From September 2nd, 1945, until April 28th, 1952, the U.S. American military, backed by the U.K., occupied Japan in order to supervise the surrender of their competition in World War II. It’s easy for U.S. history today to recall the events of World War II in a hoo-rah fashion for they happened so long ago that, especially now, there are too few alive to help separate fiction from fact. While it’s true that Japan did attack Pearl Harbor, thereby necessitating the end of an isolationist period and the U.S. entry into the global conflict and it’s true that the U.S. would drop two nuclear bombs on the Japanese, it’s also true that Japan struggled during its reconstruction period and much violence was made by the Allied forces during the occupation period. This is a critical component of the film Gate of Flesh (肉体の門), released in 1988, directed by Hideo Gosha (Three Outlaw Samurai), and adapted from the 1947 Taijirō Tamura novel as its characters exist and struggle to survive within the liminal space of post-war Japan during the occupation period. This would be the fifth cinematic adaptation of Tamura’s novel and it’s being released on Blu-ray for the first time through 88 Films’ 88 Asia collection alongside new bonus materials and new English subtitles.
In post-war Tokyo, the citizens of Japan do their best to rebuild amid heavy losses and constant prodding from occupied forces. In order to survive, some women have turned to prostitution, whether individually or in groups. One such group, led by Kanto Komasa (Rino Katase), wants to uplift themselves from the path they’ve been forced to take, pulling together their resources in order to save enough money to renovate the old building they call home into their own paradise. The only thing that keeps the local Hakamada Gang from overpowering them and taking the building for themselves is a presumed one-ton dud bomb hanging by a rope in one of the holes in the structure. For the most part, things are good for the group as long as they stay out of the reach of the military police, but things start to shift, and quickly, upon two disconnected events which have sweeping impacts for everyone in Komasa’s small part of Tokyo.
Though this is a home release review, as the film was originally released around 37 years ago and is not an original telling, there will be spoilers ahead.
One easily wonders why a film might be remade so often. It happens frequently in cinema, most often to the films that don’t need it (beloved films vs. ones in need of a do-over), speaking more to the fear of studios relying on popular stories to attract audiences versus taking the chance on something new. Occasionally, though, a remake occurs because it has something to say and needs to be processed through a new lens. In U.S. cinema, one thinks of A Star is Born, which has been remade a total of four times with each new version incorporating different thematic elements and making small changes as it goes. This applies to the 1988 edition of Gate of Flesh, originally released as Carmen 1945, as it makes its own changes, speaking volumes through the shift. According to Earl Jackson, the subject and interviewee for new featurette “Peddling Flesh,” the most significant change is the ending which includes the presumed dud bomb going off. This by itself possesses a powerful message regarding the looming threat of occupational forces and the violence inherent in their presence. It doesn’t matter where Komasa and her group went, they were perpetually under fire and treated as disposable, so why not live in a building with a bomb? Does it not make manifest the exact same tyranny they face every day by virtue of being women? Going further, as the drama unfolds and plans take a negative trajectory due to the greed of men and the toxic masculinity of presumed female allies, the explosion comes to represent two distinct things: Komasa taking control of her own life (even its end) and the obliteration of their home via U.S. artillery. Just because Komasa and her group worked as prostitutes, did it somehow mean that they were less deserving of safety and prosperity? The same people who work to put them down are the same people who would, at best, gladly pay dollars for a few minutes of pleasure or, at worst, take it by force under the guise of a presumed superiority. Setting off the bomb at the conclusion of the film is a radical act of agency, taking into her hands the one thing that she refuses to give over to anyone else, despite many attempts prior to and during the runtime: her life and its end. The types of violence these women endured, while structured and presented cinematically, are all too real regarding the ways in which sex and women are viewed, often as a commodity, often as expected, and often treated with little regard outside of sex.
This, of course, brings us to a fascinating point that Jackson makes regarding Gate of Flesh and its position within Japan’s Pink Cinema. This subgenre, inclusive of films like The Blind Beast (1969) and The Shape of Night (1964), applies to films in which sex and sexuality are presented in ways that might arouse audience members. On the one hand, this is about as sensical as an X-rating, a marker meant to help differentiate one form of physical exposure over another in cinema. Except, and this is a comparison from my own experience, Gate of Flesh, for all of its bare breasts and sexual activity, is, in most cases, as devoid of sensuality as Schindler’s List (1993), which also includes scenes of the naked form. Jackson does ponder why a film like Gate of Flesh might arouse someone and it’s a good question because the context of the film is not at all sexy. For the majority of the shown sequences, the women are depicted as in control, but, even then, they’re not always able to hide their discomfort over what’s happening to them. In a flashback, the violence is so great that it’s shown in black and white, the only color being the blood strewn across furniture after a gunshot. We are not meant to be titillated by this story and the destruction at the end certainly signifies it.
Running just over 20 minutes, Jackson’s “Peddling Flesh” covers a lot more than what’s mentioned above, including touching on the previous versions of the film and offering some historical context for the story. Make sure not to skip this featurette, whether this is your first time with this or any other versions, not just because Jackson is an entertaining storyteller, but for all the fascinating tidbits that he shares throughout. Likewise, also new for this home edition is an 11-minute interview with Toei tattoo artist Seiji Mouri who talks about the work he did to study on the styles of tattoos needed for this production to be as accurate as possible, as well as the difficult process of ensuring their integrity throughout the shoot. Sometimes this means discussing how laymen might not realize the effort required to make a thigh tattoo look cinematically appealing due to the movement of skin in that biological area or how Mouri’s relationship with cinematographer Fujio Morita (Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons) grew strained as Mouri insisted on interrupting the frequent long takes in order to ensure the virtue of the tattoos. From a purely moviemaking perspective, there’re some really interesting stories that Mouri shares which may just have you looking at on-screen tats differently, as well as the tattooists you may consider seeing.
Beyond these two new featurettes, the home release on-disc features include audio commentary from Amber T. and Jasper Sharp, a teaser trailer, feature trailer, and a three-minute stills gallery. The audio commentary is accessible either from the “Special Features” menu or the “Audio” menu.
88 Films isn’t one to skimp and that shows when looking at the packaging and included physical materials. The usual clear plastic case enables owners to either view the new cover and back art on the front and reversible classic art when opened or for it to be switched; the removeable OBI strip contains all of the release information (along with precise numbering of which out of 4,000 you have), and a booklet with the title information (cast and crew), as well as two essays delving deeper into director Gosha and the impact of Gate of Flesh.
If society is lucky, coming across a piece of art inspires an opening of the mind to a different perspective. That, perhaps, instead of sucking back the delicious jingoism of American Exceptionalism, we remember that humanity has a tendency to excuse the worst of its behavior, to explain away cruelty and abuse, because of war. That, through art, whether it be the relatively new Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One (2023) or a new HD edition of a 1988 five-time remake, American audiences become open to taking a hard look at where we’ve been militarily and that there’s historical evidence to suggest we don’t always make the right calls. With enough people shifting their perspectives, maybe we’d all remember that we’re each human and deserving of some dignity, opting to lift up instead of punch down. Past being prologue, I suspect a new filmmaker will be offering their own vision of Gate of Flesh soon. We’re already overdue.
Gate of Flesh Special Features:
- High-Definition Blu-Ray Presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio
- *NEW* Original Mono Audio with new English Subtitles
- Audio Commentary by Amber T. and Jasper Sharp
- *NEW* Peddling Flesh, filmed introduction by Earl Jackson (22:09)
- *NEW* Flesh & Blood Tattoos, exclusive interview with Toei tattoo artist Seiji Mouri
- Stills Gallery (3:19)
- Trailer
- Teaser
- Booklet Essays by Robin Gatto and Irene González-López
Available on Blu-ray in the U.S. May 27th, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray in the U.K. June 23rd, 2025.
For more information, head to the official 88 Films Gate of Flesh webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Gate of Flesh webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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