The best Ken Yoshizawa’s movies

A nurse investigates a sex trafficking ring after a woman commits suicide in her office.

A detective breaks all rules of ethical conduct while investigating a colleague’s involvement in drug pushing and Yakuza activities.

In Spring 1969, 21-year-old Megumi Yoshizumi goes to Wakamatsu Production. The company makes films popular with young people. Pink film director Koji Wakamatsu gathers there with young talented people who are all fascinated with movie making. When they are not making movies, they spend their time smoking, drinking alcohol, scouting for actresses and looking for material for their next film. When filming begins, everybody immerses themselves into the production and will do everything on the filming set from running, shouting to acting.

Ryuzo and his 7 former henchmen are all retired yakuza, but they now live as regular old men. One day, Ryuzo becomes the victim of a phishing fraud. He calls his 7 men together to reform their society.

A suburban town is faced with a series of bizarre incidents in which children disappear and three days later an adult in their life dies. A mysterious "child whisperer" phantom appears before journalist Shunya, who is investigating the incidents, and his girlfriend Naomi.

A militant revolutionary group is torn apart by betrayal as its members descend into paranoia and sexual decadence.

Set in a barren, futuristic Tokyo of highways and wastelands, a rowdy group of punk bands and their fans gather to protest slow, boring, Japanese living.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1940, Lieutenant Kurokawa returns home as a honored and decorated soldier but deprived of his arms and legs lost in battle. All hopes, from the villagers and women to close family members, turn to Shigeko, the Lieutenant's wife. She must honor the Emperor and the country in setting an example for all by fulfilling her duty and taking care of the 'god soldier'. Kurokawa prior to leaving to fight in the war regularly beat and berated his wife for her barrenness and inability to bring him a son. When he returns home as an amputee with no hearing and no speech, his wife dutifully attends to him, even though he shows little appreciation for her dedicated care. His main concerns are getting fed and getting sex. Even in his own degraded condition, he manages to berate his wife. Eventually, though, his own memories infiltrate and he is haunted by his horrible, sadistic deeds, performed while in the duty of the Japanese military.

With her wedding only one day away, Mina (Mari Tanaka) spends a night with her former lover Ozaki (Kinji Takinami) at a highway motel on the outskirts of Yokohama. On her way back from her last adventure, Mina’s car hits a hippie-like youth called Ryo (Ken Yoshizawa). Shocked by the accident and, moreover, left alone by Ozaki, who hated to be involved in the trouble, Mina places the unconscious youth in the back seat and drives toward a lake...

When Yuko Takeuchi’s unnamed novelist receives a letter from Kubo, her interest is piqued by the strange sweeping sounds that the latter hears in the dead of night. On further investigation, the amateur sleuths discover that nobody stays in Kubo’s building for long, and many previous tenants have died in mysterious and gruesome circumstances. It’s clear that the noises barely scratch the surface of the malevolent forces at work.

“Hana-Dama”—a flower in the wasteland. This flower is a symbol of earthly desires and every human is overwhelmed by desire and their rationality collapses wherever the flower is in bloom. And even today, the “Hana-Dama” continues to blossom profusely somewhere in the world. The story is set in a film theater, the facility keeps on closing one after another during recent years. The last day has come to a film theater which has been maintained by a film-loving owner, the staff, and their unique audiences. The symbol of human desire, “Hana-Dama,” blossoms at the theater and instigates people’s erratic behavior. Upon facing its closure, tremendous chaos that will be noted in the history of Japanese film takes place within this film theater.

Set in a Shinjuku bathhouse brothel, the film uncovers the sexual eccentricities of everyday people. Focusing on three female sex workers, the colorful, unpredictable look into the hidden underbelly of Japanese nightlife is playful but also unafraid to explore the darker sides of the business. The fleeting nature of relationships in such an environment and the consequences of toying with feelings are presented with a melancholy tinge.

Roman Porno from 1972.