Black Line

Black Line

1960 · 80 min · ★ 5.0 · Crime

Freelance reporter “Scoop” Machida is hot on the trail of a prostitution ring called the Black Line, when he is framed for the murder of a young woman. Forced to clear his own name, the handsome journalist sinks deeper into the Black Line’s rotten swamp of drugs, prostitution, and murder and finds unexpected help in Maya, a steamy female gambler familiar with the neon-lit streets, shadowy alleyways, and seedy nightclubs he must navigate. The closest film in the Line series to classic American film noir, Ishii’s Black Line is a pulpy assortment of crime film conventions including the starkly expressionistic black and white cinematography by Jûgyô Yoshida, a jazzy music score by Michiaki Watanabe, and a sleazy screenplay by Ishii and Ichirô Miyagawa.

Directed by Teruo Ishii · Written by Teruo Ishii

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2h 47m together

Black Line

Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2

Both from Teruo Ishii.

Chitai collectionSee all →

Secret White Line Zone

Secret White Line Zone · 1958

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