a.k.a. Kurosen Chitai / Black Line Zone
company: Shintoho Studios
year: 1960
runtime: 80′
country: Japan
director: Teruo Ishii
cast: Shigeru Amachi, Utako Mitsuya,
Yoko Mihara, Toshio Hosokawa
not on home video in the USA
order this film from Amazon.co.jp
Anyone who knows anything at all about the history of cinema’s seedy underbelly should find the name Teruo Ishii instantly recognizable. He’s a legend among the pantheon of Japanese cult film directors [rightfully dubbed the "King of Cult" in his native country] and most famous for the ero-guro [erotic-grotesque] pictures he produced for Toei studios throughout the 60′s and 70′s. Those who know him only for that work may find his humble beginnings, directing low budget genre fare [most famously 6 entries in the Space Giants series, better known as the Starman chronicles here in the States] for Shintoho Studios, as something of a surprise.
In 1958, in the midst of making spandex-laden Tokusatsus and crowd pleasing romances, Ishii found himself directing crime pictures as well. The most notable of these, by far, belong in the director’s five part chitai [or line] series – which kicked off with SECRET WHITE LINE [SHIROSEN HIMITSU CHITAI] in September of that year. That film, concerned with an underground prostitution ring, was successful enough that Shintoho allowed the series to continue – the thematic sequel BLACK LINE [KUROSEN CHITAI] saw release in January of 1960.
