As America, once the world's greatest democracy, becomes the world's greatest hypocrisy -- a morally confused society that sells everything with sex, yet denies its existence beyond commerce -- it is more than comforting to watch Teruo Ishii directing like a demon in "Bohachi Bushido - Code of the Forgotten Eight", a cinematic masterpiece that celebrates the lurid, the violent, and the surreal without an ounce of shame. The comic book this is based on provides director Ishii with one of the most solid screenplays of his uneven career. The subject matter is the perfect marriage for the director's obsessions and bizarre style. A ronin named Shino (Tetsur Tamba) is invited to join the Forgotten Eight, a clan of cold-hearted outcasts who have sworn off shame and society's unwritten "rules" of conduct. The clan is ruled by a smart old nutbag who convinces Shino to help him rid Yoshiwara (the Red Light district) of illegal prostitution. Once Shino has done his job in the bloodiest fashion imaginable, a plot is hatched that will lead to his destruction. This bare-bones synopsis doesn't even hint at the lurid pleasures contained within this film's pink-curtained frames. There is a plethora of naked woman, and anybody who appreciates the female breast is guaranteed of a jolly good time not had since combing the floor of Russ Meyer's cutting room. Dozens of beautiful, lethal women adorn the frames of this beautifully shot and choreographed fantasy. Ishii even throws a syphilitic old hag into the mix and gives us garish, amazing images ripped from the covers of the sleaziest pulp paperbacks. For mine, most movies that attempt to emulate the pulps fall short of expectations. Apart from a few token gestures to emulate the feel and content, the discipline to stick with the program isn't there. No so with this excellent achievement in cinema. A special nod must go to Tetsur Tamba, who plays Shino with absolute conviction. His performance is mesmerizing. This is not "Lone Wolf and Cub" with breasts and it's not "Captured for Sex 2" with swords -- it is its own unique creature, a product of a fertile imagination that was given adequate finance and free rein to create a work of beauty, raw sexuality, and stylish bloodshed.
