Death, Sex, and Honour in post-war Japan

Here's an obscure cinematic gem that is latterly, unfairly, being marketed as a sexploitation classic: Slave Widow! In fact, while the prurient aspects of the film likely caused a stir on its release in 1967, the work is unfailingly artistic, evocative, and beautiful throughout.


The story concerns a widow who is tempted and bullied into sexual servitude by her recently-deceased husband's chief creditor, a suave and amoral businessman. She is subsequently fallen for by the man's son, who possesses far greater sensitivity than does his brutal father, and events are thus led to an inevitably tragic conclusion.

The acting ranges from naturalistic to somewhat stylised, but is always highly effective. Cinematography (in B&W) is striking throughout. This is a superb and distinctive film.

Cinema Epoch have produced an anamorphic NTSC transfer of the movie onto DVD (region 1) that is really quite good. There is considerable damage to the source material (scratches, dirt, etc.) which has not obviously been cleaned up, but the image is stable and detailed enough to provide a pleasant viewing experience. Digital compression artefacts are not noticeable, a major plus in my book.

Highly recommended for fans of art-house cinema.

Sublime, Late Solos from a Master

Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes, both deceased, are giants of Brazilian cultural life. They were at the heart of the Bossa Nova boom that swept both men to fame in the 1960's and, contrary to the light-hearted work that often represents that movement, they have each produced work of great depth and sensitivity - Powell as guitarist and composer, and de Moraes as composer, lyricist and poet.



"Baden Plays Vinicius" features Baden recorded solo just months before he died in 2000 (Vinicius de Moraes had passed away 20 years earlier). Here we have deeply personal arrangements and playing, by a truly masterful, unique guitarist, of great popular compositions written by a long-time collaborator and friend. There's a richness of tone and expression, and a profundity of feeling here that make this record quite sublime.



Additional recommendations: "Os Afro Sambas", an important 1966 collaboration between the two men, and a seminal reaffirmation of the African roots of Samba; "Mares Profundos", a gorgeous modern reprise, by black Brazilian vocalist Virginia Rodrigues, of those same recordings; plus too many other Brazilian recordings to name!

A Quintessentially English Production

Sir John Betjeman was a British Poet Laureate, and a popular public figure. He was recorded several times in the 1970's reciting his wonderful, accessible poems to specially composed music, and the resulting albums are available at super-bargain price on CD.


Betjeman's Banana Blush is one such album, and I recommend it highly. Betjeman's voice is worldly, expressive, and marvelously precise, and his poetry is a delight. The words and music conjure up the exquisiteness of first love, the ache of lost love, the power of exotic places, and much more, with a quintessential Englishness and at times a wry humour.

The enjoyable light orchestral accompaniment, composed by Jim Parker, is varied and mostly very effective. I particularly liked the dramatic and poignant accompaniment to the reading of "The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel".

Not everything works: the faux-American accent used for "Longfellow's Visit to Venice"; the odd bluster and jauntiness accompanying the moving words of the final track "A Child Ill", but these quibbles hardly detract from the whole.

In addition to its availability on CD, the album is available for digital download (with sound samples).

p.s. I thought the track "A Shropshire lad" was rather strange... here is some background on the Captain Webb mentioned therein.