7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Matsu is sheltered by an incestuous prostitute on her run from the police, her ex-prison mate and a cop whose arm she hacked off.
Starring: Meiko Kaji, Yayoi Watanabe, Kôji Nanbara, Takashi Fujiki, Tomoko MayamaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 39% |
Crime | 11% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 2.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Note: This film is currently available as part of the box set Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection.
The damsel in distress has been a cinematic staple since the earliest day of the silents, when aghast audiences were horrified by the sight of
some
dastardly villain tying a helpless heroine to the railroad tracks (or something like that). Interestingly, that plot device underwent a subtle but
ultimately
kind of significant change decades later when the whole “women in prison” subgenre started cropping up. Suddenly, the damsels weren’t just in
distress, they were surrounded by leering people ostensibly in power, and they also had to suffer various indignities fostered by their fellow
inmates.
This almost fetishitic subject matter had a zenith of sorts in a series of Japanese exploitation films that began with 1972’s Female Prisoner
#701:
Scorpion, a series which appeared probably not so coincidentally just as feminism was really starting to gain a toehold globally. Featuring
Meiko
Kaji, who would go on to star in the Female Prisoner Scorpion sequels as well as the somewhat tonally
similar
The Complete Lady Snowblood, the
Female Prisoner Scorpion films are fascinating not just for their often lurid content, but also for presentational aspects that are oddly if
quite
interestingly theatrical, giving the films a bit of both the mundane and the arcane.
All four films in Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection exhibit some of the same tendencies, and so I'll begin each review with some general comments about the set, including Arrow's description of the provenance of the transfers, before moving on to specific comments about each individual film. Arrow's verbiage on the transfers is as follows:
The films of the Female Prisoner Scorpion Collection have been exclusively restored in 2K resolution for this release by Arrow Films and are presented in their original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 [Note: The Blu-ray ARs are actually 2.39:1] with mono sound.In order to better understand what is on tap for the viewer in these presentations it's probably important to try to unpack what the preceding spiel "really" means. The fact that Arrow is commendably forthcoming to state that these were sourced off of low contrast 35mm prints explains one thing, but what exactly the "original 35mm film elements" were is something else entirely, and I personally suspect we're dealing with secondary source elements to begin with (if someone out there has definitive information, pass it along and I'll happily update the review). All four films exhibit "dupey" tendencies, apart and aside from problems introduced by the low contrast source. These include variable (and at times pretty problematic) grain structure, some mosquito noise intruding, especially in darker scenes, horizontal banding/clumping of grain and just a generally roughhewn appearance that often tends to defeat detail and especially fine detail levels. Dark scenes are often littered with crush, and due to the frequent skewing toward blue, blacks can often appear purplish and flesh tones often assume an almost ghastly pallor. In all four films when things venture out of doors in brighter lighting conditions, the palette improves at least incrementally, but there's really nothing here that looks vivid or, more saliently, natural. A little oddly (at least to me), considering the blue look of the films, reds and oranges often come off looking at least relatively better than some other tones.
A set of low-contrast 35mm prints struck from the original 35mm film elements were supplied by Toei Company, Ltd. These prints were scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered 4K Northlight Scanner. Picture grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve and thousands of instances of dirt, debris and light scratches were removed using PFClean software. Overall image stability and instances of density fluctuation were was also improved. All restoration work was completed at Pinewood Studios.
The images on all four Female Prisoner Scorpion films favor a noticeably cyan/blue look throughout. This look was inherent in the film materials supplied and relates to how these lab materials were created, as well as how the original elements have faded over time. With these restorations, we have aimed to present the films as close to their intended original style and appearance as possible.
All four films feature LPCM Mono tracks in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles). There's slight but noticeable distortion in the upper midrange, especially during cues. It's somewhat more prevalent in some of the more intense cues, especially those featuring koto (as in Jailhouse 41). #701's Grudge Song probably sounds the best of the bunch, but it's notable that the entire mix seems a little hotter on that film than on the other three. All four films deliver dialogue without much problem, and sound effects (i.e., blades slashing, bullets flying) are generally decent if not overwhelmingly powerful.
- Original Teaser (1080p; 1:46)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 3:08)
Beast Stable is in some ways the most cartoonish of the films in this series, especially with regard to the hiss worthy villainness, but that probably only makes it even more difficult to handle since the overtly theatrical presentational style is largely absent. There's a noticeable law of diminishing returns starting with this third film, and the problematic video quality only adds to the disappointment.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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1972
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1970
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1971
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1973
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1959
1970
1970
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1995
1973
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1974
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1974
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2000