Cruel Tales of the Bohachi on Eureka 4K UHD + Blu-ray in September
Eureka Entertainment has announced the release of Cruel Tales of the Bohachi, a new Limited Edition set bringing together two of the most notorious samurai exploitation films ever produced. Ishii Teruo’s legendary Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight arrives in 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray, alongside Bohachi Bushido: The Villain on Blu-ray, with both films making their UK debut on home video in September as part of The Masters of Cinema Series. Limited to 2,000 copies, the set is packed with newly produced and archival special features and presented in an O-card slipcase with an exclusive collector’s booklet.
Based on the popular manga by Lone Wolf and Cub creators Koike Kazuo and Kojima Goseki, Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight (Poruno jidaigeki: Bōhachi bushidō, 1973) is one of the standout films in the career of Ishii Teruo (Shogun’s Joy of Torture), known in Japan as the “King of Cult.” A bloody and erotic samurai tale starring an assassin with a death wish, it paved the way for Harada Takashi’s spiritual successor Bohachi Bushido: The Villain (Bōhachi bushidō: Sa burai, 1974).
Code of the Forgotten Eight sees a nihilistic ronin, Ashita Shino (Tanba Tetsuro, Three Outlaw Samurai), join the sadistic Bohachi clan, a group of corrupt samurai who operate a prostitution ring. With nothing else to live for, he acts as their assassin in a war with a rival clan that poses a threat to their business. Then, in The Villain, the condemned criminal Issho Kyushi (Ibuki Goro, Hokuriku Proxy War) falls in with the infamous Bohachi samurai – and he too is drawn into a world of wanton violence and sexual sadism.
Prime examples of the ero guro jidaigeki (or, in other words, period films with a focus on eroticism and the grotesque), Code of the Forgotten Eight and The Villain are perfect portraits of the shifting depictions of sex and violence in Japanese cinema of the 1970s. The Masters of Cinema Series is presenting both films for the first time on UK home video.
Bohachi Bushido: The Villain is presented in 1080p HD on Blu-ray Disc only
Cruel Tales of the Bohachi will be released on 4K UHD and Blu-ray by Eureka Entertainment as part of the Masters of Cinema Series on 21 September 2026 at the RRP of £39.99, but it can be pre-ordered directly from the Eureka store for £34.99.
UHD & BLU-RAY FEATURES:
- DISC ONE : 4K UHD – CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT – 4K (2160p) UHD from a 4K digital restoration
- DISC TWO : BLU-RAY – CODE OF THE FORGOTTEN EIGHT & THE VILLAIN – 1080p HD presentations
- Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
- Original Japanese mono audio tracks
- Audio commentary on Code of the Forgotten Eight by East Asian film expert and Midnight Eye co-founder Tom Mes
- New audio commentary on The Villain by genre cinema expert Arne Venema and film writer Stefan Hammond
- From Codes to Chaos – new video essay on the Bohachi Bushido films and Toei’s evolving production strategies in the 1970s by Japanese cinema expert Joe Hickinbottom
- Remembering Ishii Teruo – interview with director Tsukamoto Shinya (Testsuo: The Iron Man) about working with director Ishii Teruo
- Archival interview with actress Hishimi Yuriko
- Archival audio interview with Japanese filmmakers Sugisaki J-Taro and Nakano Takao
- Original theatrical trailer for Code of the Forgotten Eight