Masaru Konuma's 'Flower and Snake' (1974), R1 USA August 28th 2007.

Belated mention (revealed in listings in the past few days) for Masaru Konuma's first 'Hana to Hebi' (lit. 'Flower(s) and Snake(s)', from 1974) which is his popular Nikkatsu S&M-themed Roman Porno with the legend of the genre, Naomi Tani. Directed and released the same year as Konuma's 'Wife to be Sacrificed', within a year of troubled finances for Nikkatsu, and within troubled times themselves, 'Hana to Hebi' spawned a run of films appearing under this title (some of which had earlier Japan Shock DVD releases) over the decades, which continues into very recent times with Takashi Ishii's two entries from 2004 and 2005. Ishii is the writer behind earlier similar work found within Artsmagic's stunning 'Angel Guts' R1 USA DVD set, as well as the director of the incredibly popular 'Gonin' films.

As far as access to these films, as with many Pink / Roman Porno films (even those of critical note, of some regard) there's been relatively little, but nosing around provides a relative wealth hiding in other countries, at decent prices, even without the necessary aspects most require. Media Blasters continue a small run of interest from American Companies by providing this release, and it's another choice which seems to show insight in aspects of people's interest and discussion with regards other genre releases from other labels. They're also relatively out of the ordinary by comparison to much more obvious, contemporary affairs which lack the latent desire to be seen of older films languishing on shelves - yet if you hunt it down, there's a discussion and appetite for these and many other films outside of the circles regular DVD buyers frequent. There are some 30+ Masaru Konuma films on DVD release in Japan... twice as many entries for his work at JMDB.

Masaru Konuma at Wikipedia. Flower and Snake at Wikipedia, Nikkatsu at Wikipedia.
Konumagumi Fansite (in French and Japanese).
Pre-Order 'Flower and Snake '74' at Amazon.com for Release on R1 USA DVD August 28th 2007.