins Sen and her fellow prostitutes in peddling flesh. However, unlike other prostitutes, the women are able to keep their money because they do not work for a pimp. Although they seem to be close, the women can be quite vicious. Their sole rule is that no member may sleep with a man without receiving payment. If one breaks the rule, one is stripped naked, tied up, and beaten. Although far from ideal, the women seem to get along decently well until a man Ibuki Shintaro, Shishido Joe, comes into their ranks. Heavily muscled and of a demanding nature, each one of the prostitutes fall for the ex-soldier and this of course endangers this little circle of "friends." Like many of his other films, Suzuki's Gate of Flesh is quite violent. While not nearly as vicious as Miike films, Gate of Flesh caused quite a stir when it was released in 1964. While the beating scenes are moderately tame, there is a graphic scene in which a cow is slaughtered.In my opinion, the most striking aspect of this film is the use of color. Each prostitute wears a specific color and this makes for some quite striking scenes. Sen, Kasai Satoko, is quite striking in red. This is an interesting film that might interest those who would like to see a cinematic version of Japan's early postwar years.

I was under the impression when I rented this film that it wasdirected by Sezuki Seijun, but the credits gave a different name. Itstill might be him (it was something else Sezuki), and I amassuming it was as I write this review.Having totally fallen in love with Branded to Kill and, to a slightlylesser extant, but not too much lesser, with Tokyo Drifter, I wasoverjoyed to find this at the video store (I remembered havingheard at one point of its being on video). And I was even moreoverjoyed to watch it. It's an amazing film which I would placeslightly ahead of Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill, giving it a 9/10. The film opens right after the end of WWII with a young womanstarving in the street (not something I would expect from the twoprevious yakuza films I've seen of Seijun's). She meets up with agroup of four prostitutes who allow her to work with them. They areself-sufficient and need no pimp. They keep themselves in linewith the threat of torture if any one of them ever sleeps with a manwithout accepting money. Of course, you can see the possibility forexploitation, and there is exploitation, believe me. After a while, arobust thug (Jo Shishido of Branded to Kill, cheekbones and all)shows up in their crumbling household. They respect himbecause he resists the GIs who try to keep the law in their city(never specified) and those Japanese people who cooperate withthem. They're also all attracted to him. After this is developed, thereisn't much more plot - only a couple of events happen afterwards.More or less, it is a character study and also a sociological study.The anti-Americanism is very interesting to see. Seijun was asoldier in the Japanese army himself and, although I could easilypoint out that, hey, you started it, it's easy to understand what hemust have felt after he and his comrades lost a war, what it wouldhave done to the male psyche as well as the female (this film wasmade about twenty years afterwards). Some people would naturally hate this film because it mixes itsstyles, often very harshly. It's really nothing that Godard wouldn'thave done - in fact, it's actually something that Godard, despite mygreat affection for him and his films, could never have achieved; hewas far too interested in subverting filmic conventions and toounconcerned with making interesting films at times. It is filmed incolor, and its art design/cinematography/costuming, everythingtechnical, is color coordinated in a way akin to something like a1950s musical. Four of the five prostitutes are color-coated andthere is, for instance, an amazing scene where these four color- specific hookers muse over Shishido alone against a setdesigned only in their colors. Often the film is quite melodramatic,almost like a Douglas Sirk film. At other times, it is something likesado-masochistic porno, especially during the torture scenes.There are scenes akin to the brutality in Tokyo Drifter and Brandedto Kill; there is some major brutality to women (sometimesinflicted by women), so if you're particularly sensitive to that, youmight want to avoid this. Also, if that's a problem with you, takespecial measures to avoid Branded to Kill. You might want to skipover this next description tot he next paragraph if you very easily getsick or if you're a militant animal rights activist, but there is astunning scene where Jo Shishido slaughters a live cow. I'm prettysure it's a real scene of slaughter. If not, then it's a damned goodfacsimile. If you were horrified at the real scenes of sacrifice inApocalypse Now, you might just want to avoid this film altogether.The bottom line for me is that this film is a masterpiece. An insaneone, to be sure, but this film, as well as Tokyo Drifter and Brandedto Kill, demonstrate just how gorgeous insanity can besometimes. Janus Films, whose logo you see on the videotapesbefore just about 90% of all foreign films that were made before1970, and Home Vision Cinema, who distributes about everythingmade after 1970, collaborated on the videotape that I watched,which recently went out of print. Those two companies should beringing tons of bells for anyone who collects videos. Yup, those arethe two companies who produce DVDs' (and Laserdiscs') Criterion Collection, the only DVDs, in the long run, which are reallyworth owning. This company has already released both Brandedto Kill and Tokyo Drifter. I pray to God - I'd even sell my soul to thedevil - so that Criterion will release Gate of Flesh and - please,please God! (or Satan!) - other Seijun films, or even other filmswhich generally resemble his, if such other artists do exist, that Ihave not seen or even heard of. Think about it Criterion. I know thatBranded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter aren't your most popular DVDs,but, having talked to so many people who are discovering themand having never resisted an opportunity to spread his name andreputation to any other film buff I have met (and others who arefamiliar with him do the same), I know that he is becoming a hugecult item. In my mind, judging only by the three films of his that I'veseen, I prefer him even to Akira Kurosawa (I cannot comment onOzu or Mizoguchi; unfortunately, I have only ever seen one Ozu andno Mizoguchis, merely based on availability), whom I generallyprefer to nearly every filmmaker with whom I am very familiar.

Suzuki is the master! He has made the greatest examples of 60's low budget exploitation cinema. The way he uses a different color to represent each of the prostitutes almost makes them appear like demons in that underground lair of theirs. But who is the real monster of the film? The occupying Americans who use the prostitutes? The prostitutes themselves? Or is it the hate filled ex-soldier (played by the great Joe Shishido!) who controls the women?

A jump and you meeting like in a film of Oshima or Mizogouchi. Nikutai Mon (1964) can not be seen like a scandal or like a true masterpiece. The personage, nearly a samurai bankrupt, played by the hounded man is exemplar in order to understand like Japan same changing, in the forecasts of Mishima, worse. For being more clear I will say Japan in free fall. An example is the here impotent police while in group the young people kill and stole. Under this optical the worlds formed from this man and these three women is parallel, peculiar, sadist. Turned always holding the cinema camera to level of the human eye: Nikutai not Mon (1964) a little reassuring neorealism, the land rendered fertile from the tragedy of Seppuku, directed from Kobayashi time before. Now Japanese cinema has nothing more to say while collects the fragments of its tradition.