NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Mondo Macabro Blu-ray (June 2025): Mondo Macabro has transferred Teruo Ishii's Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight to Blu-ray. It is cited as a "Brand new 4k transfer from film negative". The 1080P creates a sensory experience that amplifies the film’s nihilistic themes, ero guro sensibilities, and Edo-era setting, blending visceral beauty with raw intensity. It looked extremely pleasing on my system: impressive detail, frequent depth, and rich colors. Jûhei Suzuki’s (Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom) cinematography is characterized by bold color palettes, dynamic compositions, and a deliberate interplay of beauty and danger, aligning with the ero guro aesthetic that revels in the taboo and the decadent. Suzuki’s approach creates a dreamlike, almost hallucinatory atmosphere that mirrors the moral decay and existential despair of the narrative. His work draws on the visual traditions of chanbara and Toei's pinky violence, but his exaggerated style sets Bohachi Bushido apart. Unlike the naturalistic cinematography of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai epics, Suzuki’s approach is closer to the stylized excess of Seijun Suzuki’s yakuza films with a nod to the lurid aesthetics of 1970s exploitation cinema. I had no issues with the HD presentation on a dual-layered disc with a maxed out bitrate.  

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE.

On their Blu-ray, Mondo Macabro uses a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original Japanese language. Sound effects (such as sword clashes and ambient brothel noises) give an air of authenticity. Hajime Kaburagi’s (Eighteen Years in Prison, By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him, The Executioner, Horrors of Malformed Men, The Sleeping Beast With, Retaliation, Blind Woman's Curse, Fairy in a Cage, Tokyo Drifter) eclectic score (a fusion of traditional Japanese shamisen, koto, and taiko drums with jazzy electric guitar riffs and funky brass) is the standout, rendered with impressive clarity and depth. The score’s dissonant strings and percussive intensity shine during action sequences, while plaintive melodies underscore Shino’s existential despair, preserving the film’s nihilistic tone. Dialogue in the original Japanese is crisp and well-balanced with no audible hiss or distortion. The lossless audio transfer of Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight sounds solid and the minimal depth suits the film. Mondo Macabro offers optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

Mondo Macabro’s Blu-ray has relevant special features that provide extensive context for Bohachi Bushido’s place in Japanese cinema, catering to both casual fans and scholars of exploitation genres. The new audio commentary by Japanese film expert Tom Mes (Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video) is informative, offering an in-depth analysis of the film’s historical backdrop, including the decline of 1960s Japanese studio cinema, the rise of pink films, and Teruo Ishii’s subversive take on jidaigeki conventions. Mes delves into the film’s ero guro roots and its critique of Edo-era corruption. The archive audio commentary in Japanese with optional English subtitles (see sample below) featuring filmmakers J-Taro Sugisaku and Takao Nakano is more conversational, providing behind-the-scenes anecdotes about Ishii’s chaotic directing style and the film’s production challenges, complemented by a brief “Introducing the Commentators” featurette that outlines their credentials. The 17-minute interview with director Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man) is a gem, exploring Ishii’s influence on his own work and offering insights into the anarchic energy of 1970s genre cinema, though it focuses more on Ishii’s broader oeuvre than Bohachi Bushido specifically. The 20-minute archive interview with lovely actress Yuriko Hishimi (Godzilla vs. Gigan,) who played a minor role, provides a personal perspective on working with Ishii and navigating the film’s explicit content, enriched by her reflections on the pinky violence era. The 1/4-hour “What is Pinky Violence?” interview is an excellent primer, tracing the genre’s origins, its blend of sex and violence, and its cultural significance with clips from related Toei films, like Female Yakuza Tale. The theatrical trailer retains the film's lurid charm. A 24-page booklet, featuring an essay by Mark Schilling (No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema) on the ero guro and Toei Porno subgenres, adds scholarly depth. This package is a masterclass in boutique disc curation, making the release a must-own for cult cinema enthusiasts.

Teruo Ishii's Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight is a striking example of Japanese exploitation cinema, blending the samurai chanbara genre with ero guro (erotic grotesque) aesthetics. The film has relentless violence, pervasive nudity, and philosophical undercurrents, making it a complex, if polarizing, work that transcends its exploitation roots to offer a critique of power, humanity, and the commodification of desire. At its core, Bohachi Bushido is a meditation on nihilism and the rejection of humanity’s moral frameworks. The Bohachi clan’s name, derived from the Chinese term for “forgetting the eight virtues,” encapsulates their ethos: a deliberate abandonment of conscience, loyalty, and shame to pursue power and pleasure. Teruo Ishii’s (Orgies of Edo, Horrors Of Malformed Men, Inferno of Torture) directorial vision elevates Bohachi Bushido beyond mere exploitation. Juhei Suzuki’s (Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom) cinematography is a standout, employing vibrant colors, psychedelic lighting, and dynamic compositions to create a fever-dream aesthetic. The opening sequence (set against a blood-red sunset) sets the tone with its operatic violence, while interior scenes in Yoshiwara’s brothels use garish reds and greens to evoke decadence. I don't think I have ever seen so many topless Japanese females. The display extends to the majority of frames in Bohachi Bushido. The Mondo Macabro Blu-ray release of Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight is a triumph for fans of Japanese exploitation cinema. While some may find the film’s excessive nudity and violence polarizing, this release elevates Ishii’s deranged masterpiece with unparalleled a/v care and supplements, cementing its status as a desirable cult classic and the film’s legacy as a pinnacle of the subversive and provocative genre. To those keen, this is absolutely recommended.

NOTE: Apparently coming to 4K UHD in the future. See HERE.

Gary Tooze