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Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable [1973]
![Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable [1973]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xPKV3fKHL._SL160_.jpg)
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The sordid, the sleazy and the beautiful
Review date: 2007-11-12 Rating: 8 out of 10
Scorpion Kaji, attached by handcuffs to a cop's severed arm, hides out in a graveyard used for work by a prostitute. The prostitute lives in a squalid hut in an incestuous relationship with her imbecile brother ("brain damaged in factory accident..."). Scorpion & prostitute battle against sadistic cops & bird-woman (!) gangster boss.
As will be evident from that brief synopsis, director Shunya Ito strove to make this, the third & final Meiko Kaji "Scorpion" film, the most jaw-dropping yet. Incest, abortion, torture & mutilation - you name it, it's all here. Don't watch this with anyone squeamish or easily offended. However the manga roots of the film are obvious & even the violence has an unrealistic, even blackly comic cartoonish or "pop art" quality. And was there ever another series of films that managed to make the sordid & sleazy so haunting and beautiful?
If you got the previous two "Scorpion" dvd reissues you will certainly want this. It may not be the best - the plot is all over the place and personally I found the closing denouement (the best part of the previous films) rather contrived & unsatisfying. But cinematically there are lots of good things - amazing use of shifting studio sets & neon colour schemes and several extraordinary scenes such as the pre-credits & title sequence of mayhem in the subway, accompanied by Kaji's "Song of Vengeance" (possibly the best opening sequence of any film ever!) and, at the other end of the film, the images of lit matches dropping into a methane filled sewer where Scorpion hides out.
Not a film for everyone, but if you like early 1970s Japanese cinematic insanity then this could be for you...
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Reviews
She's got the looks, and He's got the brains - lets make great exploitation
Review date: 2007-10-10 Rating: 10 out of 10
The third in the Female Prisoner 701 series, Beast Stable is a fitting conclusion to the films under master director Shunya Ito (the series continued under different direction). Possibly the most surreal and gothic of the three, Beast Stable certainly doesn't fall into the category that a number of third films do. Plotline, acting and especially direction are still top notch and not lax in any way.
For those who are not familiar with the series they revolve around wronged innocent prisoner Matsu, the Scorpion, and her exploits inside and outside a Japanese prison for women. Filmed in the early 70's these masters of exploitation cinema are full of violence, sex and outrageous plotlines.
What raises the films above the majority of exploitation flicks is the work of two genius, Shunya Ito and the incomparable Kaji Meiko. Kaji is a true cult goddess who adds such anger and depth to the character of Scorpion while barely saying a word, its all in the burningly intense and beautiful eyes. Ito delivers staggeringly beautiful visuals and effects which are juxtaposed with the brutal and sleazy plotline to devastating affect. While spoonfeeding us gems of exploitation scenes such as Scorpion hacking off a policeman's arm, or topless brawls, Ito also provides subtle takes on serious issues in Japan at the time. His take on the unfair position of women in Japan at the time, and of the harsh dominance of men is as shocking as the scenes themselves. It may be a hard argument to make Scorpion (a film full of such nudity and degradation of women) a feminist film series, but it's one I'm happy to make.
Beast Stable begins with Scorpion on the run, and her particularly violent escape. It then centres around an illicit prostitution ring involving an old foe of Matsu, they're wrongdoings and Scorpion's revenge. All the films are primarily about revenge. Scorpion is darker in this film than the others, taking revenge for others rather than just herself, as if she is an avenging angel for all that is wrong. In Beast Stable she actually develops into an almost mythical character. A fitting end for her.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Meiko KAJI; Mikio NARITA; Reisen LEE; Yayoi WATANABE
Creators:
Meiko KAJI; Mikio NARITA; Reisen LEE; Yayoi WATANABE (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
Manufacturer: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
EAN: 5060000402612
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2007-10-08
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 92 minutes
Language: Japanese (Unknown)