The Hell-Fated Courtesan
Tanaka’s skillful blend of sexploitation and arthouse centers on a courtesan-filled temple frequented by royalty, where lovers of a “death goddess” (Rie Nakagawa) mysteriously die.
With the wild abandon of shunga and mid-70s Italian sexploitation films, this study of sadomasochism during the Edo period is a hypnotic, engrossing mystery. Directed by master of eroticism Noboru Tanaka (whose work would go on to inspire In the Realm of the Senses) Hell-Fated Courtesan is a “confidential report” of members of the Japanese royal family seeking to appease a “Death Goddess” (played by Rie Nakagawa) through ritualistic temple sex.
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FLC and NYAFF Announce Lineup and Awards of the 25th New York Asian Film Festival, July 10–26
The New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) and Film at Lincoln Center today unveil the second wave of programming for its landmark 25th edition, adding more than 40 films to an already wide-ranging lineup, with very special final titles still to come.
Mark Jenkin and Mary Woodvine on Their Sci-Fi-Tinged Rose of Nevada
This week we’re excited to present a conversation from the 63rd New York Film Festival with Rose of Nevada director Mark Jenkin and actress Mary Woodvine.
Experience 10 Films Entirely on 70mm at “It’s All a Big Conspiracy,” July 1–9 at Film at Lincoln Center
Exploring conspiracy across Hollywood genres, from espionage and sci-fi to superhero cinema, political biography, Shakespearean adaptation, crime drama, cult psychodrama, and the modern action blockbuster, the series includes the first New York City theatrical screening of Tim Burton’s Batman on 70mm since its original release in 1989.
