Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) - Matsumoto

A feverish collision of avant-garde aesthetics and grindhouse shocks (not to mention a direct influence on Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"), Bara no Soretsu (Funeral Parade of Roses) takes us on an electrifying journey into the nether regions of the late 60's Tokyo underworld. In Matsumoto's controversial debut feature, seemingly nothing is taboo: neither the incorporation of visual flourishes straight from the worlds of contemporary graphic design, painting, comic-books, and animation; nor the unflinching depiction of nudity, sex, drug-use, and public toilets. But of all "transgressions" here on display, perhaps one in particular stands out the most: the film's groundbreaking and unapologetic portrayal of Japanese gay subculture.