A titillating, 40-year-old tale of sexual politics that tells a worthwhile story and is a showcase of smart filmmaking.
More drama is added when Kito's son (Masayoshi Nogami) becomes aware of his father's sexual sins and seeks to end of them. He appreciates and wishes to emulate his father's ruthlessness in the business world, but he cannot abide to see Mitsuko suffer and, worst of all, alter her will to please Kito. It's an odd little triangle, but provides strong dramatic fodder.
The maid character basically exists to react to the situations (thereby telling the audience how to react) and to bathe with Mitsuko every so often. Nothing wrong with that.
The movie is lovely to look at, boasting strong contrast in its lights and darks. It also has great backgrounds and depth of field, showing that the filmmakers took the subject seriously in spite of what labels would be assigned to it. In truth the film features more melodramatic passion than erotica. Probably due to censor codes existing at the time, it is relatively free of nudity (a few breasts show up) and no one engages in amorous activity that even approximates sex. Mostly it's a lot of clothed fumbling around. But again, the point is the feelings and passions of these individuals. The viewer's sexual stimulation is merely a by-product of the nature of the story.
Video:
Cinema Epoch presents the film with a 16X9 digital transfer from the original 35mm film. What they neglected to do in the process is clean the film. It is dusty and scratched, particularly in the early scenes. Other than these defects, the transfer actually boats a sharp image and great contrast of blacks and whites (the film is in black-and-white), which goes a long way to underscore the erotic nature of several scenes. The film's subtitles are not optional, but appear as part of the film.
Audio:
The film is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. Dialogue is usually crisp and clear, and the judicious and smart use of music does a lot to convey the emotional content of any given scene. It's a very simple soundtrack, but still gets the job done.
Extras:
Not much--just images of the box art of ten or so titles of a similar nature also available from Cinema Epoch.
Bottom Line:
It's true what they say--they don't make them like they used to. "Slave Widow" is softcore pornography for the film lover, a titillating, 40-year-old tale of sexual politics that tells a worthwhile story and is a showcase of smart filmmaking, especially in its cinematography, acting and soundtrack.
The maid character basically exists to react to the situations (thereby telling the audience how to react) and to bathe with Mitsuko every so often. Nothing wrong with that.
The movie is lovely to look at, boasting strong contrast in its lights and darks. It also has great backgrounds and depth of field, showing that the filmmakers took the subject seriously in spite of what labels would be assigned to it. In truth the film features more melodramatic passion than erotica. Probably due to censor codes existing at the time, it is relatively free of nudity (a few breasts show up) and no one engages in amorous activity that even approximates sex. Mostly it's a lot of clothed fumbling around. But again, the point is the feelings and passions of these individuals. The viewer's sexual stimulation is merely a by-product of the nature of the story.
Video:
Cinema Epoch presents the film with a 16X9 digital transfer from the original 35mm film. What they neglected to do in the process is clean the film. It is dusty and scratched, particularly in the early scenes. Other than these defects, the transfer actually boats a sharp image and great contrast of blacks and whites (the film is in black-and-white), which goes a long way to underscore the erotic nature of several scenes. The film's subtitles are not optional, but appear as part of the film.
Audio:
The film is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. Dialogue is usually crisp and clear, and the judicious and smart use of music does a lot to convey the emotional content of any given scene. It's a very simple soundtrack, but still gets the job done.
Extras:
Not much--just images of the box art of ten or so titles of a similar nature also available from Cinema Epoch.
Bottom Line:
It's true what they say--they don't make them like they used to. "Slave Widow" is softcore pornography for the film lover, a titillating, 40-year-old tale of sexual politics that tells a worthwhile story and is a showcase of smart filmmaking, especially in its cinematography, acting and soundtrack.
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[release]24377[/release]