Sex and Fury Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Sex and Fury Blu-ray Movie Review

Sex and Fury is an exciting Japanese action gem. Based on the original manga by Taro Bonten, Sex and Fury comes from producer Kanji Amao (Bullet Train, Yakuza Law). Distributed by Toei, Sex and Fury features a lead performance by Reiko Ike.

The world of gambling is high stakes. Ocho (Reiko Ike) might seem like a common thief to some but she has a lot of obstacles in her way. Ocho wishes to fulfill the simple dream of a dying man but finds much more than she bargained for. Along the way, Ocho discovers a cover-up attempt surrounding her father’s untimely demise – a cover-up of her father’s murder.

Now Ocho wants to seek out her revenge against the parties involved in murdering and covering up the murder of her father. Yet to win the game, Ocho returns to the world of gambling and a game of poker. Can Ocho overcome her past reputation as a simple, petty thief and seek violent revenge for her fallen father? Meanwhile, Ocho also crosses paths with a gorgeous British femme fatale – the two going head-to-head in a subtly lustful game.

Reiko Ike delivers an impressive performance in the leading role. Ike is a talented actress. There is a sense of majesty and grace to her performance. Ike provides a suave demeanor, too. Even her own majestic stare and a glance of her eyes can make an impression.

Edited by Isamu Ichida (Four Days of Snow and Blood, Yakuza Ladies), Sex and Fury is well paced action-adventure fun. The editing style is spot-on and carries the film well throughout the entire run-time. A fantastic ebb and flow to the filmmaking.

The production designs by Akira Ishihara (Hot Springs Konjac Geisha, Sukeban gerira) are well-done. The designs add a lot to the visual aesthetic of the production. Ishihara is a talented production designer and the efforts in Sex and Fury add to the overall artistry of the filmmaking.

The stunts by Ikuo Miyoshi (Orgies of Edo, Proxy War) are well-done. The stunt work is impressive and makes a huge impression. Miyoshi is a gifted stunt coordinator and the results add a lot to the feature and its sense of poetic filmmaking. The last act of Sex and Fury features an especially impressive action sequence and the carefully choreographed stunts help the film to achieve an even more meaningful impact.

Featuring a score composed by Ichiro Araki (Girl Boss: Escape from Reform School, Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group), Sex and Fury is a beautiful score. The music adds charm and an essence of wonder. The score is engaging and builds to a fantastic finale. Araki is a great composer of Japanese cult cinema and the efforts here add to the stylistic charms of Sex and Fury in spades.

The cinematography by Motoya Washio (Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture, Red Peony Gambler: Here to Kill You) is impressive and visually compelling. Washio is a gifted cinematographer. The aesthetic of Sex and Fury is seductive and wondrous. There is a remarkable beauty to the visuals and the manner in which the cinematographer helps to bring the storytelling to life is something to cherish.

Written by Masahiro Kakefuda (Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture, Terrifying Girls' High School: Animal Courage) and Norifumi Suzuki (The Valiant Red Peony, Sister Street Fighter), Sex and Fury is all the more entertaining because of the well-written screenplay. The script carefully brings to life the storyline. The dialogue is well-written. The undercurrent of chaos is something that is well conveyed in the screenplay.

Directed by Norifumi Suzuki (Ninja Warriors, Beautiful Girl Hunter), Sex and Fury is a must-see cult title for Japanese cinema enthusiasts. Suzuki is a great filmmaker and someone with a keen visual eye for creating poetic filmmaking. Sex and Fury is a wonderful gem and fans of cult-classic Japanese cinema will appreciate Sex and Fury as a work of punk poetry.

Sex and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Sex and Fury is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The high-definition video presentation is impressive and provides a pleasing transfer of the feature-film. The film has an impressively robust scan with good fine film grain and detail preserved in the image. Colors are impressive, too. It is nice to see a scan that faithfully reproduces the beautiful cinematography. Distributor Discotek Media provides a pleasing encode of the feature-film.

Sex and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio is engaging. Dialogue is crisp, clear, and easy to understand. The sound design by Ichiro Horiba (Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban, Bounty Hunter 3: Eight Men to Kill) is engaging. The score is well reproduced and highlighted on the release. The English subtitles are well-done and are free from any egregious spelling or grammatical errors.

Sex and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The first print run of the release includes a nicely designed o-card slipcover. The artwork underneath the slipcover features another nice alternative cover-art design. The combination of the two key pieces of artwork makes an even nicer package. Slipcover fans and collectors alike will appreciate the beautiful packaging design. As a collectable, the release looks beautiful and will look wonderful on a collector's shelf.

On disc supplemental:

Trailer (SD, 3:15)

Sex and Fury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sex and Fury is an entertaining action classic. Fans of cult cinema with extreme violence and high-octane energy will appreciate this gem. A fantastic classic featuring a first-rate performance by actress Reiko Ike. Sex and Fury is a must-see Japanese classic. The Blu-ray release provides excellent video quality, lossless audio, and a nice collectable package design. The first print run includes a stunning o-card slipcover. Highly recommended.