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Female Prisoner No.701 - Scorpion [1972]


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This is where it all started
Review date: 2007-11-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is where it all started, the genius, in my book the most thrilling artistic trilogy in history (maybe three colours has a look in). Female Prisoner Scorpion 701 is a rare thing indeed. An exploitation flick which breaks the barriers of studio rules. An artistic, political, violent piece of art to be enjoyed on so many levels.

I urge you to watch this movie. Just sit back and enjoy. Don't think of anything other than enjoyment. In a film that could have been so wrong, maverick genius director Shunya Ito and cult icon Meiko Kaji both hit bullseye with a searing performance and a unique piece of cinematic creation.

The story revolves around revenge. To say it was an influence on Kill Bill is an understatement. A wronged women survives degredation, pain and unjust embarrassment. But she is strong, and vengeful and sees about turning the tables on those who put her in prison and conspired against her.

As ever Meiko Kaji is iconic and her face full of rage and vengeance is almost symbolic, like that of Che Guevara, full of meaning beyond her own plight. For she symbolises japanese women as a whole, second class citizens at this point of time.

lIke all films in this series there are political undertones, if you want to pick up on them. If you purely want to enjoy the beauty and vision do, if you want to just view a fun flick do, and if you want to see far more please do. The film contains so much. Just watch and make your own decision.

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Reviews


70s Tokyo Kaji Craziness
Review date: 2007-02-13 Rating: 8 out of 10

Uber-cool Meiko Kaji is wrongfully imprisoned & after much suffering eventually escapes to wreak vengeance on the men responsible for her misfortune.
The first 3 films in the "Scorpion" series are probably the quintessential Japanese exploitation cult movies of the late 60s / early 70s. It's great that the first film in the series has finally made it onto DVD.
Female Prisoner #701 is pitched at an hysterical level of cartoon melodrama (well, it was based on a manga) with lots of violence, torture, sado-masochism, lesbianism etc thrown into the torrid mix. Basically it makes Spaghetti Westerns & Italian Giallo look tame.
Aside from the visceral quality however, what makes the film interesting is the inventive almost pop art style of many sequences - the final sequence of scorpion in Tokyo tracking down & knifing her victims (accompanied by Kaji singing her famous theme song!) is stunning. Despite the sleazy exploitation genre, the film is bizarrely subversive - from the opening joke at the expense of the Japanese flag & anthem, the film ridicules just about all figures of authority, especially (& brutally) men in general. It must be one of the few "women in prison" films where male guards get raped by the female inmates. Having said that, you shouldn't watch this DVD with anyone who might be easily offended! (If you want to sample a similar film with less sexual violence try Kaji's brilliant first "Lady Snowblood" movie.)
It's almost 20 years since I saw the other two films in the "Scorpion" series but I seem to remember them as even more striking than this first, so let's hope they are all due for imminent release on DVD.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Rie Yokoyama
Meiko Kaji

Creators:
Rie Yokoyama (Primary Contributor)
Meiko Kaji (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Eureka Entertainment
Manufacturer: Eureka Entertainment
EAN: 5060000402322
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-11-20
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 87 minutes
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Japanese (Original Language)

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