Ten Dark Women (1961) (original) (raw)
Synopsis
Kaze is a philandering TV producer. His wife and nine of his mistresses conspire to kill him. However each woman would rather keep him alive, as long as she was the only woman in his life.
Cast
Popular reviews
If the saying “the chickens have come home to roost” were expressed in movie form.
Ten Black Women is a dramedy centering the collaborative and conflicting schemes of a wife and nine mistresses who plot to murder a womanizing TV producer. It's clever and kooky and I appreciate how Kaze (the womanizer) finds himself trapped in a “prison” of his own design by the end.
The humor works well. It's surprisingly hilarious in several spots. I really love the premise. Still, the movie wasn't executed the best IMO, especially insofar as characterization.
I would love a remake (movie or limited series) that allows for more development of Kaze’s lovers as well as his relationship with each woman. Several mistresses hardly…
cleverly crafted and stylish black comedy about ten women turning the tables on a womanizing tv producer. everyone agrees he's a great guy and that's why they have to kill him. when one remorseful lover tips him off to the plan, his wife agrees to help him fake his death to be rid of the others. the film caused something of a sensation in japan of the early 60s where women's liberation hadn't quite penetrated yet. gorgeous noirish photography and eccentric camera angles make it worth watching, even if the plot runs out of steam
A television executive’s nine mistresses conspire with his wife to have him killed. When Miwako, one of the mistresses, tells him of the plot, he decides to fake his own death in front of them all. The women panic and deny that they were ever serious about the murder, while Miwako even takes her own life in remorse. But when they find out the man is still alive, they put their original plan back into action. Given complete creative freedom, Kon Ichikawa made this dark satire, one of the undiscovered gems of Japan’s cinematic Golden Age. Featuring a stunning cast of Daiei studio divas and striking monochrome photography by Setsuo Kobayashi (Blind Beast), this is a merciless dissection…
bro had no choice but to cheat, the moon was pretty. The other time the ac didnt work. And another other time it was raining and she had an umbrella.
Really, how'd they pull off this tightrope walk?! Midway between a patriarchy-smashing female revenge scenario (times 10) and a man-child fantasy of indulgent girl heaven.
I love how the light comedic tone is skillfully blended with moments of extreme heaviness and darkness. Japan, land of paradox...!
This one deserves a lot more attention.
maybe the real win is the friends they made along the way
shout out to ok.ru and our russian brothers over there, real heroes of the internet. i'd never find half the stuff i watch if it wasn't for them.
every time i think a film's vanished from existence, ok.ru just casually has it sitting there in glorious 360p with mono sound.
cinema lives ♥
Kon Ichikawa direct a 100 minute noir, about a group of women who are/were involved with a playboy, who consider doing him in, but things get a bit more complicated.
I definitely found Ichikawa's other go round with noir, Hole in one quite funny.
Here there's a noirish feel too but if you enjoyed that film I mentioned, while both have comedy, these are a bit different.
Hole is much more flighty, where as this is more acidic and mannered, dark in its humour.
I would deem this more of a noir with comedy in it, with Hole being a comedy with noir in it.
I think the first half is amusing, certainly, but its the second half that has…
they based this on my life
The comedy's play with gender roles is fun, and has progressive messages hidden in there. The black & white cinematography is creepy and strikes exactly the right tone. Awkward camera angles are suitably unsettling. The women, especially the main actresses, are lit to near-perfection, and they look great. The concept is unique and works, though the tone shifts in a couple of places.
I’m not entirely sure what to make of this movie in some ways it feels like a biting critique of the carefree businessman in other was like a commentary on female possessiveness and frailty. The reality is that it’s probably just a drama that walks a very nuanced line and doesn’t always walk it well.
The base plot is that a constant philandering tv executive has been keeping a whole passel of mistresses. All of them adore him and think that he’s wonderfully nice, even his wife and even when they know/learn about each other.
After figuring out just how much he fucks around, his wife and mistresses start meeting, and trying to sort out what to do with him.…
Scharfsinnige, einzigartige Satire inform eines feministischen Film-Noir, in dem die Ehefrau und die neun Geliebten eines TV-Producers einen Mord-Komplott gegen den untreuen Schürzenjäger planen. Kon Ichikawa und Kameramann Setsuo Kobayashi betten die Handlung in eine hyperexpressive Welt aus finsteren Schatten und hellstem Licht ein, deren exzessive Überstilisierung die Stilmittel des klassischen Film-Noir ins Groteske verkehrt.
Die Brillianz des Drehbuchs von Ichikawas Ehefrau Natto Wada besteht darin, den TV-Producer nicht als gefühlloses Monster, sondern als echt netten Kerl und wahren Frauenversteher zu zeichnen, viel femininer als seine Geliebten, letztlich zu naiv und schwach, um sich den Anwerbeversuchen der hochprofessionellen Geschäftsfrauen zu erwehren, die sich allesamt Führungspositionen innerhalb der Männerwelt des japanischen Berufslebens erkämpft haben.
Damit ist "Ten Black Women" weit mehr…