Customer Reviews

Muscle- Tale of Hidden Obsessions

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A seemingly mild-mannered editor of a muscle magazine finds his sexual desires ignited when he becomes involved in an S&M relationship with a muscular bodybuilder in this sexually explicit, extremely controversial drama. For, during their lovemaking, he is unable to control his pleasure/pain and in a fit of sexual intensity, cuts off his lover's arm. He is sent to prison, is released and (with the detached arm in formaldehyde) searches the dark city streets for his now one-armed object of affection. A homage to Pier Paolo Pasolini, the film is quite strange and sexy. (Japanese w/ subtitles)

I purchased this VHS a while ago, and it's surely a very memorable film. It has all the intensity and film noir feel to it, somewhat reminding me of "Ichi the Killer" or "Gonin", though by far it's not an action movie. Instead, it's deeply homoerotic. However, by modern standards "Kurutta Butokai" is not really sexually explicit (e.g., no genitalia are shown), but, nonetheless, very suggestive and may be disturbing to some. I recommend it to all those who enjoy Japanese homoerotic "pink" or just dark psychological movies with BDSM twist.
I hope this movie will be re-released in DVD format one day, as it certainly deserves to reach wider audience.