Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She Cat Gambler (1972)

Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi

Cast: Meiko Kaji, Junzaburo Ban, Sonny Chiba, Tamayo Misukawa, Shingo Yamashiro, Yukie Kagawa

If you look back to when the review for Wandering Ginza Butterfly was posted here at Blood Brothers, you’ll see that it happened well over a year prior to the posting of this review. If you read that review, you’ll also see that the film was a disappointment for me in its scattered approach and uneven genre bending that it attempted to do which, while putting two and two together, are inherently connected. This gap waiting to watch the second film of the series, Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She Cat Gambler, is essentially intentional as there needed to be time to cleanse the palate before digging in. However, this may have been a mistake. She Cat Gambler not only partners the iconic Meiko Kaji with Japanese superstar Sonny Chiba for the film, but it’s a more cohesive and impressive film overall. It has impressive star power, a more effective script, and an execution that gets everything to meld into one much more striking cinematic experience.

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss's Head (1975)

Director: Kinji Fukasaku

Notable Cast: Bunta Sugawara, Ninji Kobayashi, Kan Mikami, Ko Nishimura, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Tsunehiko Watase, Sanae Nakahara, Mikio Narita, Meiko Kaji, Junkichi Orimoto, Hideo Murota

The biggest flaw in the rebooted New Battles Without Honor and Humanity film is the fact that the first film of the trilogy is too much like its predecessors. It tried too hard to be like the original five and it came off as redundant and rushed, even with its strong direction and performances. The second of this trilogy, New Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Boss’s Head, attempts to rectify that major issue by bringing in an entirely new story with some of the stylistic choices of the series, but some new additions and approaches. The results are definitely a step up above the first as the new ground in the film makes for a much more interesting film that pulls a bit more away from the documentary-esque structures and dense character interactions for a more straight forward yakuza action affair. Fans may be a bit more mixed on it for its deviations from the core style, but it’s a refreshing spin that has its own effective merits.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Masakuza Tamura, Yumi Kanei, Hiroshi Tsukata, Yayoi Watanabe, Sanae Hakahara, Akemi Negishi

It happens to every franchise. Eventually, they will have to have a significant drop off in quality. There is only so long an inspired artistry, no matter what genre or era, can last as time continues. With the third entry into the Female Prisoner Scorpion series Beast Stable, director Shunya Ito was done with what he wanted to say and moved on from the franchise. However, lead actress Meiko Kaji would stay on for one final film before her departure and for this fourth film in the series, #701’s Grudge Song, she brings on an old time friend to fill Ito’s shoes: Yasuharu Hasebe. Granted, this swan song for the Meiko Kaji era of the character is definitely a huge step down from the previous three – that drop off of quality that I mentioned – due to substandard script, a change of directorial focus, and a bit of a scattered narrative, but Grudge Song still remains a film that works on an entertaining level at least and has an ace up its sleeve when it comes to having the last word.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)

Director: Shunya Ito

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Mikio Narita, Reisen Lee, Yayoi Watanabe, Koji Nanbara, Takashi Fujiki, Tomoko Mayama 

One of the fascinating things about the Female Prisoner Scorpion series is how each installment breaks just enough new ground to remain feeling fresh and unique on its own without sacrificing the style and blended pieces of genre that made them so uniquely impressive to begin with. Even though the third film in the series Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable is a slight step down in quality from the first two [you can read my thoughts on the first film HERE and the second film HERE], it’s also an ambitious and large step down a new path for the series that sets it aside. Like its predecessors, Beast Stable is the kind of film that rises above its more controversial pieces into a film of more artistic merit, although it doesn’t quite find the tightness of its writing to sell some of its higher end themes.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Director: Shunya Ito

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayoko Shiraishi, Yukie Kagawa, Yuki Arasa

There is no series of films quite like the Female Prisoner Scorpion films. They are unique, impactful, and layered to the point pure density. While I reviewed the first film for our Meiko Kaji celebration earlier this year [check out that review HERE], Arrow Video has been kind enough to package all four of the original Female Prisoner Scorpion films in a new box set for collectors and this vulgar auteur could not be happier with the results. So it’s with great pleasure that the next three installments of the series will get official reviews here on the site and hopefully, in all seriousness, these reviews convince someone to purchase and experience these films for the first time – or again – so that the legacy of their artful approach to exploitative cinema can only grow. The films are all worthy enough that they deserve that much.

This leads me to the focus of this review, the second film in the series and the widely acclaimed Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41. In many circles, this is the considered the best of the series and for legitimate reason. Jailhouse 41 is not only a film that continues on with the themes, style, and story that the first film established, but it takes each one to the next level and punches it through with a thoughtful (and forceful) impact that simply cannot be ignored. This is the kind of film, like its predecessor, that nimbly elevates itself to a high art level of creative cinematic purpose where the exploitative elements on its surface only help to craft a foundation for the art to exist on. This is a film that entertains ultimately with its prisoners on the run plotting, but it leaves such a resonating message and feeling that it lasts well beyond its time frame and might even be just as relevant now as it was in 1972.

Wandering Ginza Butterfly (1972)

Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Tsunehiko Watase, Akiko Koyama, Koji Nanbara, Tatsuo Umemiya

Wandering Ginza Butterfly had me excited. Just the idea of combining the onscreen presence and talents of Meiko Kaji with the director of Sister Street Fighter and Karate Bull Fighter screamed awesome. It could have been a match made in heaven. Could have. Wandering Ginza Butterfly is not nearly as exciting or awesome as I thought it would be. The film is not necessarily bad and in many ways the story is one ripe with some interesting social commentary and some fun performances. However, the film is also super scattered in its approach to its narrative and it feels uneven in a lot of ways because of it. It’s almost like the film was a bit unsure of what genre it wanted to be and so it just took turns leaping from one genre to the next. It’s easy to see why it has the cult following it does, but it’s also a film that pales in comparison to what it might have been or even to any other films in the filmographies of Kaji or director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi

Lady Snowblood (1973)

Director: Toshiya Fujita

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Ko Nishimura, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza, Eiji Okada, Sanae Nakahara, Noboru Nakaya, Takeo Chii, Hitoshi Takagi, Akemi Negishi, Ko Nishimura

Occasionally, there are films that will grow with you over time. In many ways, a great film is one that strengthens with time and overcomes the bane of its own time context to reach a universal state. Lady Snowblood is one of these films that only gets better with time, in overall context and for me personally, which is something that not many films can say. There was always a knack for the Japanese cinema to produce these kinds of films including the likes of Lone Wolf and Cub, the Zatoichi franchise, and other iconic exploitation films of the yakuza genre, but Lady Snowblood might be one of the most interesting ones. On the surface, the film is often eclectic and abrasive – thanks to a leaping narrative and stylized approach – but with repeated viewings it opens up its many layers of detailing, symbolism, and intense off beat moments. This allows Lady Snowblood to only strengthen with time instead of collapse under its own contextual surroundings.

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Director: Shunya Ito

Notable Cast: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Yayoi Watanabe, Yoko Mihara, Akemi Negishi, Keiko Kuni, Yumiko Katayama, Emi Jo, Isao Natsuyagi

Exploitation films can be a massively hit or miss kind of thing. Firstly, either you get it or you don’t conceptionally speaking and secondly, the quality within that concept can be hugely diversified. For every Ms. 45 in quality there are a hundred pieces of generic cash in rape and revenge flicks. That’s my opinion anyway. It’s also the reason that my expectations for Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion were decently low. *For the record, I will just be referring to the film as Scorpion from this point out as that title is a bitch to type. It might also be the reason that I was impressed with the film as a whole too. While at times the exploitation can be a bit eye rolling as it seemingly forces in tons of ‘women in prison’ clichés, the resulting film is quite steeped in artistic merit and one that deserves to be seen as such. This is not just another pinku Japanese flick, this is one that rises above it in many ways.

Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970)

Director: Yasuharu Hasebe

Notable Cast: Akiko Wada, Meiko Kaji, Koji Wada, Bunjaku Han, Yuka Kemari, Tatsuya Fuji

Also known as: Allycat Rock: Female Boss

Thanks to companies like Arrow Video, a whole new generation can be introduced to films that are probably best understood by a completely separate generation. In the case of the Stray Cat Rock series, the first film and focus of this review Delinquent Girl Boss, there is a sense that the film is a slice of life and a capsule of time. It’s not always a good thing, mind you, and while Delinquent Girl Boss is certainly entertaining in its own ways, it definitely feels dated and the themes and stylistic approaches seem to be lost in the decades since its release. More or less, despite the wonderful release that this franchise received, this is about as cult as films get and you are either going to love what it has to offer or it's going to seem like an exercise in futility…unfortunately, I feel as though I fall more into the latter than the former.

Hiroshima Death Match (1973)

Director: Kinji Kukasaku

Notable Cast: Kinya Kitaoji, Sonny Chiba, Meiko Kaji, Bunta Sugawara 

Also known as: Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Death Match, Deadly Fight in Hiroshima

Director Kinji Fukasaku and writer Kazuo Kasahara really knocked it out of the park with their gritty and complex yakuza story in the first Battles Without Honor and Humanity, so when that one ended up being a commercial success it was only obvious that a second film would quickly follow. Hiroshima Death Match, also known as Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Hiroshima Death Match and Deadly Fight in Hiroshima, continues fairly faithfully in the style and tone that made the original film such a success. Any fans of the first one are definitely going to latch onto what this film has to offer. However, the writing this time around is a bit more focused and centered which is both a blessing and curse to differentiate the film from the previous one. And depending on your stance about the style, the film is either better or worse.