a.k.a. ''Bait'' (1966) is a Japanese ''

pink film in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...

'' directed by

Hiroshi Mukai is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

, credited as "Kan Mukai" in the international English-dubbed version, and starring Senjo Ichiriki and Michiko Shiroyami.

Synopsis

A gigolo is paid by a rich older woman to seduce young girls while she and friends watch his love-making behind a two-way mirror. He tries to break free of the older woman's control, but when his sick mother needs an operation, he returns to the rich woman, making love to her for money. Humiliated by his dependency, he takes the woman's daughter to the love-show, where he rapes her in front of her mother.

Cast

* Michiko Shiroyami * Senjo Ichiriki * Machiko Matsumoto * Keisuke Senda * Natsue Hanaha

Availability

Olympic International Films released ''The Bite'' to the U.S. grindhouse circuit soon after its original release in Japan. The film was released in Britain in 1967 as ''Bait''. Since its first run, ''The Bite'' had been considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. Jasper Sharp notes that had it not been for the overseas release of films like ''The Bite'', these films would likely not be available today, as many early ''pink films'' were not saved in Japan. The film was rediscovered and released in an English-dubbed version on region-0

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

by Gregory Hatanaka's Cinema Epoch label on May 13, 2008. Preceding the DVD release,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

's Clinton Street Theater played ''The Bite'' on a double feature with

Mamoru Watanabe was a Japanese film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his work in the '' pink film'' genre. Along with directors Genji Nakamura and Banmei Takahashi, Watanabe was known as one of the "Three Pillars of Pink". Life and career Early l ...

's ''

Slave Widow is a 1967 Japanese '' Pink film'' directed by Mamoru Watanabe and starring Noriko Tatsumi. Along with the first "Queen" of Japanese soft-core pornography, the film's cast includes Mari Imai and an early appearance by Naomi Tani, two other major ...

'' (1967) on May 9 and May 11, 2008.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bite 1966 films Films directed by Kan Mukai Lost Japanese films 1960s lost films Pink films 1960s pornographic films 1960s Japanese films