Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami – Third Window Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Japan, 1992 (Original Sin), Japan, 1993 (A Night in Nude), Japan, 1994 (Angel Guts: Red Flash, Alone in the Night)
Director: Takashi Ishii (All Films)
Cast: Shinobu Ôtake, Masatoshi Nagase, Hideo Murota (Original Sin), Naoto Takenaka, Kimiko Yo, Jinpachi Nezu, Kippei Shîna (A Night in Nude), Maiko Kawakami, Jinpachi Nezu, Noriko Hayami (Angel Guts: Red Flash), Yui Natsukawa, Jinpachi Nezu, Toshiyuki Nagashima (Alone in the Night)

Release Date: August 25th, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 117 Minutes 2 Seconds (Original Sin), 110 Minutes 37 Seconds (A Night in Nude), 87 Minutes 46 Seconds (Angel Guts: Red Flash), 108 Minutes 22 Seconds (Alone in the Night)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Films)
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Japanese (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films)
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £49.99 (UK)

Original Sin: "Nami, the wife of an estate agent, begins an affair with a 22 year old man that leads to a plot to kill her husband." - synopsis provided by the distributor

A Night in Nude: "When the beautiful and mysterious Nami walks into the office of Jiro, a man who will “do anything for anyone”, he unknowingly gets dragged into her plot to murder her abusive yakuza lover." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Angel Guts: Red Flash: "Nami, a magazine designer agrees to substitute the cameraman during the shooting of a porn film. The brutal rape scene unleashes distant, forgotten memories and strange things start happening to her." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Alone in the Night: "Nami, the wife of a narcotics cop murdered in the line of duty, is surprised to find that her husband has been accused of involvement in organized crime." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (All Films)

Original Sin comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 32.8 GB

Feature: 27.4 GB

A Night in Nude comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.3 GB

Feature: 27.7 GB

Angel Guts: Red Flash comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 30.2 GB

Feature: 21.9 GB

Alone in the Night comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.6 GB

Feature: 27.1 GB

All of the sources are in great shape; fleshy tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, compression is solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Original Sin, A Night in Nude, Angel Guts: Red Flash), 3.75/5 (Alone in the Night)

Each film comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. All of the audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and range-wise, ambient sounds are well represented. That said, Alone in the Night’s audio sounds more restrained range-wise than the other three audio tracks.

Extras:

Extras for Original Sin include a teaser (46 seconds, DTS-HD mono, text in Japanese with removable English subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 21 seconds, DTS-HD mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with producer Yu Okada (7 minutes 25 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actress Shinobu Otake (6 minutes 49 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an archival interview with director Takashi Ishii (6 minutes 49 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles).

Extras for A Night in Nude include a theatrical trailer (1 minute 6 seconds, DTS-HD mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Yu Okada (6 minutes 8 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Naoto Takenaka (16 minutes 33 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Kippei Shiina (12 minutes 50 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Takashi Ishii (7 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Frankie Balboa.

Extras for Angel Guts: Red Flash include an archival interview with Takashi Ishii (32 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), a video essay by Matthew Carter titled The Many Faces of Nami (16 minutes 2 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Japanese film clips), and an audio commentary with Jasper Sharp.

Extras for Alone in the Night include an archival interview with Yu Okada (6 minutes 22 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with actor Jinpachi Nezu (14 minutes 30 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with Takashi Ishii (11 minutes 40 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with cinematographer Yasushi Sasakibara (17 minutes 13 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Samm Deighan.

Other extras include an 8-page booklet with an essay titled Tokyo Nights: The 90s Neo-Noir of Takashi Ishii written by Jasper Sharp.

Summary:

Takashi Ishii wrote and directed Original Sin, A Night in Nude, Angel Guts: Red Flash, and Alone in the Night. He’s known for Freeze Me, Gonin, Gonin 2, Black Angel, and Black Angel 2. Besides being a filmmaker, he was also a manga artist whose series Angel Guts was made into a series of films. His notable screenwriting credits for films he did not direct include Evil Dead Trap, Scent of a Spell, and Love Hotel. In the case of the latter, he would rework that film's screenplay for his directorial debut, Angel Guts: Red Vertigo.

Original Sin: A married woman falls in love with a man half her age who convinces her that they should kill her husband.

Takashi Ishii mostly made films that he authored; Original Sin was the first time he made a film that was an adaptation. Original Sin was adapted from Bo Nishimura’s novel of the same name. He’s most known for writing the novel Village of Doom, which was adapted into the film by Noboru Tanaka. Although Original Sin is not a story that Takashi Ishii wrote, he infuses it with elements that run throughout his filmography.

Original Sin is a story about a woman torn between two lovers: her husband, who offers her stability, and a free-spirited younger man who reconnects her with desires she’s long repressed. The opening setup does an excellent job introducing characters. The narrative does not have its first jarring moments until around the 25-minute mark, when the young man makes his intentions known to the wife, who reciprocates. This sequence is a perfectly crafted moment of tension where the husband almost catches them, and it does a phenomenal job setting the foundation for what unfolds.

The three leads are outstanding. Shinobu Ôtake (The Incident) is cast in the role of Nami Tsuchiya, and Masatoshi Nagase (The Most Terrible Time in My Life) in the role of a drifter named Makoto Hirano, who starts an illicit affair with Nami. Hideo Murota, an actor who's most known for portraying bad guys in 1970s yakuza films, is cast in the role of Nami’s husband.

One notable aspect of Takashi Ishii’s work is his candid approach to sex. Although the premise of Original Sin provides him with a chance to explore such themes, the resulting scenes are among his most restrained. Another thing that's synonymous with the cinema of Takashi Ishii is how he creates mood by using things like rain and sound, both of which he exploits effectively in Original Sin. That said, the soundtrack relies more on ambient sounds to create mood than a traditional score.

What begins and continues for most of the narrative as a melodrama becomes something drastically different by the time it reaches its finale. Although there are many moments where tension rises, it is not until the last 20 minutes that Original Sin shows the type of intensity Takashi Ishii’s films are known for. After a slow buildup, things culminate with a dramatic tonal shift, which makes the moments that preceded all the more potent. Ultimately, Original Sin is arguably Takashi Ishii’s most accomplished film, and yet it is starkly different from any other film he made.

A Night in Nude: A woman trying to get away from an abusive yakuza lover uses a man who offers a stand-in service as the fall guy for her lover's murder.

Although Takashi Ishii’s films are known for their eroticism, his films often take place in a crime world populated by the yakuza; case in point, A Night in Nude. The narrative revolves around a woman named Nami who's hiding from someone from her past, and she exploits a relationship from her present to help her solve said problem. Instead of moving on from what happened to him, Nami's former lover, the body of her yakuza partner, searches for her and tries to return the corpse to her. Despite his repeated attempts to assist Nami, she continues to push him further away.

A Night in Nude is another textbook example of Takashi Ishii’s use of deception; it is a film that you should not judge by what it initially shows you, but instead by what it reveals by the time it reaches its finale. The narrative is well-executed; it does an excellent job building momentum and creating tension. The narrative also excels at executing twists that keep you guessing, saving its biggest twist for its ambiguous finale.

The two leads are excellent: Naoto Takenaka (Hiruko the Goblin) in the role of Jiro, a professional stand-in hired by Nami, and Kimiko Yo (Departures) in the role of Nami. The dynamic between their two characters drives the story, and they have solid onscreen chemistry. Other performances of note are Jinpachi Nezu (Ran) in the role of Nami’s sadistic yakuza lover and Kippei Shîna (Shinjuku Triad Society) in the role of a yakuza looking to avenge his boss’s murder.

Although things start off slowly with mundane moments, once Nami kills her tormentor, the narrative picks up considerably, and it never slows down. When it comes to creating tense moments, Takashi Ishii delivers and then some, notably the scene where Nami’s attack on her lover does not go as planned. The hiding of a body in a suitcase foreshadows a plot device that Takashi Ishii would brilliantly use in Freeze Me. There is limited erotic content in the film; each of these scenes serves a narrative purpose, with the most explicit moments reserved for the finale. Ultimately, A Night in Nude is an exemplary crime film that's infused with neo-noir visuals and an eclectic score that do an outstanding job heightening the mood.

Angel Guts: Red Flash: A blackmailer torments a woman with a troubled past.

Angel Guts: Red Flash is the sixth and final film in a series of films based on a manga series written by Takashi Ishii. Angel Guts: Red Flash and Angel Guts: Red Vertigo are the only films in this series that Takashi Ishii directed. Takashi Ishii would write or co-author the screenplay for every film in this series except Angel Guts: High School Coed.

Angel Guts: Red Flash is in line with the films that precede it. If it's your first time watching an Angel Guts film, you are in for a jarring experience in which erotica and carnage perfectly fuse. All of the Angel Guts films and several other films directed by Takashi Ishii have a character named Nami. Besides sharing a character named Nami, all of these films dive into subject matter that explores the darkest sides of humanity.

The narrative revolves around a woman named Nami, whose job as a photographer who shoots stills for pornographic films brings back memories of a traumatic event. She tries to navigate her pain by drinking, only to black out and wake up next to the body of a man who was bludgeoned to death. From there her life further spirals out of control as someone blackmails her about the man she might have killed.

All of the performances evaluate the story that unfolds. Maiko Kawakami’s (Violent Cop) portrayal of Nami does a superb job putting you into her state of mind, while Jinpachi Nezu (Orchids Under the Moon) delivers an equally compelling performance in the role of Muraki, a co-worker who helps her navigate what’s happening to her. In the case of the latter, his character serves as a red herring of sorts, since his motivations are not always clear.

When watching a Takashi Ishii film, something you notice is how much he puts into the visuals. Every shot is carefully composed for maximum effect, and his use of colors creates striking moments that greatly enhance the mood. Even when it comes to his opening credits, he creates stylish moments; case in point, Angel Guts: Red Flash, which opens with an extreme closeup of a woman's lips. Not to be overlooked is how he stages erotica; he creates moments that always serve the story in favor of titillation.

From a production standpoint, there is not an area where Angel Guts: Red Flash does not excel. The flawlessly crafted narrative does a phenomenal job drawing you in and building momentum with tense moments that build upon each other. Another strength of the narrative is how it employs flashbacks to flesh out Nami’s backstory. Ultimately, Angel Guts: Red Flash is so much more than a pinku eiga; it is an outstanding thriller that is among Takashi Ishii’s best films.

Alone in the Night: A disgraced undercover narcotics officer's widow gets her revenge for her murdered husband by fully immersing herself in the world he was investigating.

Takashi Ishii’s Alone in the Night is his most perfect blend of crime cinema and erotica. It is a story about revenge, in which the wife of a murdered undercover cop goes to extreme lengths to avenge him. Along the way, she encounters a yakuza enforcer who feels pity for her, and he rescues her from certain death on multiple occasions.

Although Alone in the Night effectively incorporates moments of erotica that serve the narrative, it is ultimately the wife's quest for revenge that propels the story forward. Another strength of the narrative is how it fleshes out its characters, especially its protagonists Nami and Kôzô Muraki, whose character serves as Nami’s guardian angel. That said, the narrative does a phenomenal job building momentum to an exemplary finale that serves up one hell of a twist.

All around the performances are outstanding, especially Yui Natsukawa’s (Gomnin 2) portrayal of Nami. She delivers an utterly convincing performance that perfectly captures her character's anguish over the loss of her husband. Another performance of note is Minori Terada's (Sailor Suit and Machine Gun) portrayal of a sadist yakuza boss named Ikejima. Rounding out the cast are Jinpachi Nezu in the role of Kôzô Muraki and Kippei Shîna in the role of Kazuya Shibata, two actors who frequently worked with Takashi Ishii.

Takashi Ishii’s most enduring trait as a filmmaker is his ability to create visually brutal moments that are difficult to look away from. There are an abundance of these types of moments in Alone in the Night, and yet none are more arresting than the moment when Nami takes a bone fragment from her husband's urn and uses it to end her life. Another exemplary moment is a rooftop finale where Nami finally comes face-to-face with the men responsible for her husband's death. Ultimately, Alone in the Night is a relentless story of revenge and redemption, culminating in a finale that serves as a perfect coda.

Third Window Films Takashi Ishii: 4 Tales of Nami is an exceptional release that gives each film strong audio/video presentations and a wealth of insightful extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer