Violated Paradise

Last updated

Violated Paradise
Directed by Marion Gering
Based onL' Isola Delle Pescatrici
by Fosco Maraini
Produced byMarion Gering
Starring Kazuko Mine
Narrated by Paulette Girard
Tom Rowe (English)
Music by Marcello Abbado
Distributed byVictoria Films
Times Film Corp.
Release date
  • June 7, 1963 (1963-06-07)(US)
Running time
68 mins.
CountriesItaly
Japan
United States

Violated Paradise, also known as Scintillating Sins and Sea Nymphs, is a 1963 Italian sexploitation film directed and produced by Marion Gering and starring Kazuko Mine. Although film contains mild nudity, it is presented more as a cultural documentary than as exploitation. [1]

Contents

Plot

A girl from a remote village in northern Japan travels to Tokyo in the hope of becoming a geisha. On her way to the city, she sees a village where she is attracted towards a fisherman. There women work as pearl divers (amas). When she reaches the city, she decides against being a geisha and works as a hotel maid instead. In the end, the fisherman reaches the city, marries her and takes her to the village, where she works as a pearl diver. [2]

Cast

Production

Marion Gering produced and directed the picture.

Fosco Maraini and Roy M. Yaginuma were directors of photography.

The film was based on Italian writer Fosco Maraini's work L' Isola Delle Pescatrici (The Island of the Fisherwomen)(1960). [3] A few images shot by Maraini's crew were used in the production. [4] It was filmed entirely in Japan and released in the United States as Diving Girls of Japan and The Diving Girls' Island. [2]

The English version was narrated by Tom Rowe. Marcello Abbado composed the film's music with addition scores provided by Sergio Pagoni. The film's New York premiere was held on June 7, 1963. Victoria Films and Times Film Corp. were the film's distributors. [5]

Release and reception

This film was screened only for adults. [6] In North Carolina, the film was shown as a double feature along with 1000 Shapes of a Female. [7] Jasper Sharp wrote in his 2008 book Behind the pink curtain , that the film stood "as a fascinating visual document of a city in the midst of major transition". [8] The 63-minute film was included in the DVD for The Notorious Concubines . [9] While reviewing the feature, Douglas Pratt called the sound quality "okay" and the picture "tolerable". [10] The Realist 's critic called the film a "short bore". [11] DVD Verdict called it a combination of National Geographic and native Japanese styles and "awash with scrapes, dirt, and highly irritating editing jumps". [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulette Goddard</span> American actress

Paulette Goddard was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karuizawa, Nagano</span> Town in Chūbu, Japan

Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2016, the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 156.03 km2 (60.24 sq mi). Karuizawa is one of the oldest and most famous summer resorts in Japan, visited by many people from different countries since the 19th century.

<i>Ama</i> (diving) Japanese pearl divers

Ama are Japanese divers famous for collecting pearls, though traditionally their main catch is seafood. The vast majority of ama are women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fosco Maraini</span>

Fosco Maraini was an Italian photographer, anthropologist, ethnologist, writer, mountaineer and academic.

<i>Pokémon Heroes</i> 2002 film by Kunihiko Yuyama

Pokémon Heroes is a 2002 Japanese animated fantasy film, the fifth in the Pokémon series, the first to use digital ink and paint, the last to receive a North American theatrical release until Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, and the last to feature the main cast from the first five seasons until the CGI remake of the first Pokémon movie. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and produced by OLM, Inc., the film stars the regular television cast of Rica Matsumoto, Yuji Ueda, Mayumi Iizuka, Megumi Hayashibara, Shin-ichiro Miki and Ikue Ōtani. The English adaptation was produced by 4Kids Entertainment and distributed by Miramax Films and was released in the United States on May 16, 2003. The English version stars the regular television cast of Veronica Taylor, Eric Stuart, Rachael Lillis and Maddie Blaustein. The events of the film take place during the fifth season of the Pokémon anime.

<i>Girls! Girls! Girls!</i> 1962 film

Girls! Girls! Girls! is a 1962 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaii-based fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. "Return to Sender", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop singles chart, is featured in the film. The film peaked at #6 on the Variety box office chart and finished the year at #19 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1962, having earned $2.6 million at the box office. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture - Musical in 1963.

Iris is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an original Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It premiered on 22 November 1898 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The story is set in Japan during legendary times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dacia Maraini</span> Italian writer (born 1936)

Dacia Maraini is an Italian writer. Maraini's work focuses on women's issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize for L'età del malessere (1963); the Premio Fregene for Isolina (1985); the Premio Campiello and Book of the Year Award for La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990); and the Premio Strega for Buio (1999). In 2013, Irish Braschi's biographical documentary I Was Born Travelling told the story of her life, focusing in particular on her imprisonment in a concentration camp in Japan during World War II and the journeys she made around the world with her partner Alberto Moravia and close friends Pier Paolo Pasolini and Maria Callas. In 2020 she adheres to Empathism.

<i>Discovery Atlas</i>  TV series or program

Discovery Atlas is a documentary television series on the Discovery Channel and Discovery HD Theater which focuses on the cultural, sociological, and natural aspects of various countries by exploring their different peoples, traditions, and lands. The documentary follows the lives and individual struggles of locals, while taking in-depth looks at the countries' history and culture. Eight episodes have been broadcast so far on the Discovery Channel: the first episode, Discovery Atlas: China Revealed aired October 1, 2006, and was followed by Discovery Atlas: Italy Revealed, Brazil Revealed, and Australia Revealed. The most recent episodes have been focused on France, Japan, Egypt and Russia.

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 (1971), and is considered the first of the three "Nikkatsu Queens" of the 1970s. After 1976 she embarked on a successful career in mainstream film.

<i>Ciao Italia: Live from Italy</i> 1988 video by Madonna

Ciao Italia: Live from Italy is a video album by American singer-songwriter Madonna and was released by Warner Reprise Video and Sire Records on May 24, 1988. It contained footage from a previous TV special of the Who's That Girl World Tour, Madonna in Concerto, broadcast in Europe in 1987, filmed at the Stadio Comunale in Turin, Italy. The video release also contained footage from shows recorded in Florence, Italy and Tokyo, Japan, the latter having previously been released as a Japanese TV special and home video release, Who's That Girl: Live in Japan. The decision to release Ciao Italia was spurred by the fact that this previous release became a commercial success in Japan. A re-release of the video took place in 1999, when it was released in DVD format, with a stereo soundtrack containing the songs only.

Marilyn Rita Silverstone was an English photojournalist and ordained Buddhist nun.

USS Sturdy (AM-494/MSO-494) was an Aggressive-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haruko Sugimura</span> Japanese actress (1909–1997)

Haruko Sugimura was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

<i>Slave Widow</i> 1967 Japanese film

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 stars of pink film.

Sea nymph may refer to:

<i>Love Hunter</i> 1972 Japanese film

Love Hunter is a 1972 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Seiichirō Yamaguchi and starring Hidemi Hara, Mari Tanaka, and Sumiko Minami. The film was banned for obscenity, and director Yamaguchi arrested. The resulting trials were the last time that a film was prosecuted for obscenity in Japan.

<i>We the Living</i> (film) 1942 Italian film

We the Living is a two-part 1942 Italian romantic war drama film, based on Ayn Rand's 1936 novel of the same name. It was originally released as two films, Noi vivi and Addio Kira. It was directed by Goffredo Alessandrini and produced by Scalera Film, and stars Alida Valli as Kira Argounova, Rossano Brazzi as Leo Kovalensky, and Fosco Giachetti as Andrei Taganov.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Gering</span> American stage producer and director

Marion Gering was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chicago, founding the Chicago Play Producing Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuliana Stramigioli</span>

Giuliana Stramigioli was an Italian business woman, university professor and Japanologist.

References

  1. "Violated Paradise". 1963.
  2. 1 2 American Film Institute (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States. University of California Press. p. 1178. ISBN   978-0-520-20970-1.
  3. Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 306. ISBN   978-3-11-095194-3.
  4. "l isola delle pescatrici" [The Island of the Fisherwomen] (in Italian). Asiatica Film Mediale. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  5. "Violated Paradise (1963) – Overview". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  6. "[Advertisement]". The Daily Times-News. Burlington, North Carolina. March 13, 1964. p. 10. Retrieved October 7, 2015 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. "[Advertisement]". The High Point Enterprise . High Point, North Carolina. February 21, 1964. p. 30. Retrieved September 19, 2015 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the pink curtain: the complete history of Japanese sex cinema. FAB. p. 41. ISBN   978-1-903254-54-7.
  9. Wakamatsu, Kōji; Mayama, Tomoko; Takashima, Shikyoku; Itami, Jūzō; Xiaoxiaosheng; Gering, Marion; Mine, Kazuko; Girad, Paulette; Maraini, Fosco (2002), The concubines, Boxoffice International (Firm), Victoria Films, Something Weird Video (Firm), Something Weird Video, retrieved June 11, 2023
  10. Pratt, Douglas (2005). Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!. UNET 2 Corporation. p. 867. ISBN   978-1-932916-01-0.
  11. Krassner, Paul (1962). "[Unknown]". The Realist . Realist Association (31–46): 130.
  12. "DVD Verdict Review –The Notorious Concubines". DVD Verdict . Retrieved September 19, 2015.

Bibliography