Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Female Yakuza Tale Blu-ray Movie Review

Female Yakuza Tale (also known as: Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture) is an erotic action film (also recognized as a Japanese pinky violence feature). The film comes from cult filmmaker Teruo Ishii. Featuring a beautiful theme song performed by Reiko Ike, the feature-film combines a jazzy score with the effective theme music. Produced by Toei, Female Yakuza Tale stars Reiko Ike as the blade wielding hero of the tale.

Ochô Inoshika (Reiko Ike) is the victim of a group of sex-trafficking and drug-trafficking men who kidnap her and decide to use her in order to smuggle drugs. The drug trafficking is one of their main areas of expertise and the smuggling occurs by packing the drugs in the vaginas of the women. The drug lord kingpin is only the current leader after having assassinated the previous leader – and this leader is ruthless to the core and even kidnapped the former kingpin’s daughter as a slave.

As the men in the trafficking business use the women for more than just drugs – binding them and torturing them for their own sadomasochistic desires against the free-will of the women – Ochô decides she must take matters in to her own hands and fight for her own brand of justice. Wielding her sword (with a sharp blade), Ochô decides it is time to fight to kill. The battle against the Yakuza clan has begun. How much blood will be shed?

Reiko Ike delivers an impressive lead performance in Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture. The performance is a powerful one and she has a sense of strong screen presence and command in the leading role. The actress has a lot of fun with the role and clearly enjoys wielding her blade while engaging with the men in the film. The performance is one with a clear sense of command for the screen. Her screen presence is remarkable and manages to make the viewing experience all the more fun and compelling.

The cinematography by Motoya Washyo (Sex & Fury, Shogun's Joy of Torture) is one of the highlights of the film. The cinematography in Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture is fantastic and the film is enormously beautiful looking. The lensing is incredible and there is much to appreciate about the film. The sleek and sophisticated cinematography has an artful style that works wonders on the entire film and the viewing experience. This is poetic cinematography and far greater than one might expect for the genre. A fantastic effort all around.

The score composed by Hajime Kaburagi (The Executioner, Red Pier) is outstanding and there is a lot to enjoy. The score for the film is jazz-infused and the style of music seems right at home for this artful production. The music adds so much to the experience. For an erotic film, the music is exceptional. Everything about the score is fantastic. The music enhances the mood of the filmmaking and the compositions are a great fit for the action sequences.

Edited by Tadao Kanda (Yakuza Law, A Savage Beast Goes Mad), Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture is a well-paced production. Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture has no lulls in the editing. The pace is fantastic. The footage selected is exceptional. The results are terrific.

Directed by Teruo Ishii (The Executioner, The Great Villain's Strategy), who co-wrote the screenplay for Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture alongside his co-screenwriters Masahiro Kakefuda (Sex & Fury, Violent Streets) and Ikuo Sekimoto (The General and His Empire of Joy, Rope Torture), Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture offers plenty of carnage and carnal scenes. The directing is exceptional and artistic. This is not an average-quality erotic film.

The eroticism in the film leans towards the violent side. Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture depicts women being tortured frequently. The filmmaking showcases women’s vaginas being used: stuffed with the drugs for trafficking. The film also shows female characters bound and hung. The filmmaking frequently leans towards this type of erotic filmmaking – there are also a lot of scenes showing nude beautiful Japanese women during the prostitution scenes.  

The balance between eroticism and violence is one of the things that stands out about the Japanese Pinky cinema. The feature-film doesn’t simply exist to allure erotic desires alone – it exists with an interesting story and effective filmmaking. The staging of the action scenes is incredible.

This is a remarkable exploitation fare production. Even if one doesn’t lean towards the sadomasochism displayed in the film, Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture has plenty to offer with the sword-wielding action-packed mayhem. The final action scene is gripping and the use of beautiful visuals alongside the jazzy score and impeccable choreography of the action-staging makes it a lot of fun. Fantastic and engaging filmmaking.

Female Yakuza Tale Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Discotek Media, Female Yakuza Tale is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. The film has received a beautiful high-definition presentation from Discotek Media. The transfer is remarkably crisp and clear on the Blu-ray release.

A naturally filmic presentation of Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture and one the capably preserves the fine detail in the image. This is a strong video encode and one that benefits from a healthy bit-rate. The transfer retains the cinematic qualities of the cinematography. There is no doubt that this is the best the film has looked on home media and that the release offers a superior presentation to either DVD or streaming alternatives.

Female Yakuza Tale Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio quality on the release is excellent. Dialogue sounds crisp, clear, and engaging. The dialogue is easy to understand. The score composed by Hajime Kaburagi has been well reproduced on the release. The dynamics of the audio track are excellent. The soundstage is impressive for a stereo audio track too.

The encoding is excellent and provides a solid experience. Having the lossless audio experience is a nice aspect of the release and a nice improvement over the lossy audio quality provided by streaming video alternatives. Blu-ray remains the peak option for any and all audiophiles who appreciate the best sound quality for their viewing experience. Streaming options are no comparison by only offering lossy audio quality on streaming video services.

Female Yakuza Tale Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a nice o-card slipcover. The beautiful slipcover includes unique key artwork. The sleeve art underneath the slipcover includes more unique artwork. The sleeve also includes interior artwork. The disc art is impressive as well. These elements of the packaging design are appreciable. Discotek Media did a good job with the design elements on the release and it adds to the quality of the release. It feels special to hold it in hand.

The release could have benefited from a more in-depth supplemental package. The release would have been better with some behind-the-scenes featurettes, making-of material, and perhaps the inclusion of an audio commentary track. The supplemental package is one of the weaker aspects of the release.

The lone on disc supplement is the Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture Theatrical Trailer (HD, 3:21).

Female Yakuza Tale Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Female Yakuza Tale is an incredible exploitation film with a gripping sense of style throughout. The film is a great example of Japanese Pinky cinema and the filmmaking will appeal to anyone looking for the mix of eroticism and violence on display in the film. Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture is a production combining sadomasochism and swordplay violence. The exploitation qualities in the film certainly impressive in spades. Star Reiko Ike delivers an impressive performance in the lead role.

The Blu-ray release includes an exceptional presentation of the film. The video transfer is exceptional and looks naturally filmic on the release. The lossless audio encoding is also terrific. The supplemental package is on the weak side but the release does come with a nice-looking package design. Fans of Female Yakuza Tale and Japanese exploitation fare will find this a worthwhile purchase. Highly recommended.