a.k.a. ''Bait'' (1966) is a Japanese ''

pink film refers in Japan to movies produced by independent studios that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. Many pink films would be a ...

'' directed by

Hiroshi Mukai a.k.a. Hiroshi Mukai and was a Japanese film director, cinematographer, producer and screenwriter, known for his pioneering work in the ''pink film'' genre. In the realm of ''pink'' cinema, Japanese critics have estimated that Mukai is "the o ...

, credited as "Kan Mukai" in the international English-dubbed version, and starring Senjo Ichiriki and Michiko Shiroyami.

Synopsis

A gigolo is paid by a rich older woman to seduce young girls while she and friends watch his love-making behind a two-way mirror. He tries to break free of the older woman's control, but when his sick mother needs an operation, he returns to the rich woman, making love to her for money. Humiliated by his dependency, he takes the woman's daughter to the love-show, where he rapes her in front of her mother.

Cast

* Michiko Shiroyami * Senjo Ichiriki * Machiko Matsumoto * Keisuke Senda * Natsue Hanaha

Availability

Olympic International Films released ''The Bite'' to the U.S. grindhouse circuit soon after its original release in Japan. The film was released in Britain in 1967 as ''Bait''. Since its first run, ''The Bite'' had been considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. Jasper Sharp notes that had it not been for the overseas release of films like ''The Bite'', these films would likely not be available today, as many early ''pink films'' were not saved in Japan. The film was rediscovered and released in an English-dubbed version on region-0

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

Gregory Hatanaka Gregory Hatanaka is an American independent filmmaker and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California. Career Hatanaka is the founder of film distribution and production company Cinema Epoch and Cineridge Entertainment. He first became ...

Cinema Epoch Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

label on May 13, 2008. Preceding the DVD release,

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

's Clinton Street Theater played ''The Bite'' on a double feature with

Mamoru Watanabe was a Japanese film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in the ''pink film'' genre. Along with directors Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi, Watanabe was known as one of the "Three Pillars of Pink". Life and career Early lif ...

's ''

Slave Widow is a 1967 Japanese ''pink film'' directed by Mamoru Watanabe and starring Noriko Tatsumi. Along with Tatsumi, the first "Queen" of Japanese soft-core pornography, the film's cast includes Mari Iwai and an early appearance by Naomi Tani, two oth ...

'' (1967) on May 9 and May 11, 2008.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bite 1966 films 1960s Japanese films 1960s pornographic films 1960s rediscovered films Films directed by Kan Mukai Pink films Rediscovered Japanese films