|
''aka'' ''Flowers and Serpents'' (1974) is a Japanese soft-core S&M film starring Naomi Tani, directed by Masaru Konuma and produced by Nikkatsu. Based on a novel by Oniroku Dan (born 1931), Japan's best-known author of S&M fiction, ''Flower and Snake'' was the first of Nikkatsu’s Roman Porno films to deal with an S&M theme. Together with the later ''Wife to be Sacrificed'' (also directed by Konuma in 1974, and starring the same female and male leads) this film is credited with starting the S&M Roman Porno series which helped save Nikkatsu from collapse during the 1970s.〔Macias, Patrick. (2001). ''TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion''. (Review of ''Flower and Snake'' by Izumi Evers). Cadence Books, San Francisco. ISBN 1-56931-681-3, p.183.〕 == Background == In a very successful effort to avoid bankruptcy, Nikkatsu, Japan's oldest major film studio, had entered the pink film, or soft-core pornography, genre three years earlier, in 1971, with its popular and critically praised ''Roman Porno'' series. However 1974 was proving to be another difficult year for the studio, with no real box-office hits.〔Weisser, Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser. (1998.) ''Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films''. Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. Miami. (ISBN 1-889288-52-7), p.506-507.〕 Since the late 1960s, Naomi Tani had been known as the "Queen of Pink," the most popular actress in the low-budget, independent "pink films" which dominated Japan's domestic cinematic market. Nikkatsu had been trying to recruit Tani into their ''Roman Porno'' series for years, but she had always refused since the studio had been reluctant to enter the S&M genre, which was Tani's specialty.〔Konuma, Masaru. (1998). Interviewed by Thomas and Yuko Mihara Weisser on November 6, 1998, in ''Asian Cult Cinema'', #22, 1st Quarter, 1999. p.22〕 Tani finally agreed to join the studio on the condition that her first film be based on the Oniroku Dan S&M novel ''Flower and Snake''.〔Tani, Naomi. Interviewed by Hamamoto, Maki. (1998). "Naomi Tani - An Interview with Nikkatsu's Queen of SM" (Conducted in January 1998 in Kyushu, Japan) in ''Asian Cult Cinema'' Number 19, April 1998. p.41〕 Tani had already starred in a ''pink film'' version of Dan's novel entitled , released by Yamabe Pro. Nikkatsu agreed to Tani's conditions, but there remained the problem of convincing Oniroku Dan to allow the studio to film his novel. After lengthy, inconclusive negotiations, Dan invited director Masaru Konuma and scriptwriter Yozo Tanaka to his home for "further discussions." In the middle of the meeting, the electrical power suddenly went out, and Dan called for someone to light a candle. At this point, Naomi Tani, in traditional Japanese kimono, appeared in the room with a lantern. Konuma later said, "This was Dan's theatrical sense - his way of saying yes."〔Konuma, p.22-23〕 Director Konuma and script-writer Tanaka both agreed that Dan's novel was unfilmable, and made significant changes to the story. Dan and Naomi Tani both objected to this, and there was considerable friction between the two sides over the story during the writing of the script. Konuma later commented about Naomi Tani's role in this matter, "while we worked on the final script, she was very argumentative. However, I was impressed with her change in attitude after the company's final decision. During the shoot, she never gave us a problem. Instead- she was committed. I admire her professionalism."〔 After the film became a huge hit for Nikkatsu, the studio wanted to follow it with a sequel. Oniroku Dan remained bitter and did not agree to participate in the next film, ''Wife to be Sacrificed'' (1974),〔 which became even a greater success. Dan did reconcile with the studio however, and continued to have a strong professional relationship with both Nikkatsu and Naomi Tani.〔Weisser, p.356.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flower and Snake」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|