Pinky Violence fans rejoice!

As mentioned last year, a second set of films were set to be released as part of The Pinky Violence Collection by the now defunct boutique label Panik House. However, as with this month's much-anticipated release of Teruo Ishii's Horrors of Malformed Men and Nobuo Nakagawa's Snake Woman's Curse, Synapse Films has thankfully stepped in to release the next installment of The Pinky Violence Collection.

The first three films will be released on November 13th as the Legends of the Poisonous Seductress series. Here are the DVD covers as well as brief descriptions of each film.



The stunning Junko Miyazono stars in the first entry of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series as Ohyaku, an innocent actress wrongly sent to prison and pushed by her tormentors to the point of no return. With a demon tattoo across her back and a sword in her hand, she embarks on a crusade of vengeance against all those who have wronged her, laying waste to man and woman alike in her quest for bloody retribution. More than just a swordplay classic, FEMALE DEMON OHYAKUs relentless cruelty, scenes of graphic torture, and unique mix of sex and sadism mark it as the first true Pinky Violence film, and highly influential on later sexy action series from Toei Studios throughout the 70s, such as the Sukeban and Female Convict Scorpion movies. Co-starring the legendary Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF AND CUB).



Junko Miyazono returns as QUICK-DRAW OKATSU, the daughter of a swordmaster who takes on a power-hungry magistrate, in the second entry of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series, directed by master filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa (Jigoku, Snake Woman s Curse). Joined this time by Rui (Reiko Oshida), a wild young swordswoman, the two sexy avengers embark on a blood-soaked quest for revenge after Okatsu is raped and her father slaughtered by one of his assistants. Okatsu and Rui slash their way through dozens of evil men in order to settle the score with those who wronged them in this swordplay classic which features some of the best fight scenes of the series. Mixing a standard revenge plot with a healthy dose of modern-day sex and violence, the film proved to be a primary inspiration for some of the best female revenge sagas of the 1970s, including the Female Convict Scorpion and Lady Snowblood series. Co-starring the legendary Tomisaburo Wakayama (LONE WOLF AND CUB).



In the final episode of the LEGENDS OF THE POISONOUS SEDUCTRESS series, Junko Miyazono appears one final time as beautiful swordswoman Okatsu the Avenger, but this time seeking Judayu, a corrupt merchant responsible for the death of her parents. Betrayed by her fiancé, Okatsu finds herself aided in her quest by a handsome stranger (yakuza film star Tatsuo Umemiya) who happens to be as handy with a sword as she is! What is the reason for his kindness, and will Okatsu be able to prevail against Judayu, now a powerful businessman with scores of allies in high places? Whatever the end may be, the restless spirits of her murdered parents drive OKATSU THE FUGITIVE along her crimson-colored road of vengeance. Master filmmaker Nobuo Nakagawa (Jigoku, Snake Woman s Curse) brings audiences the stunning end of the trilogy that inspired countless imitators among Toei s Pinky Violence films of the 1970s.

In addition to these DVDs, sometime next spring Synapse will release the Wandering Ginza Butterfly films - Gincho wataridori (1971) and Gincho nagaremono aka Wandering Ginza She-Cat Gambler (1972) - starring Meiko Kaji and directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess).



Without a doubt, fans of Japanese cult cinema have a lot to look forward to!

Labels: cult film, japanese exploitation, meiko kaji, pinky violence, synapse

Here is the cover for the upcoming (4/24/07) DVD release of Blind Woman's Curse from Discotek.

Labels: blind woman's curse, japanese exploitation, meiko kaji, teruo ishii

Instead of writing a review for this great film, I'll let it speak for itself. So, here is a slide show for the third film in the Female Convict Scorpion series, Beast Stable, starring Meiko Kaji. Enjoy!

Labels: beast stable, exploitation, female convict scorpion, japanese, meiko kaji, shunya ito

Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Another exceptional exploitation classic from Japan’s infamous Toei Studios, Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, stars Meiko Kaji as a tight-lipped toughie named Matsu. A notoriously tenacious and deadly convict, Matsu is more infamously, and aptly, known as Scorpion among the hardened female prison populace. Thrown and locked away alone inside a dark and exceedingly dank underground cell for nearly a year, Matsu lies on the cold stone floor, the thick metal cuffs cutting and chaffing at her pale wrists and ankles.



With defiance in her eyes and a metal spoon clenched between her teeth, Matsu repeatedly scrapes the eating utensil across the floor, wearing away the spoon’s rounded edges. Above Matsu the door to her hellish cell bursts open and her arch adversary, a diabolical one-eyed prison warden, who lost his other peeper at the lethal hands of Matsu, peers down at his pitiful-looking prisoner. Believing he has finally bested and broken Matsu, the warden begins berating and threatening her before nearly drowning poor Matsu with a lengthy high-powered water hosing.

It turns out that an official prison inspector is soon to arrive and the warden is up for a big promotion. The prison warden parades his prisoners for the inspector who seems altogether pleased with the prison and the warden’s performance. Unbeknownst to the warden however, Matsu, aka Scorpion, still has some sting left as she strikes at the warden, trying to scoop out his one good eye with her sharp metal shiv. Shocked and frightened, the inspector soils himself and a prison riot erupts soon thereafter.


Narrowly escaping Matsu’s wrath and total blindness, the warden “sees” to it that Matsu is given a proper humiliation by having her brutally raped by a rabid gang of goons in front of the female prisoners who lionize her. However this soul-crushing debasement utterly feeds Matsu’s silent rage, propelling her and a ragtag group of female prisoners toward a blood-spattered trail of ruthless revenge that gives new meaning to the word manslaughter.

Like Toho’s popular Lady Snowblood films, which also stars the talented Meiko Kaji, Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 was inspired by a popular Japanese comic book. Due in part to this, the film is a hyper-stylized action yarn full of vivid imagery and a ferocious amount of imagination. Oscillating between horrific butchery and poetic beauty, the movie is an exquisite eyeful of cinematic virtuosity that excels within, and exceeds, its exploitative origins.


As the character Matsu, Meiko Kaji gives a great, mostly silent performance (in total I believe she has two lines of dialogue). The character is a classic, stoic bad-ass that Kaji manages to bring to life wonderfully, conveying everything with her eyes, facial expressions and body language. In addition to Kaji, another standout among the great cast is Kayoko Shiraishi as Oda, an infanticidal madwoman. Oda serves as the Judas to Matsu, who is at times portrayed as being a Christ figure - a popular parallel often drawn in ‘70s Japanese exploitation films, especially when the heroine is being ruthlessly tormented and tortured.

With Jailbreak 41 director Shunya Ito, who directed the first three Female Convict Scorpion films in a series comprised of six, has made the best WIP (women in prison) movie I have ever seen. Surprisingly bereft of the usual plethora of nudity, the film is nevertheless brimming with enough violence, action and murderous mayhem to please even the most hardcore genre fans. Incorporating some artistically inventive storytelling techniques and a veritable feast of visual thrills, Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 is cinema at its most astounding and an undeniable trash-art masterpiece.


The Image DVD - which unfortunately is currently out of print, but can still be found and is well worth hunting for - presents the film in its 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Ignoring some minor scratches and speckling, the film looks very good, highlighting the movie’s beautiful and rich cinematography. The original mono Japanese soundtrack is the only audio option, but it sounds reasonably good, and the English subtitles, though a little soft as they are burnt onto the film, are easy to read. The only extras are the film’s theatrical trailer and liner notes written by Chris D. - author of the excellent Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film. Despite the dearth of extras however, this unmissable movie makes the DVD an extremely attractive, must-find purchase.



Tweet

Originally published at Horrorview.com

Recommended and related products:

Scorpion: Female Prisoner # 701
Scorpion: Female Prisoner # 701 - Grudge Song
Scorpion: Female Prisoner # 701 - Beast Stable
Lady Snowblood (collector's boxed set)
Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter

Labels: dvd, female convict scorpion, jailhouse 41, meiko kaji, review, shunya ito