Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon
Encyclopedia
aka From 3 to Sex is a 1971 Japanese film in Nikkatsu
's Roman porno series. The first film in this successful new direction for the studio, it was directed by Shōgorō Nishimura
and starred Kazuko Shirakawa
.
In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, the Weissers credit the success of the film both to director Nishimura and lead actress Kazuko Shirakawa. Nishimura, they write, "pays particularly close attention to his characters, often allowing their lusty personalities to carry the tale without cliched action subplots. This results in a highly unique voyeuristic view of life, seldom achieved in the cinema." They judge that Shirakawa gives the film, "a wide-eyed innocence that is both fresh and convincing."
became a regular Nikkatsu director, helming seven of the Apartment Wife sequels. Kazuko Shirakawa
became Nikkatsu's first Roman Porno queen. Though she appeared in only the first Apartment Wife sequel, titles to unrelated films in which she starred, such as Afternoon Affair: Rear Window and Affair At Twilight (both 1972), capitalized on the success of her first starring role for Nikkatsu. Besides the official sequels, the success of the film created the "Apartment wife" genre of pink film, a genre still popular with directors of the current generation, represented by such works as Toshiki Satō
's "Apartment Wife" films of the 1990s, including his Apartment Wife: Moans from Next Door
(2000).
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
's Roman porno series. The first film in this successful new direction for the studio, it was directed by Shōgorō Nishimura
Shōgorō Nishimura
-Filmography:* Zankoku onna jōshi * Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon * Affair at Twilight * Drifter's Affair * Sigh of Roses * Apartment Wife: Secret Rendezvous...
and starred Kazuko Shirakawa
Kazuko Shirakawa
is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films during the 1970s. She appeared in Nikkatsu's first film in the Roman Porno series, Apartment Wife , and is considered the first of the three "Nikkatsu Queens" of the 1970s...
.
Synopsis
A working-class housewife is sexually unsatisfied by her husband. When she seeks extramarital relationships, her affairs are discovered by a brothel-owner who then blackmails the woman into working as a prostitute for her.Cast
- Kazuko ShirakawaKazuko Shirakawais a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films during the 1970s. She appeared in Nikkatsu's first film in the Roman Porno series, Apartment Wife , and is considered the first of the three "Nikkatsu Queens" of the 1970s...
: Ritsuko Kasai - Tatsuya Hamaguchi: Ryōhei Kasai
- Maki Nanjō: Yōko Higashiyama
- Junpō Sekido: Ichirō Irimura
- Yōko Mita: Kazumi Kōno
- Sōichirō Maeno: Hatanaka
- Ryūji Ōizumi: Koike
- Kunosuki Koizumi: Naked man
Background
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nikkatsu, Japan's oldest film studio, was losing much of their audience to television and the importation of American films, and suffering from expensive, unsuccessful projects. Struggling to keep the studio out of bankruptcy, Takashi Itamochi, Nikkatsu's president, decided to put the company's high production values and professional talent into the adult, or pink film industry as a way of attracting a new audience. Until this time the pink film market had been almost entirely the realm of low-budget independent companies. This new direction for the studio was inaugurated with Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon. These often well-made and artistic softcore pornographic films proved popular with both the public and the critics. This introduction of pornography into mainstream Japanese movie theaters has been credited with saving Nikkatsu from collapse at that time. For the next 17 years Nikkatsu produced Roman Porno films almost exclusively.Critical appraisal
Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon was an immediate hit with film audiences, and gained critical approval. The film made a mainstream star of Kazuko Shirakawa, who had been appearing in independent pink films since 1967.In their Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films, the Weissers credit the success of the film both to director Nishimura and lead actress Kazuko Shirakawa. Nishimura, they write, "pays particularly close attention to his characters, often allowing their lusty personalities to carry the tale without cliched action subplots. This results in a highly unique voyeuristic view of life, seldom achieved in the cinema." They judge that Shirakawa gives the film, "a wide-eyed innocence that is both fresh and convincing."
Legacy
The success of Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon inspired 20 direct sequels—four in 1972—and numerous unofficial sequels and series. Shōgorō NishimuraShōgorō Nishimura
-Filmography:* Zankoku onna jōshi * Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon * Affair at Twilight * Drifter's Affair * Sigh of Roses * Apartment Wife: Secret Rendezvous...
became a regular Nikkatsu director, helming seven of the Apartment Wife sequels. Kazuko Shirakawa
Kazuko Shirakawa
is a Japanese actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno films during the 1970s. She appeared in Nikkatsu's first film in the Roman Porno series, Apartment Wife , and is considered the first of the three "Nikkatsu Queens" of the 1970s...
became Nikkatsu's first Roman Porno queen. Though she appeared in only the first Apartment Wife sequel, titles to unrelated films in which she starred, such as Afternoon Affair: Rear Window and Affair At Twilight (both 1972), capitalized on the success of her first starring role for Nikkatsu. Besides the official sequels, the success of the film created the "Apartment wife" genre of pink film, a genre still popular with directors of the current generation, represented by such works as Toshiki Satō
Toshiki Sato
aka , , and is a Japanese film director and screenwriter best known for his pink films of the 1990s. Along with fellow directors, Takahisa Zeze, Kazuhiro Sano and Hisayasu Satō, he is known as one of the .-Life and career:...
's "Apartment Wife" films of the 1990s, including his Apartment Wife: Moans from Next Door
Apartment Wife: Moans from Next Door
aka is a 2001 Japanese Pink film directed by Toshiki Satō. It was chosen as Best Film of the year at the Pink Grand Prix ceremony. Shinji Imaoka was awarded Best Screenplay and actress Mao Nakagawa was chosen Best New Actress for their work on this film....
(2000).