Flower and Snake '74– Impulse Pictures (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1974
Director: Masaru Konuma
Writers: Oniroku Dan, Yôzô Tanaka
Cast: Naomi Tani, Nagatoshi Sakamoto, Hijiri Abe, Willie Dorsey, Hiroko Fuji, Yasuhiko Ishizu, Hiroyuki Mikawa, Haruhiko Sugawara, Akira Takahashi, Kôji Yashiro, Setsuko Ôyama

Release Date: March 16th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 73 Minutes 42 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $19.95

"Makoto (Yasuhiko Ishizu) is a sexually suppressed man living with his mother Miyo (Hiroko Fuji) who owns an adult toy store. When he was a child, Makoto remembers shooting a soldier whom he found having sex with his mother. The elderly man who owns the company Makoto works for has an interest in BDSM and wants Makoto to kidnap and “train” his wife (Naomi Tani) to submit to him. With Makoto battling the demons of his past and unsure of the consequences of his own sexual awakening, what transpires is one of the most shocking, perverse and jaw-dropping Nikkatsu films ever made." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, “All-new high-definition restoration from the original camera negative provided by Nikkatsu Studios.”

Flower and Snake '74 comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 16.8 GB

Feature: 16.7 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity is solid, black levels are strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape; there are no issues with background hiss or distortion, dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

This release comes with no extra content.

Summary:

Masaru Konuma directed Flower and Snake '74. He is also known for Wife to Be Sacrificed, Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession, Erotic Diary of an Office Lady, and Tattooed Flower Vase. The Oniroku Dan novel Hana to Hebi has been the source of numerous adaptations or films loosely connected since: Flower and Snake ‘74’, Fairy in a Cage, Flower and Snake: Sketch of Hell, Flower and Snake: White Uniform Rope Slave, Flower and Snake (2004), and Flower and Snake 2.

The narrative revolves around a sexually repressed man is given the task of making his boss's wife submissive after he finds bondage pictures on his boss's desk.

Naomi Tani, a famous starlet of Nikkatsu's romantic pornography films, stars in Flower and Snake '74. Some of her standout films are Wife to Be Sacrificed, She-Beasts, Warm Bodies, and The History of Women’s Torture. That said, it’s ultimately her portrayal of Shizuko Tôyama in Flower and Snake that stands out as her greatest performances.

Yasuhiko Ishizu, as Makoto Katagiri, the impotent son, experiences the awakening of his libido at the hands of Shizuko, is another performance of note. His character also has two of the most memorable moments, the first is a scene where it’s revealed that he keeps in his closet all of his discarded tissues in trash bins, which he refers to as a graveyard for his semen. The second is a scene where he learns the techniques he will need to make Shizuko submissive on a blowup doll.

Masaru Konuma’s direction is breathtaking in its daring and inventive compositions. There is a flashback shot in an oversaturated deep red tint, which adds to the moment’s surreal and at times bizarre imagery. In Flower and Snake, women twist and stretch every way imaginable, depicting wall-to-wall depravity. If you have seen any other Nikkatsu's romantic pornography films, then you are familiar with the many ways in which the camera obscures your genitals.

From a production standpoint, Flower and Snake '74 is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. A superbly realized premise overflows with depravity, and a well-executed narrative does a phenomenal job building momentum towards an unforgettable finale. Ultimately, Flower and Snake '74 has all the right ingredients and a spellbinding performance from actress Naomi Tani, making it a must-see for fans of Nikkatsu's romantic pornography films.

Flower and Snake '74 gets a solid audio/video presentation; recommended despite its lack of contextual extras.

Written by Michael Den Boer