Bohachi Bushido Code of the Forgotten Eight — dvd review — early!

by Chris   ⋅   May 19, 2008   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Director: Teruo Ishii
Starring: Tetsuro Tanba, Yuriko Hishimi
Genre: Japan, action, action
Release Date: May 21, 2008

Now, I’m no stranger to Kazuo Koike or Teruo Ishii. I’ve seen the films (and in cases television series) based off of Koike’s Lone Wolf and Cub, Crying Freeman, Demon Spies, Lady Snowblood (even read the manga), and have seen a bit of the Hanzo the Razor films. For Teruo Ishii, I’ve probably seen more than 10 films, including his Horrors of Malformed Men, Jigoku 1999, and Female Yakuza Tale. But even with all that experience, nothing could prepare me for the stylish and amoral excess of Bohachi Bushido.

Bohachi Bushido (aka: Porno jidaigeki: Bohachi Bushido) chronicles the adventures of a lesser known Koike anti-hero, Shiro (Tetsuro Tanba), an unemployed ronin for whom live has lost both meaning and luster. After an opening credits sequence which sees Shiro battling countless enemies on a lonely bridge (serving up equally countless lopped off limbs), he throws himself into a river to drown, citing “to die is hell, but living is also hell”. But escape he cannot, as his body is rescued and revived by the Bohachi clan (Chris D’s liner notes emphasize that the group was glimpsed previously in Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death), who seek his aid in a matter of economic enterprise. You see, the Bohachi ascribe to a code contrary to everything found in bushido. Their credo is one of simple animalistic, decisive action, abandoning the seven Bushido Virtues of the Tokugawa, honesty, loyalty, respect, conscience, with an additional eschewing of shame to ensure that all the above happen. Correspondingly, its men are capricious con-artists/warriors, its women gorgeous, death dealing prostitutes. After a series of tests, including the disturbing “breaking in” of a Bohachi woman (which Shiro mercifully fails), Shiro is finally informed of his job: help the Bohachi keep their economic advantage in their government-sanctioned prostitution raquet, by eliminating all the houses offering cheap fixes. Shiro, believing in nothing, agrees.

Classifying Bohachi is a bit of a hard thing to do. And, from my synopsis, you’d probably think it’s far darker than it is. In reality, I guess you could say it’s sort of a tongue in cheek chanbara picture by way of pinky violence and ero-gro aesthetic. The film is packed to the brim with scenes of lopped off limbs, bare bosoms, erotic tortures, and near everything else found in adolescent male, or aberrant adult fantasy. But if the film was just a parade of taboo excess, there wouldn’t be a reason to recommend it. It’s all lovingly and beautifully photographed, and every visual facet, from titillating image to special effects to mere color saturation, excessive to such a degree that one can’t possibly be offended, but simply lay awestruck and amused. Scenes of sexuality are given a sense of comedic absurdity as often as genuine eroticism, while the swordfights themselves are nothing short of amazing. Time and again, Tanba’s Shiro faces down horde upon horde of enemies with nothing more than his trusty double swords, leaving nothing but bodies in his wake. In other sequences the Bohachi women do battle, executing impressive ninja moves without a scrap of clothing. As the back cover claims, 10 minutes in you’ll lose track of the lopped off limbs and naked breasts.

With Bohachi Bushido Teruo Ishii displays a real mastery of managa-adaptation genre. As Chris D’s liner notes purport, he did the film only as a favor to buddy Tetsuro Tanba, who held the rights to the Shiro character. But I’m thankful he did. While still maintaining the usual Teruo Ishii rebelliousness, in large part it seems more focused and driven than other Koike outings, such as Takashi Tsuboshima’s Demon Spies, or even some of the lesser Lone Wolf and Cub films. Ishii makes sure that in watching Bohachi, the audience will not once be allowed a single minute of boredom, keeping the action taut, the intrigue thick, and the blood a-flowing. It’s quite a thing to see. And Tetsuro Tanba himself deserves props for his turn as Shiro role, taking a character that should not be in the least deserving of audience sympathy, and making you cheer him on in battle. Amazing stuff.

So, in short, Bohachi Bushido is a crazed treat for Kazuo Koike and Teruo Ishii fans alike. With its amazing sword fights, beautiful women, surprisingly competent acting, and a healthy and admirable rebelliousness, Bohachi Bushido comes highly recommended.

The DVD
I’ve been reviewing Discotek’s dvds for a while, and I’ve been able to witness the evolution in quality from early titles such as Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy to their current offerings. Bohachi Bushido is hands down, their best disc to date. The film looks absolutely amazing, the menus are slick, the cover eye-catching, and the extras actually merit a second look.

Let’s jump on into the offering. Discotek’s release offers a 20-minute interview with lead Bohachi woman, Yuriko Hishimi, who at 61 still possesses an amazing enthusiasm and youthfulness. It’s a lengthy extra, but a good one. Also included is an informative interview with J-Taro Sugisaku, the writer of the Teruo Ishii section in Toei’s Pinky Violence book, concerning everything from the history of the film, to the decisions made by Ishii in bringing it to the screen. Also included are some lengthy articles on the film, Teruo Ishii, and Tetsuro Tanba by Chris D, a manga-to film comparison (I lost track of the slides, but I honestly think a whole Bohachi manga is presented here, in digital format!), and an article by Mark Shilling titled Memories of Bohachi Bushido. And, last but not least, is an awesome commentary track by J-Taro Suzuki and Takao Nakano (director of Killer Pussy and Sumo Vixens). The disc also features the usual Discotek trailer gallery, this time including ones for Bohachi Bushido, Ebola Syndrome, Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs, A Chinese Torture Chamber Story, and the forthcoming Star of David: Hunting for Beautiful Girls (featuring Erotic Diary of an Office Lady’s Asami Ogawa).

All in all, this is a very impressive disc. If you’re a fan of Teruo Ishii, Kazuo Koike, or pinky violence in general, you owe it to yourself to pick up this film.

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic since age six. A former film and English major, he is now a Software Engineer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley.

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