An enormous, sincere thank you to our phenomenal Patreon supporters! Your unshakable dedication is the bedrock that keeps DVDBeaver going - we’d be lost without you. Did you know? Our patrons include a director, writer, editor, and producer with honors like Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, a Pulitzer Prize-winning screenwriter, and a Golden Globe-winning filmmaker, to name a few!

Sadly, DVDBeaver has reached a breaking point where our existence hangs in the balance. We’re now reaching out to YOU with a plea for help.

Please consider pitching in just a few dollars a month - think of it as the price of a coffee or some spare change - to keep us bringing you in-depth reviews, current calendar updates, and detailed comparisons. I’m am indebted to your generosity!


 

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Sex rider: Nureta highway" or "Sekkusu raidâ: Nureta haiuei" or "Sex Rider: Wet Highway")

 

Directed by Koretsugu Kurahara
Japan 1971

 

Fasten your seatbelts for Koretsugu Kurahara’s beautifully shot early entry in Nikkatsu’s brand new Roman Porno line of classy erotic movies, as the studio’s delectable top starlet Mari Tanaka (Love Hunter) takes the wheel in a freewheeling navigation of the Eros and Thanatos sex and death drives.

***

Sex Rider: Wet Highway (1971), directed by Koretsugu Kurahara, is an early Nikkatsu Roman Porno film that blends erotic drama with a surreal road movie narrative. The story follows Mina (Mari Tanaka), a bride-to-be who, on the eve of her wedding, spends a night with her ex-lover Ozaki at a Yokohama motel. On her drive home, she accidentally hits Ryo (Ken Yoshizawa), a hippie-like drifter, and, believing him dead, attempts to dispose of his body in a lake, only for the plot to spiral into a dreamlike exploration of desire, guilt, and unexpected twists. Praised for its striking cinematography and moody jazz score, the film captures a sense of existential despair within its 68-minute runtime, though its tame sexual content and bizarre character decisions reflect the genre’s early experimentation.

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 28th, 1971

 

Review: 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

BONUS CAPTURES:

Distribution 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:07:31.380  
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 24,502,353,661 bytes
Feature: 20,490,110,976 bytes
Video Bitrate: 33.98 Mbps
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio Japanese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:
LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
88 Films

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 24,502,353,661 bytes
Feature: 20,490,110,976 bytes
Video Bitrate: 33.98 Mbps
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Audio Commentary by Earl Jackson and Jasper Sharp
• Brand New Filmed Introduction by Ken Terawaki (10:46)
• Stills Gallery (1:05)
• Trailer (1:30)
Sex at Speed: Booklet Essay by Caitlin Casiello
Newly Commissioned Artwork by Silver Ferox


Blu-ray Release Date:
July 7th, 2025
Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 10

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: 88 Films Blu-ray (July 2025): 88 Films have transferred Koretsugu Kurahara's Sex Rider: Wet Highway to Blu-ray. It is on a single-layered disc with a high bitrate. The 1080P image boasts rich, true colors that enhance the film’s moody palette of grays, blues, and neon accents, particularly in the rain-slicked highway and desolate lake scenes. Texture of Mina’s clothing and the reflective sheen of wet asphalt, are rendered effectively. The widescreen framing preserves the dynamic cinematography, from sweeping road shots and lake front to surreal close-ups, faithfully capturing its gritty yet lyrical aesthetic for modern audiences. The HD presentation is surprisingly strong - consistent without egregious flaws.

NOTE: We have added 54 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, 88 Films use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Japanese language. The score of Sex Rider: Wet Highway, by Tsutomu Sanada (Secret Wife,) sets a melancholic, nocturnal mood, with saxophone or piano riffs underscoring Mina’s emotional turmoil. Ambient sounds - car engines, water lapping at the lake, or distant urban noise - enhance the film’s immersive quality, while strategic silences heighten tension. The sparse dialogue in the lossless transfer is audible and clean. 88 Films offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

The 88 Films Blu-ray release includes a modest but insightful set of extras. The audio commentary by Asian cinema scholar Earl Jackson (Spectacle and Scrutiny: The Analytic Image in Japanese Cinema) and Jasper Sharp (Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema, The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film) is a standout, blending academic analysis with enthusiasm as they discuss the film’s place in Roman Porno, Kurahara’s directorial choices, and its cultural context, making it interesting for fans of the genre and 70's studio output. Ken Terawaki’s 10 minute introduction provides a concise overview of the film’s production and its road-movie influences. The stills gallery is brief, featuring promotional images while the trailer captures the film’s sexploitive allure. The booklet essay, “Sex at Speed” by Caitlin Casiello (focus on shifting views of sexuality in Japanese film from the 1950s to the 1990s, with a focus on B-films, sexploitation, and softcore,) offers a thoughtful exploration of the film’s themes and visual style, complementing the disc’s extras. Newly commissioned artwork by Silver Ferox adds a stylish touch to the package, appealing to collectors.

Koretsugu Kurahara's Sex Rider: Wet Highway offers a unique blend of erotic drama, surreal road movie aesthetics, and experimental energy. Mina’s (Mari Tanaka) actions - her illicit affair, the hit-and-run, and her subsequent choices - reflect a woman grappling with societal expectations (marriage) and her own repressed desires. The film presents her as both victim and agent, caught in a cycle of guilt and liberation. The film’s depiction of sexuality is relatively tame compared to later pinku eiga, but its focus on psychological rather than physical eroticism sets it apart from the genre’s more exploitative entries. Additionally, the motif of the “wet highway” evokes a sense of fluidity and danger, tying into the film’s surreal tone and its portrayal of characters adrift in a morally gray world. Ryo’s (Ken Yoshizawa) hippie-like persona, with his scruffy appearance and nonconformist attitude, channels the 1960s counterculture, while Mina’s urban, middle-class background anchors her in Japan’s postwar modernity. Their collision - literal and figurative - suggests a clash between tradition and rebellion, though the film does not fully develop this theme, prioritizing atmosphere over explicit commentary. The lake sequence, where Mina attempts to dispose of Ryo’s body, is particularly cinematic, using reflections and muted colors to evoke isolation and dread. Beyond its intriguing road-movie oddity value as an early Roman Porno film, the 88 Films Blu-ray of Sex Rider: Wet Highway provides a solid presentation and valued supplements - particularly the Jackson-Sharp commentary and Casiello’s essay. 

Gary Tooze

 


Menus / Extras

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

Examples of NSFW (Not Safe For Work) CAPTURES (Mouse Over to see- CLICK to Enlarge)

 

  


 

More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE

 

 

 
Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

BONUS CAPTURES:

Distribution 88 Films - Region 'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

 

Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

 CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Thank You!