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Flower and Snake

Original title: Hana to hebi
  • 2004
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
5.5/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
Flower and Snake (2004)
DramaThriller

A businessman lets the Yakuza kidnap his wife, a tango dancer, to clear his debts. She's held captive for an elderly crime boss's entertainment. As she appears to adapt to captivity, her hus... Read allA businessman lets the Yakuza kidnap his wife, a tango dancer, to clear his debts. She's held captive for an elderly crime boss's entertainment. As she appears to adapt to captivity, her husband regrets his choice and tries to free her.A businessman lets the Yakuza kidnap his wife, a tango dancer, to clear his debts. She's held captive for an elderly crime boss's entertainment. As she appears to adapt to captivity, her husband regrets his choice and tries to free her.

  • Director
    • Takashi Ishii
  • Writers
    • Oniroku Dan
    • Takashi Ishii
  • Stars
    • Aya Sugimoto
    • Renji Ishibashi
    • Ken'ichi Endô
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.5/10
    1.3K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Takashi Ishii
    • Writers
      • Oniroku Dan
      • Takashi Ishii
    • Stars
      • Aya Sugimoto
      • Renji Ishibashi
      • Ken'ichi Endô
    • 11User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos1

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    Top cast36

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    Aya Sugimoto
    • Shizuko Tôyama
    Renji Ishibashi
    Renji Ishibashi
    • Ippei Tashiro
    Ken'ichi Endô
    Ken'ichi Endô
    • Kanzô Morita
    Misaki Mori
    • Kyôko Nojima
    • (as Misaki)
    Yôzaburô Itô
    • Clown man
    Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi
    • Ryô Eguchi
    Shun Nakayama
    • Kazuo Kawada
    Shigeo Kobayashi
    • Yoshizawa
    Naoki Matsuda
    • Murata
    Tomoo Yageta
    • Tsuchiya
    Taeko Uzuki
    • Crucified woman…
    Miyako Kawahara
    • Chiyo
    Blake Crawford
    Mr. Buddhaman
    • Kudô
    • (as Misutâ Buttaman)
    Tomezô Tsunokake
    • Kashiwagi
    Kazuya Shimizu
    Noriyuki Ishii
    Hirokazu Miyata
    • Director
      • Takashi Ishii
    • Writers
      • Oniroku Dan
      • Takashi Ishii
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews11

    5.51.3K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9HumanoidOfFlesh

    An erotic masterpiece of sexual humiliation.

    Incredibly hot Aya Sugimoto stars as Shizuko,a bored and unfulfilled wife of a wealthy businessman.When her husband is blackmailed by the Yakuza,Shizuko is sold to Oyabun Tashiro as payment.Tashiro quickly places Shizuko in a private S&M show for an elite audience in order to satisfy his own unfulfilled sexual needs.Shizuko is then subjected to sexual humiliation in front of the masked audience."Flower and Snake" is based on Oniroku Dan's highly successful novel.The film is perverse and sexually explicit,so fans of Japanese pinku eiga should get it as soon as possible.A famous Japanese singer and model Aya Sugimoto spends lots of her screen time naked and she has truly wonderful body.The story may be shocking for casual viewers,however if you are curious give this stunningly erotic masterpiece a look.9 out of 10.
    8cooleon

    Remind me of 8mm and Eyes Wide Shut

    Remind me of Nicholas Cage's 8mm about smurf films and Stanley Kubrik's wild and last Eyes Wide Shut(mind my spelling if some are wrong). Other than that, too complicated and obsessed for sex, nude, violence, to comprehend what it's trying to say, like many other Japanese flicks. Maybe it's not about understanding what the movie is trying to say, but just movie as it is. Well, at least the actress is pretty, seems a little old for all that bold numerous nude shots. I wonder how much she, the character, suffered 'and' enjoyed the whole ordeal. She DID enjoyed it, I think!!! I probably will not watch it again nor buy a DVD. But, it was good strange flick. I enjoy change of scenery time to time. Ciao^^
    8djestic03

    Ice Queen Princess Learns Lust

    This is what Eyes Wide Shut should have been. This is Zalman King eroticism with a sharp story line and excellent acting. Super erotic without blatant pornography; that would seem to be the test of great acting/directing/storytelling. I'd give it 10 but the ending seems subject to much interpretation. Although much of the movie is involved in bondage and forms of S&M, I get easily bored if THAT'S all that is going on. There's much more to this, the sequences do not feel contrived, and the reaction of the actors seems very genuine. This is not a slasher/blood splatter flick. In many respects, this is more erotic than what an actual porn flick would be. Overall, a very well done movie!
    9christopher-underwood

    greatest film ever made featuring extreme bondage and ballroom dancing

    The first of director Takashi Ishii's own versions of this tale of BDSM and honour, following the very first in 1974. Here we have a much more sexy tale, a lot of the edge has been smoothed away. We still have an enema scene of sorts here but it is by no means as central to the lead character's degradation as it was in the first films. So, whilst this film will appear totally unacceptable to the average film-goer, it is much easier and less uncomfortable to fans of extreme Japanese cinema. In some ways this may be a more transgressive movie because we do come extremely close here to an acceptance, possibly an enjoyment and even an empowerment as a result of the pain, suffering and ultimate 'showing of the real face'. Having said all that for those partial to the sight of female bodies in exquisite bondage, this is the movie for you. Pubic hair is also, unusually, on view and this is certainly the greatest film ever made featuring extreme bondage and ballroom dancing. The men come off very badly, as usual, spending all their time in power games whilst they hand the power straight to the ladies.
    8EVOL666

    A Soft-Core Rope-Bondage Lover's Wet-Dream...

    Takashi (ANGEL GUTS series, EVIL DEAD TRAP) Ishii has succeeded in making an extremely sexy and interesting film. Apparently an adaptation of some Japanese S&M novel (I don't have time to read anymore - too much sleaze to watch...) which has been made into film several times - FLOWER AND SNAKE has more sexy rope-bondage and humiliation action than you can shake your dong at...and get this...even has a pretty decent storyline.

    Shizuko is a famous Japanese tango dancer whose husband sells her out to the Yakuza. Seems the 95 year old Yakuza leader has a thing for the beautiful rug-cutter, and will do anything necessary to possess her. The leader's henchmen hatch a plan with the begrudging help of Shizuko's husband - who agree to cancel his debt if he gives up his wife. Kidnapped, along with her sexy female bodyguard and her driver, Shizuko and crew are taken to a place called The Coliseum, where rape and snuff torture shows are played out for high-class clientelle. The driver is killed early on (no big deal - I'm here for the rope-bondage, not a sausage party...) and Shizuko and her hot bodyguard are repeatedly bound, raped, and humiliated for the pleasure of the ancient Yakuza boss for pretty much the rest of the film. There is more to the "story" then that, but I don't wanna give away too much - plus honestly - who cares? I'm on this one to see smokin' Japanese chicks get brutally molested...

    But seriously, FLOWER AND SNAKE starts off pretty tame and really gets going after the first half-hour or so. The bondage and humiliation scenes are more sexy than "rough" as Shizuko and her bodyguard are bound with ropes and contorted into a bunch of wood-inducing positions. There's lots of protracted close-ups on various female body parts, tons of nekkidness, and one of the highlights: an "intersting" dildo mask double-penetration rape sequence that ends in a forced golden-shower. There's even a decent amount of full-frontal for a Japanese feature (guess they're starting to relax their "no-bush on film" laws...) and tons of tits-n'-ass. I pray for the day that Japan starts allowing film-makers to "show-all" - cuz if FLOWER AND SNAKE would have been a little more explicit - it would have gotten an 11. That being said, I'm surprised at how "tasteful" and professional the film is for the subject matter. It really doesn't come off as a fetish film, though 70% of the films run-time is basically watching chicks being bound and humiliated. Ishii somehow deftly weaves a story of obsession, betrayal, despair, and strength out of a bunch of nudie shots. The ending leaves a bit to be desired (as most Japanese films these days do...) and knocks it down just a bit for me. Overall, I would recommend FLOWER AND SNAKE for sleaze fans who would like to see something a little more "artistically" sexy than your average fetish film - but still wanna see some goods. 8.5/10 (would have been 20/10 if there would have been some explicit snatch shots...)

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      The film is based on an S&M novel written by Oniruku Dan which has reached cult status in Japan. There have been several prior film adaptations of the novel: a 1968 Pink film (Hana to hebi yori: niku no shiiku), a 1974 Roman porno with Naomi Tani in her first starring role for Nikkatsu studio, and a 3-film Nikkatsu series (1985-1987).
    • Connections
      Followed by Flower and Snake II (2005)

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    FAQ

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • March 13, 2004 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Languages
      • Japanese
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 花與蛇
    • Production companies
      • Femme Fatale
      • Toei Video Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 55 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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