WOMEN OF THE NIGHT

By: Kenji

Tokyo Decadence

Prostitutes, geisha, courtesans, sexual entertainers….something of a speciality of Mizoguchi and Japanese cinema

My favourites:

The Life of Oharu
Sun Legend of the End of the Tokugawa Era
Pakeezah
Pandora’s Box
The Goddess
Jeanne Dielman
Straits of Love and Hate
Le Plaisir
The Woman of Rumour
Insect Woman
Belle de Jour
Street of Shame
East of Eden
Klute

(In the great Sansho the Bailiff, prosititution is not a central on-screen feature)

The list below is in year order. Suggestions welcome.

Street of Shame- Kyo Machiko in Mizoguchi’s final film

• 01
  Traffic in Souls
  George Loane Tucker
• 02
  Café Electric
  Gustav Ucicky
• 03
  The Docks of New York
  Josef von Sternberg
• 04
  Outcast
  William A. Seiter
• 05
  Pandora's Box
  Georg Wilhelm Pabst
• 06
  Lady of the Pavements
  D.W. Griffith
• 07
  The Sin of Madelon Claudet
  Edgar Selwyn
• 08
  Virtue
  Edward Buzzell
• 09
  Stolen Heaven
  George Abbott
• 10
  The Threepenny Opera
  Georg Wilhelm Pabst
• 11
  Shanghai Express
  Josef von Sternberg
• 12
  Every-Night Dreams
  Mikio Naruse
• 13
  Woman of Tokyo
  Yasujirô Ozu
• 14
  Apart from You
  Mikio Naruse
• 15
  The Goddess
  Wu Yonggang
• 16
  Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts
  Mikio Naruse
• 17
  Oyuki the Virgin
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 18
  Sisters of the Gion
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 19
  The Straits of Love and Hate
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 20
  Yoshiwara
  Max Ophüls
• 21
  Primrose Path
  Gregory La Cava
• 22
  Stagecoach
  John Ford
• 23
  Les dames du Bois de Boulogne
  Robert Bresson
• 24
  Back Streets of Paris
  Jacques Feyder
• 25
  Desire
  Roberto Rossellini
• 26
  Dedee D'Anvers
  Yves Allégret
• 27
  Without Pity
  Alberto Lattuada
• 28
  Women of the Night
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 29
  Thieves' Highway
  Jules Dassin
• 30
  The Devil's Wanton
  Ingmar Bergman
• 31
  White Beast
  Mikio Naruse
• 32
  Sensualidad
  Alberto Gout
• 33
  Aventurera
  Alberto Gout
• 34
  Le plaisir
  Max Ophüls
• 35
  The Life of Oharu
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 36
  A Geisha
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 37
  An Inlet of Muddy Water
  Tadashi Imai
• 38
  The Wayward Wife
  Mario Soldati
• 39
  The Crucified Woman
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 40
  Boot Polish
  Prakash Arora
• 41
  Sansho the Bailiff
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 42
  Riviera
  Alberto Lattuada
• 43
  East of Eden
  Elia Kazan
• 44
  Adolescence
  Heinosuke Gosho
• 45
  Teaserama
  Irving Klaw
• 46
  Floating Clouds
  Mikio Naruse
• 47
  Street of Shame
  Kenji Mizoguchi
• 48
  Child of Sorrow
  Lamberto V. Avellana
• 49
  Susaki Paradise: Red Light District
  Yuzo Kawashima
• 50
  Flowing
  Mikio Naruse
• 51
  Black River
  Masaki Kobayashi
• 52
  The Sun Legend of the End of the Tokugawa Era
  Yuzo Kawashima
• 53
  The Flesh Is Weak
  Don Chaffey
• 54
  Snow Country
  Shirô Toyoda
• 55
  Nights of Cabiria
  Federico Fellini
• 56
  The Undead
  Roger Corman
• 57
  Room 43
  Alvin Rakoff
• 58
  The Flower in Hell
  Shin Sang-ok
• 59
  Adua and Her Friends
  Antonio Pietrangeli
• 60
  The Big Night
  Mauro Bolognini
• 61
  Yoshiwara: The Pleasure Quarter
  Tomu Uchida
• 62
  Butterfield 8
  Daniel Mann
• 63
  Rocco and His Brothers
  Luchino Visconti
• 64
  The World of Suzie Wong
  Richard Quine
• 65
  Never on Sunday
  Jules Dassin
• 66
  Walk on the Wild Side
  Edward Dmytryk
• 67
  Mamma Roma
  Pier Paolo Pasolini
• 68
  Pigs and Battleships
  Shôhei Imamura
• 69
  Vivre sa vie
  Jean-Luc Godard
• 70
  The Female: Seventy Times Seven
  Leopoldo Torre Nilsson
• 71
  The Red Lights
  Vasilis Georgiadis
• 72
  The Balcony
  Joseph Strick
• 73
  The Stripper
  Franklin J. Schaffner
• 74
  Irma la Douce
  Billy Wilder
• 75
  The Insect Woman
  Shôhei Imamura
• 76
  Of Human Bondage
  Ken Hughes
• 77
  A House Is Not a Home
  Russell Rouse
• 78
  Marnie
  Alfred Hitchcock
• 79
  Only On Mondays
  Kô Nakahira
• 80
  The Dirty Girls
  Radley Metzger
• 81
  Men and Women
  Walter Hugo Khouri
• 82
  The Flower and the Angry Waves
  Seijun Suzuki
• 83
  Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
  Vittorio De Sica
• 84
  The Scent of Incense
  Keisuke Kinoshita
• 85
  Gate of Flesh
  Seijun Suzuki
• 86
  Little Girls
  Gilbert Wolmark
• 87
  Flesh and Lace
  Joseph W. Sarno
• 88
  Story of a Prostitute
  Seijun Suzuki
• 89
  Irezumi
  Yasuzo Masumura
• 90
  Moonlighting Wives
  Joseph W. Sarno
• 91
  Another Day, Another Man
  Doris Wishman
• 92
  Aroused
  Anton Holden
• 93
  The Thunder of God
  Denys de La Patellière
• 94
  The Oldest Profession
  Claude Autant-Lara
• 95
  2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
  Jean-Luc Godard
• 96
  The Touch of Her Flesh
  Michael Findlay
• 97
  Shanty Tramp
  Joseph P. Mawra
• 98
  Belle de jour
  Luis Buñuel
• 99
  The End of a Priest
  Evald Schorm
• 100
  Inferno of Torture
  Teruo Ishii
• 101
  Camille 2000
  Radley Metzger
• 102
  The Best House in London
  Philip Saville
• 103
  The Appointment
  Sidney Lumet
• 104
  The Ballad of Cable Hogue
  Sam Peckinpah
• 105
  Copacabana Mon Amour
  Rogério Sganzerla
• 106
  The Owl and the Pussycat
  Herbert Ross
• 107
  Evdokia
  Alexis Damianos
• 108
  Klute
  Alan J. Pakula
• 109
  Duffer
  Joseph Despins
• 110
  McCabe & Mrs. Miller
  Robert Altman
• 111
  Pakeezah
  Kamal Amrohi
• 112
  The Devil
  Andrzej Żuławski
• 113
  Ichijo Sayuri: Following Desire
  Tatsumi Kumashiro
• 114
  Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan
  Chor Yuen
• 115
  Secret Chronicle: Prostitution Market
  Chûsei Sone
• 116
  Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable
  Shunya Ito
• 117
  Cinderella Liberty
  Mark Rydell
• 118
  Night of the Felines
  Noboru Tanaka
• 119
  The World of Geisha
  Tatsumi Kumashiro
• 120
  Emine
  Ömer Kavur
• 121
  The Bod Squad
  Ernst Hofbauer
• 122
  Maîtresse
  Barbet Schroeder
• 123
  What Have They Done To Your Daughters?
  Massimo Dallamano
• 124
  Confidential: Secret Market
  Noboru Tanaka
• 125
  Brothel No. 8
  Kei Kumai
• 126
  Street of Joy
  Tatsumi Kumashiro
• 127
  Justine
  Jesús Franco
• 128
  Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
  Chantal Akerman
• 129
  Blue Jeans
  Mario Imperoli
• 130
  Las poquianchis
  Felipe Cazals
• 131
  The Watcher in the Attic
  Noboru Tanaka
• 132
  Taxi Driver
  Martin Scorsese
• 133
  Shirin's Wedding
  Helma Sanders-Brahms
• 134
  Blue Rita
  Jesús Franco
• 135
  SS Girls
  Bruno Mattei
• 136
  Madame Rosa
  Moshé Mizrahi
• 137
  The Gauntlet
  Clint Eastwood
• 138
  Maraschino Cherry
  Radley Metzger
• 139
  Bilbao
  Bigas Luna
• 140
  Memoirs of a French Whore
  Daniel Duval
• 141
  Pretty Baby
  Louis Malle
• 142
  The cricket
  Alberto Lattuada
• 143
  Prostitute
  Tony Garnett
• 144
  Do You Remember Dolly Bell?
  Emir Kusturica
• 145
  Le occasioni di Rosa
  Salvatore Piscicelli
• 146
  Lola
  Rainer Werner Fassbinder
• 147
  La truite
  Joseph Losey
• 148
  The Missionary
  Richard Loncraine
• 149
  Chicken Ranch
  Nick Broomfield
• 150
  Fanny Hill
  Gerry O'Hara
• 151
  La balance
  Bob Swaim
• 152
  Love Hotel
  Shinji Sômai
• 153
  Crimes of Passion
  Ken Russell
• 154
  Streetwise
  Martin Bell
• 155
  Mona Lisa
  Neil Jordan
• 156
  Street of Departures
  Tony Gatlif
• 157
  Ticket
  Im Kwon-taek
• 158
  Tokyo Bordello
  Hideo Gosha
• 159
  The Girl on the River
  Đặng Nhật Minh
• 160
  Rouge
  Stanley Kwan
• 161
  Working Girls
  Lizzie Borden
• 162
  Story of Women
  Claude Chabrol
• 163
  Top Model
  Joe D'Amato
• 164
  Salaam Bombay!
  Mira Nair
• 165
  Freeze, Die, Come to Life
  Vitali Kanevsky
• 166
  Last Exit to Brooklyn
  Uli Edel
• 167
  Pretty Woman
  Garry Marshall
• 168
  Frankenhooker
  Frank Henenlotter
• 169
  Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
  Pedro Almodóvar
• 170
  Exposure
  Walter Salles
• 171
  Paprika
  Tinto Brass
• 172
  Whore
  Ken Russell
• 173
  Unforgiven
  Clint Eastwood
• 174
  Tokyo Decadence
  Ryû Murakami
• 175
  A Foreign Field
  Charles Sturridge
• 176
  A Watcher in the Attic
  Akio Jissoji
• 177
  True Romance
  Tony Scott
• 178
  Rue Princesse
  Henri Duparc
• 179
  New Love in Tokyo
  Banmei Takahashi
• 180
  Exotica
  Atom Egoyan
• 181
  Casino
  Martin Scorsese
• 182
  Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam
  Nick Broomfield
• 183
  Mighty Aphrodite
  Woody Allen
• 184
  Cyclo
  Tran Anh Hung
• 185
  California
  Abel Ferrara
• 186
  Bitter Sugar
  Leon Ichaso
• 187
  Moll Flanders
  Pen Densham
• 188
  Leaving Las Vegas
  Mike Figgis
• 189
  Sélect Hôtel
  Laurent Bouhnik
• 190
  L.A. Confidential
  Curtis Hanson
• 191
  Downfall
  Im Kwon-taek
• 192
  Carmen 1945
  Hideo Gosha
• 193
  Mr. Fifteen Balls
  Francesco Nuti
• 194
  Hotel
  Mike Figgis
• 195
  A New Life
  Philippe Grandrieux
• 196
  Teenage Hooker Becomes a Killing Machine
  Gee-woong Nam
• 197
  The Center of the World
  Wayne Wang
• 198
  Bad Guy
  Kim Ki-duk
• 199
  Moulin Rouge!
  Baz Luhrmann
• 200
  Animals Crossing the Road
  Isabella Sandri
• 201
  Love Torn in a Dream
  Raúl Ruiz
• 202
  City of God
  Víctor González
• 203
  A Tale of a Naughty Girl
  Buddhadeb Dasgupta
• 204
  Today and Tomorrow
  Alejandro Chomski
• 205
  La vie promise
  Olivier Dahan
• 206
  Lilya 4-ever
  Lukas Moodysson
• 207
  Monster
  Patty Jenkins
• 208
  2046
  Wong Kar-wai
• 209
  The Whore's Son
  Michael Sturminger
• 210
  The Miracle According to Salomé
  Mário Barroso
• 211
  Woman of Breakwater
  Mario O'Hara
• 212
  In the Darkness of the Night
  João Canijo
• 213
  Rosario Tijeras
  Emilio Maillé
• 214
  Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids
  Zana Briski
• 215
  Sakuran
  Mika Ninagawa
• 216
  Salvation
  Paul Cox
• 217
  Born from Pain
  Alex & Niko
• 218
  Drifter
  Sebastian Heidinger
• 219
  Revanche
  Götz Spielmann
• 220
  The Camp Followers
  Valerio Zurlini
• 221
  Promised Land
  Amos Gitai
• 222
  Marilena from P7
  Cristian Nemescu
• 223
  Poor Jenny
  Urban Gad
• 224
  The Photograph
  Nan Triveni Achnas
• 225
  Call Girl
  António-Pedro Vasconcelos
• 226
  Sweet Food City
  Gao Wendong
• 227
  Diary of a Nymphomaniac
  Christian Molina
• 228
  Sex Volunteer
  Cho Kyong-duk
• 229
  The Girlfriend Experience
  Steven Soderbergh
• 230
  Beautiful Awakenings
  Frédéric Chane-son
• 231
  Special Treatment
  Jeanne Labrune
• 232
  Into Temptation
  Patrick Coyle
• 233
  Utopia
  Sohrab Shahid Saless
• 234
  Jamila and the President
  Ratna Sarumpaet
• 235
  A Part of My Life
  Oscar Cárdenas
• 236
  Silver Girls
  Saara Waasner
• 237
  Big Tits Zombie 3D
  Takao Nakano
• 238
  Chassis
  Adolfo Alix Jr.
• 239
  The American
  Anton Corbijn
• 240
  Meet the Fokkens
  Gabrielle Provaas
• 241
  The Alien Girl
  Anton Bormatov
• 242
  House of Tolerance
  Bertrand Bonello
• 243
  Memories of My Melancholy Whores
  Henning Carlsen
• 244
  Whores' Glory
  Michael Glawogger
• 245
  Eden
  Megan Griffiths
• 246
  Like Someone in Love
  Abbas Kiarostami
• 247
  Call Girl
  Mikael Marcimain