Or as it was sold to me ''major boobage''

How does the film rate:

Posted by: Chris

Coheed, on the other hand, who can usually be relied upon to enjoy weird Asian splatter films, is the only person who I now know has seen this before and he did not like it!
 

I've finally earned the reputation I've waited for since I joined this forum.

We'll see if I change my decision on Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion or not this month. Regardless of what my rating is though, I'm using this opportunity to watch the whole trilogy after at least a year of planning to.

I really wanted to see this tonight, but have been distracted by the limited free showings of Rage and Departures, and the auteurs World Cup films; The City of Life and Death and 9 Days of One Year for voting on Thursday; so might have to wait till weekend. I am all a quiver for the trilogy.

Oh yeah and the film is completely misogynist from beginning to end. Cannot really argue it.

Perhaps I did not make it clear enough in my review above, but this is definitely a full on exploitation movie. There is loads of rape sequences, violence, nudity. It lacks a sense of fun, or perhaps comedy, which pervades the Jack Hill Women In Prison films; but the artistry makes the film better. However, I would rather watch The Big Doll House or The Big Bird Cage as women in prison exploitation films. They are must sees for anyone who enjoys this film. They are similar, with more comedy and naked Pam Grier.

I am definitely watching the Female Prisoner Sequels this month.

Posted by: Chris

Meiko Kaji is formidable, visually striking, and just down right beautiful. She really acts like the stakes are high all the way through and sells the film. I think you've seen her at least in Battles Without Honor and Humanity (AKA The Yakuza Papers)? Do you have any comments on her performances in anything other than this film? I have to get Lady Snowblood on Region 1 soon, to see what she's like in that.

To be perfectly honest I do not really remember her from Battles Without Honor and Humanity, I would need to watch the film again in order to place her performance. I have never seen Lady Snowblood. But I would agree with Chris that she really gives a great performance in this film, her completely deadly serious tone works perfectly and in fact it makes everything a bit funnier especially when mixed with the awesome soundtrack. With her black hair hung around her face, she has almost typical ''crazy'' Japanese female look which will be familiar for most. But she does offset this slightly by being extremely attractive. She is, in true exploitation style, is simply hot.

Posted by: Chris

 "Scorpion makes Cool Hand Luke look like a pussy"

 

You can tell that its the lesbian scene coming up party because the actress with Scorpion is the most attractive one in the film after Meiko Kaji

What a scene, you could, as you say, tell immediately what was coming. And exactly for the reason you state.

Posted by: DanceDanceDance

The film is held up these days as a influence on Tarintino, in particular Kill Bill Vol 1, however I wonder if anyone else thought they saw a fair amount of Lady Vengeance in the film's style?

Female Prisoner # 701: Scorpion - 1972 - Directed by Shunya Ito

My first foray in to pinku eiga as well as my second venture in to exploitation cinema. When I watched Coffy I was really surprised by the technical side of things finding it, whilst not great, certainly satisfying and certainly a lot better than many movies that get far bigger budgets and far more attention than a casual bit of exploitation fun. So let me state right now that what I am about to say is not an extreme reaction caused by surprise - I was very surprised, but no, this is some genuine praise. This film is directed brilliantly. I mean it entirely.

From the opening minutes you can tell it is a notch above most films full stop. As Matsu runs through the grass with her fellow prisoner in a break out attempt, followed closely behind by guards and guard dogs coming to stop them and take them back to the prison from whence they escaped, Ito doesn't just capture the action but also uses the long grass to create some pretty darn, well, pretty shots, as well as using it to excellent effect as far as mise en scene is concerned with the look of the guards standing behind the grass looking dramatic and with a variety of camera angles keeping things constantly engaging and yet thouroughly easy to follow. Many action films could learn a lot about how to edit action scenes from this film.

If this is an impressive opening then the film's main exposition scene, as Matsu remembers why she was sent to the prison in the first place, is nothing short of jawdropping and easily the stylistic peak of the film in my mind. It starts with Matsu wrapped in a blanket and her boyfriend proceeds to unroll it with Matsu rolling across the floor. He joins her and they start to have sex under the blanket whilst the music choice adds a certain insanity to the whole thing (a mood that will be achieved quite often in the film). They talk about how Matsu is going to help the boyfriend by going to a club and doing something for him. If the scene ended here I would have been impressed by the artistry that had been added to the whole thing.

The scene is nowhere near finished though. The camera pans up and behind the embracing couple we see Matsu now entering the club, part of the very same shot, as she encounters some not so pleasant people, gang members. They take her through to another room and, on top of a glass floor through which we will be getting shots pointing directly up at these characters, they attempt to have their way with her. Before they can finish the boyfriend enters and shoots one of the men whilst the others stop in their tracks. He walks across the room and speaks to them. It does not stop here though! The wall behind the boyfriend SPINS AROUND taking it with him and on the now revealed other side we see the boyfriend speaking to a mafia boss. They speak about how he betrayed Matsu and how she will get carted of to prison and such if he gets in to their ring (he is a cop that had just witnessed a rape after all - these gang members aren't exactly in a good position), and he gets given a huge wad of money for doing so. The boyfriend walks back through the room, past Matsu, and drops a few notes ontop of her as if to mock her, and exits. The camera now points down from above on Matsu's face as a red light underneath the glass grows and grows in intensity making her want of revenge quite clear. It is an incredible piece of cinema, not just an incredible piece of exploitation cinema.

Considering this is exploitation cinema I was surprised by how unfun it is. Other than some rather misjudged blaring music cues whenever the boyfriend appears on screen after the exposition scene onwards the film feels quite serious. Lots of nudity and sex? Yes. Lots of violence? Yes. Lots of raw insanity (and one extremely surreal scene involving a shard of glass)? Yes, but nonetheless the tone is rarely entertaining in the way Coffy's tone is. And considering that I always thought exploitation cinema was all about fun the film pulls it off damn well. It reminds me a lot of Lady Vengeance except whilst this film may not have the same emotional content Lady Vengeance has it is stylistically far more sophisticated than Park Chan Wook's film, mostly because it knows when to be stylish without seeming jarring.

An extremely stylish film with a rediculous colour scheme (and I mean that entirely in a good way) and always engaging this is a film that I can see remaining one of my favourites of the exploitation genre as I continue my slow exploration.

My Score = 8.75/10

I think its very, very fun, and I was going to respond to you both, as I thought you Dance had also not found it to be fun, but I suppose you were just comparing it to the Jack Hill WIP films which look like a riot.

Many moments made me smile with joy. The ones I remember are; the alsatian, the soup, the not so solitary, the walking up and down the ladder scene, the eye scene.

Another thing that makes it fun is the dialogue of the baddies. They all say everything as they're thinking it, and it simultaneously gives it the feel of a comic, like speech bubbles, and has the effect of making it hammily theatrical/operatic. I agree on your point that it lacks quotable dialogue, but I suppose that is partly due to the fact that the protagonist is almost mute, it would have to be the main guards or prison enemies who would say great lines.

I also think that while Coffy is fun, its not all fun. There are grim bits at times too, so I think that this film actually matches it for fun (although nothing in it quite matches the fun of the razor blade bitch fight), but may not appear to do so because it is so much better made.

If this film were any more fun than it is, then the art sequences would not work as well. They require Scorpion to be serious. This film has a huge reputation as one of the finest examples of an artistic exploitation film, where high and low art collide in this wonderful fusion. It is very exceptional in its ability to combine the two, which are two of my favourite things about film, and which is why I consider the film to be basically perfect.

By the way, the next two in the trilogy really are comparatively very grim in my opinion, and much less fun.

Posted by: Chris

I think its very, very fun, and I was going to respond to you both, as I thought you Dance had also not found it to be fun, but I suppose you were just comparing it to the Jack Hill WIP films which look like a riot.

Nothing quite compares to the Jack Hill Women In Prison films. The tagline for The Big Doll House says it all - "Their bodies were caged, but not their desires. They would do anything for a man. Or to him."

Filming in the Philipines with Pam Grier, set in Prison with absurd violence mixed with slapstick comedy makes the films quite special. Mind you I love all of the Jack Hill films I have seen. Switchblade Sisters is a great little exploitation film which does not get as much love as Coffy, Foxy Brown or his WIP films.

Prison movie's should all look like this...

Posted by: DanceDanceDance

Posted by: TheMadcapLaughs

Considering this is exploitation cinema I was surprised by how unfun it is.

I am slightly surprised by this - I personally thought the film was rather hilarious, the scene with the soup; the (not so) solitary sequence; the comedy gold music and the overtly serious acting from the lead actress combined to make this film rather fun.

What do other people think? To be fun or not to be fun that is the question.

Of those I only really found the not so solitary sequence fun and even then certainly not hilarious (I'm guessing by comedy gold music you mean the music cues when the boyfriend appears?).

I really liked the lead actress in this and thought what you called her overt seriousness really helped make the film pull off its more serious edge convincingly. It may have seemed a tad silly in any other film, but it suits this film's style extremely well.

Posted by: Tom

 

Posted by: DanceDanceDance

Posted by: Tom

This is all just a big trick isn't it? It's actually really, really terrible but you're all conspiring to give this film positive reviews. And then I'll watch it, and hate it, and you'll all laugh.

I'm on to you...

 

I am really interested to see if you like this film Tom. I have no idea if you would. I think Mike would dislike it, but that is just a guess of course.

 

I think probably not. I don't enjoy watching bad gross out horror for fun, if that's any indication...although Mike does if I remember correctly.

 

I would not call any of the horror gross, there is a couple of eye-watering moments, but they are not really graphic for these days. Unless bright red paint which is meant to be blood would prevent enjoyment.

I forgot to say - I did not think that the direction was as stylish in this film; it has some little touches of quality but nothing compared with the first film. This definitely disappoints. However, I have still never seen an exploitation director who is as good as filming dialogue scenes. There is a real level of quality. It is just not as overt in this film.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 6/10

The film opens with another great sequence, this makes three great sequences in three films, it opens with Scorpion with a spoon in her mouth dragging it across the stone floor of her underground prison while being handcuffed, then the bold red titles and the brilliant theme tune. The sequence which follows this typically great opening is brilliantly shot with a odd low angle and really fluroscent blue filter. A blue filter which seems to have been stuck on the camera for at least the first 30 minutes of the film. It seems like they forgot to remove it! Michael Mann would have been proud of the amount of blue filter used, he would have also been impressed by the amount of electronic music used!

My round-up of great scenes:

• The opening parade: The parade was very funny, and the intro of Scorpion was good – six months in an underground dungeon – yet some nicely teased hair and a made up face.
• Great single piece of slo-mo during the first lunge at the guy with one eye, beautiful technique should be used in other things.
• The most impressionistic and musical riot I have ever seen
• Cruxified to a gnarled tree, with dogs biting at her ankles, she is like Jesus. But hot.
• The 4 blokes in robes popping out from behind a white rock, laugh out loud funny.
• Cool Hand Luke style reflections in the glasses - though do not think it was rape which was being reflected in CHL
• Spinning Camera work for the choking scene.
• The Jews Harp in the musical score.
• The outdoor scenes on the black sand

This is about the first 40 minutes. Then the film goes batshit crazy. It starts acting like the bloody Wickerman or something of its ilk. It has dream sequences, women dancing in blacked out soundstages, a bus invasion, a river running red.

The film becomes to much. To many directiorial flourishes, to many non-real world sequences. And definitely there is not enough Scorpion bad-assery.

However, the sound design is certainly the most impressive in this film. Sometimes there is wall to wall music, sometimes it drops out altogether. The scenes by the river in particular are quality, and creepy.

Meiko Kaji did manage to make a poncho look cool, which is something I did not think anyone but Clint Eastwood could manage.

I think it is the worst of the three films, but certainly not the worst exploitation film I have ever seen.

Posted by: Fran

Great Entertainment with lots of artistic merit

8/10

Good news. This low-budget film about women in prison has now garnered references to Powell & Pressburger, The Godfather, Park Chan Wook, Michael Mann and Cool Hand Luke and I believe that ozufan mentioned Kieslowski on an earlier thread. Quite a triumph for Shunya Ito! I will have to rewatch them and see if I can come up with a reference to Ingmar Bergman or Orson Welles.

Of course, it was released at a very similar time to The Godfather, so any similarities must be purely coincidental.

Although there is a misogynistic aspect to these films, they feature strong women characters and focus a great deal on the problems of womanhood. Even though it is a Manga world, the films explore physical and sexual abuse towards women, as well as the dark issue of females with a tortured relationship with their offspring.

I have not yet re-watched the first in the trilogy, but it really is by far the best. The 2nd and 3rd are both worth watching when you're in the mood, but I'd suggest lowering your expectations in comparison with the first film, and preparing yourself for darker films with some more nasty violence. I think that the films get less fun as the number of demented women for Scorpion to contend with is reduced.  How you respond to the 2nd and 3rd in the trilogy will depend partly upon how much you are able to revel in nasty violence without that Haneke Funny Games part of your brain taking over and telling you that you're sick.

I will also watch another Pinky Violence classic Sex & Fury very soon too.

Here are my scribblings about the next two.

Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 (Shunya Ito 1972) 8/10 Demented, perverted, sick, nasty, sadistic artistic, and quite brilliant. I had worried that I may have chosen something dodgy for others to watch, but as soon as this film started I was reminded how excellent Shunya Ito is and knew that I was in a safe pair of hands. It is much darker and more nasty than the first film of the trilogy, and is a great sequel that keeps within the spirit, style and artistry of the first film, but takes it in a whole new direction.

• There are a couple of quite shocking scenes involving children.
• What one of the women did to get into prison and the scar she bears from it is particularly twisted.
• I love the red waterfall.
• Eye shot at the end, the first expression on Scorpion's face other than her normal serious look.
• Prison visitor shits himself.
• The scene where the bus goes into the tunnel is a great art sequence.
• The scene with the Autumn leaves that then change colour is great. More great camera moves, great lighting, great weird scenes of imagery, great use of colour.

I love how cartoonishly and stupidly nasty everyone is to each other, always setting themselves up for some payback.  I like the way that all of Scorpion's enemies say what they are thinking out loud for exposition. It is an effective way of adapting them from Manga comic book panels, as if a lot of the dialogue is from speech bubbles. It gives it a quite theatrical or operatic kind of feel to me, which works in conjunction with the music and the way that the camera work objectifies Scorpion and her look.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (Shunya Ito 1973) 7/10 The theme of the exploration of womanhood continues with more gynaecological trauma. We have a bit of incest added for good measure. The second and third parts of the trilogy play out more as horror.

• I like the bit where the dog picks up the arm.
• There's a great artistic scene where Scorpion is working in the sewing room at the prison and the lighting changes to signify doom.

There seem to be less artistic flourishes in this one than in the previous two. There is another smile from Scorpion in this film, when Scorpion sees her lady friend at some point.

Oops I forgot the best one. Beautifully done. Darkness with the only light coming from an opened door. A silhouette in the doorway. The figure comes towards us and the lights come on. Inside. It is The Searchers in reverse. Brilliant evocation of John Ford, and for a reason.

Hopefully Tom is actually going to watch this. We won't have to get all Ludovico on you will we?

Posted by: Chris

The Sasori month is gone. Nobody should be obliged to watch every film if they have a reason to miss one. In this case there is the rampant misogyny and naked breasts that may put people off. It really is a classy film though, so if anyone does get around to seeing it, I'll be interested to read their thoughts.

I was joking. I completely understand why someone might have some moral issues or something with watching it.

Posted by: olly

I want to see this and intend to catch up on it soon.

Same here.

Posted by: Chris

 

Posted by: CoheedandCambria

Posted by: olly

I want to see this and intend to catch up on it soon.

 

Same here.

 

Coheed. I still can't for the life of me understand why you did not take to this film on first watch.

 

When did you see it? What went wrong? Its completely inexplicable to me.

Everyone who has rated it has been very kind so far.

To be honest I'm not so sure why. All I know is that, when LoveFilm finally sends me the film, I'm going to be watching with a completely open mind and see what my reaction is.