Cruel Tales of the Bohachi – Eureka Limited Edition 4K UHD + Blu-ray

UK IMPORT - 4K REGION FREE / BLU-RAY REGION B: The 4K UHD disc is region free. The included Blu-ray requires a Region B or region-free Blu-ray player.

Code of the Forgotten Eight available on 4K UHD – Disc 1

Code of the Forgotten Eight & The Villain available on Blu-ray – Disc 2

Based on the popular manga by Lone Wolf and Cub creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight is one of the standout films in the career of Teruo Ishii (Shogun’s Joy of Torture), known in Japan as the “King of Cult.” A bloody and erotic samurai tale starring an assassin with a death wish, it paved the way for Takashi Harada’s spiritual successor Bohachi Bushido: The Villain.

Code of the Forgotten Eight sees a nihilistic ronin, Shino Ashita (Tetsuro Tanba, Three Outlaw Samurai), join the sadistic Bohachi clan, a group of corrupt samurai who operate a prostitution ring. With nothing else to live for, he acts as their assassin in a war with a rival clan that poses a threat to their business. Then, in The Villain, the condemned criminal Kyushi Issho (Goro Ibuki, Hokuriku Proxy War) falls in with the infamous Bohachi samurai – and he too is drawn into a world of wanton violence and sexual sadism.

Prime examples of the ero guro jidaigeki (or, in other words, period films with a focus on eroticism and the grotesque), Code of the Forgotten Eight and The Villain are perfect portraits of the shifting depictions of sex and violence in Japanese cinema of the 1970s. The Masters of Cinema series is honoured to present both films for the first time on UK home video.

SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC ONE : 4K UHD - CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT - 4K (2160p) UHD from a 4K digital restoration

DISC TWO : BLU-RAY - CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT & THE VILLAIN - 1080p HD presentations

Limited Edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Poochamin [2000 copies]

Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the Bohachi Bushido films by Jennifer Coates, author of Film Viewing in Postwar Japan, 1945–1968 [2000 copies]

Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release

Original Japanese mono audio tracks

Audio commentary on Code of the Forgotten Eight by East Asian film expert and Midnight Eye co-founder Tom Mes

New audio commentary on The Villain by genre cinema expert Arne Venema and film writer Stefan Hammond

From Codes to Chaos – new video essay on the Bohachi Bushido films and Toei's evolving production strategies in the 1970s by Japanese cinema expert Joe Hickinbottom

Remembering Teruo Ishii – interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto (Testsuo: The Iron Man) about working with director Teruo Ishii

Archival interview with actress Yuriko Hishimi

Archival audio interview with Japanese filmmakers J-Taro Sugisaki and Takao Nakano

Original theatrical trailer for Code of the Forgotten Eight

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Country: Japan

Language: Japanese

Year: 1973, 1974

Runtime: 164

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Colour: Colour

Certificate: 15

Subtitles: Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release

Genre: Action

SKU: EKA70642

2 Discs