BLACK SUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE
Also Known As
MEN BEHIND THE SUN 4
Directed by Tun Fei Mou
Hong Kong/1995 – 95 Minutes/Widescreen
DVD Provided by Unearthed Films
Article written by Mark Engle

Tun Fei Mou returns to the director’s chair to wrap up the MEN BEHIND THE SUN series of Japan’s war atrocities on China. The first, Mou managed to make one of the most controversial films to hit Hong Kong at the time. Moving on to Asian Porn, the directorial duties for the first two sequels were handed off to Godfrey Ho, who to say the least, wasn’t quite as successful. With the final installment, BLACK SUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE, Mou proves he’s the only one thus far in the series to provide the proper mix of disturbing drama, scathing documentary, and pure exploitation sleaze. If the realities of war atrocities aren’t bad enough, now you can see where cinematic entertainment proves to be just as disturbing in reminding us how awful human slaughter can be.

There’s more docudrama than actual plot. To keep things flowing amongst the history lesson, we do get a threadbare story of two young children lost in the burning city of Nanking. They are waiting for the return of their Uncle, who will hopefully get them out of the city before the Japanese military finds them. Intercut into this is actual historical footage, text facts, and dramatizations of several key Japanese generals and their desire to stomp out the Chinese civilians of Nanking. Testing out new swords on prisoners, battle training using live victims, killing just for propaganda photos, and contests to see who could kill the most Chinese people in one day were just part of the norm. What we get isn’t actual war, but pure genocide of an entire city. Japanese military leaders decide that the only way to purify the people of China is to kill as many as possible. For ninety-five minutes, you get more onscreen killings than just about any other movie I can recall. What may sound like a poignant drama showing these horrible events becomes something different.

This isn’t just a powerful anti-war film, but pure exploitation trash mixed in. If you don’t feel like taking a scathing hot shower after watching this, then you are more jaded than I am. Probably the most disturbing moment is the beating of a pregnant woman that ends with a bayonet slice right down the belly. It’s followed by skewering the baby and then pulling it straight from the womb, while the victim tugs at the umbilical chord as she is dying. This is grim stuff, especially because the special effects during this scene are extremely realistic looking. It is an image I won’t soon forget. Nude and bloody women are carried out to be burned or killed and it all plays out like the grimiest Italian Women In Prison flicks from the 80’s. Onscreen beheadings are only second in body counts when compared to firing squads. All of this is on the screen for your sick entertainment.

And that is where the problem comes in. Somewhere in the mix of the drama and sleaze is a political and harsh attack on Japan and their brutalization of China. There is no easy balance. The drama and political attack both make a powerful statement in Asian history, yet both also turn hypocritical in order for movie fans of extreme cinema to enjoy the excess of onscreen carnage. It somehow works both ways. At least it did for me. I was saddened by all the true facts behind the massacre, but must admit, I rewound the bayonet abortion scene and watched it again in shock and horror. Some will view the film as historical drama, while mostly jaded Gorehounds will buy this DVD for pure entertainment. You can take it as a warning or a recommendation, as I can’t commit to either. It is definitely up to the individual viewer and their perception of what is truly a controversial piece of cinema.

Unearthed Films manages to deliver a very nice print with excellent easy to read yellow subtitles. There is some minor print damage in the form of scratches, etc., but it doesn’t deter from the experience. The colors and blacks are excellent, and it boasts excellent Dolby Digital Sound. As for extras, they’ve gone more than out of their way by providing interviews with the director, an original Japanese propaganda film, a historical documentary on the massacre, production and historical photos, and trailers for some of their other releases. Overall, this is an excellent release for fans of the series. And that is where my recommendation lies, with fans of extreme cinema. If you have already seen the original MEN BEHIND THE SUN and own it, then you will definitely want to pick this disc up. This is definitely for jaded viewing only, all else may want to seek their entertainment elsewhere unless you think you can stomach it.