Angel Guts 5: Red Vertigo (1988) Tenshi no harawata: Akai memai (original title)

Director:

Takashi Ishii

Writers:

Takashi Ishii (manga series Tenshi no harawata)
Takashi Ishii (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 May 1988 (Japan)

Plot Keywords:

Break Up | Smoking | Pantyhose | Pink Cinema | Based On Comic

Cast

Mayako Katsuragi	...	Nami Tsuchiya
Naoto Takenaka	...	Tetsuro Muraki
Hirofumi Kobayashi	...	Kenji Ohta
Jun Izumi	...	Ayumi
Kazuyo Ezaki	...	Nogawa
Akira Otaka	...	Mine
Akira Emoto	...	Yakuza
Saeko Kizuki	...	Yakuza's lover
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuuho Yamauchi

Directed by
Takashi Ishii

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Takashi Ishii		manga series Tenshi no harawata
Takashi Ishii		screenplay

Produced by
Yoshiyuki Kaino	....	producer
Naoya Narita	....	producer
Takashi Sakuda	....	planner

Cinematography by
Yasushi Sasakibara

Film Editing by
Akimasa Kawashima

Production Design by
Terumi Hosoishi

Art Direction by
Terumi Hosoishi

Makeup Department
Mayumi Shoji	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sadaaki Haginiwa	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Yoshirô Sakawa	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Masao Kanazawa	....	lighting technician

Production Companies

• Nikkatsu

Distributors

• Nikkatsu (1988) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Artsmagic (US) Ltd. (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Asian Cult Cinema (video)
• Pioneer LDC (2001) (Japan) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Tenshi no harawata: Akai memai" - Japan (original title)
"Angel Guts 5" - International (English title) (series title)
"Angel Guts: Red Vertigo" - USA (DVD title)
"Red Vertigo" - Japan (English title) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

Japan:74 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Company:

Nikkatsu

Movie Connections:

Follows Jokôsei: tenshi no harawata (1978)

Violent, erotic and courageous

Passionately directed fifth installment, ANGEL GUTS: RED VERTIGO (aka RED DIZZINESS), possesses the Takashi Ishii edge and is a solid exhibit of the talent for provocative imagery that this fine director also brought to GONIN and FREEZE ME.

Nami, a dreamy nurse (Mayako Katsuragi), is raped, cheated on by her photographer boyfriend, struck by a car and molested by the driver (Naoto Takenaka), a pathetic loser who is on the run from businessmen he ripped off. This unlikely duo discover a twisted shade of love.

It's the director who makes or breaks these films because the plots are merely serviceable. Though some critics consider the eroticizing of sexual violence in cinema questionable, I am not one of them. Sex and violence are strong cinematic staples and hold a power that only a courageous filmmaker can adequately convey.

In every scene, Ishii tries hard. He never retreats to bland, conventional coverage and extracts maximum erotic potential from the sexually charged scenarios. Ms. Katsuragi delivers a strong, believable performance as the unfortunate victim of male lust and opportunism. She conveys vulnerability and strength and suggests that she lives a life beyond the film's immediate framing.

An early scene, in which Nami's boyfriend takes erotic photographs of his mistress, which uses stark lighting and harsh sound effects, radiates an anarchic, raw sexuality.

This is solid, sensual, exciting cinema.