WELCOME TO MY VIOLENCE – AND THE COLOR IS PINK

FEMALE YAKUZA TALE – INQUISITION AND TORTURE

(original title Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi :Story of Wild Elder Sister -- Widespread Lynch Law, 1973)

Under the direction of Teruo Ishii (ABASHIRI PRISON [1965] and most of that series’ sequels; HORROR OF MALFORMED MEN [1969], et al), the sexual promise of its predecessor, SEX & FURY, is fully exploited in FEMALE YAKUZA TALE – INQUISITION AND TORTURE. The movie starts abruptly with Ochô, again played by Ike, walking through the rain at night, suddenly surrounded by attackers. Like the baby cart in the LONE WOLF AND CUB movies, her parasol is a concealed weapon and she’s soon hacking and slashing up her assailants. And, of course, getting naked. As the rain soaks her kimono, it starts to slip; an attacker grabs her Obi, which then unravels. Ochô spins, disrobing as she continues to slaughter her foes. And this is just the title sequence...

The plot this time around is even more convoluted than SEX & FURY and should be understood (?) by experiencing the film itself. But in short, Ochô becomes implicated in a criminal scheme to smuggle drugs in prostitutes’ vaginas, and the drug mules are kept in check by violent means. Falling afoul of the crime boss’s three lead henchmen, who test out women by using different sized dildos to determine whether or not they can carry sufficient contraband, Ochô is framed as the perpetrator of “crotch-gouge murders,” the threat of which is the means by which the thugs rule their harem through fear.

This film features copious nudity (minus pubic hair), sex, violence and sleaze, and is guaranteed to make your jaw drop with its persistent, incidental excesses. For example, in one stand-out scene guaranteed to make the viewer either laugh or groan, Ochô becomes embroiled in a card game with yakuza mover and shaker Big Tiger, who accuses her of cheating and insists that Ochô strips naked to prove she’s not hiding any cards. Without hesitation, Ochô disrobes. Seemingly proven wrong, Tiger now has to chop off a finger in traditional Yakuza penance, but his girl comes to his rescue and begs Ochô for a favor – she pleads with Ochô to spare Big Tiger's middle finger, which is clearly her favorite part of his anatomy(!)

The climax of FEMALE YAKUZA features over two dozen naked women fighting and hacking up the bad guys in an insane brawl that defies description. All that can be said is neither before nor after has so much blood been splashed across so many pert breasts and bouncing buttocks.

Between these two movies, you’ll discover Tarantino’s major inspirations for KILL BILL.

Clearly not to everyone’s taste, this film nevertheless must rate as one of the most over-the-top exploitation movies in cinema history. All we can add is: has to be seen to be believed.

THE PINKY VIOLENCE COLLECTION

The Pinky Violence Collection isn’t just a DVD box set, it’s an experience. To be precise, it’s not actually a box set: with its lurid pink plastic cover and book-style format, the packaging resembles a Japanese school girl’s diary filled with wild illustrations. In addition to the four discs, the set is rounded out with the inclusion of a stylish 24-page booklet featuring an in-depth essay on Japanese bad girl cinema by Chris D., that is even more informative than his OUTLAW MASTERS OF JAPANESE FILM book, and an extremely rare, limited CD pressing of REIKO IKE SINGS and a groovy cover sticker. Four movies, an essay, a (literally) orgasmic CD and stunning artwork – this is what a collectors’ set should be. Panik House president Matt Kennedy is applauded for his vision and attention to detail; and Jancy Liu, who designed the booklet, should win an award for imaginative and striking work.

The inclusion of the REIKO IKE SINGS CD alone is almost enough to justify the set’s recommended retail price. The disc in question is like the Ike movies SEX & FURY and FEMALE YAKUZA TALE – it must be experienced to be believed, because no description can truly do it justice. This album, previously released in the early ‘70s, is so prized by collectors it is virtually impossible to find as lucky owners refuse to part with it. This new edition, exclusive to THE PINKY VIOLENCE COLLECTION, is just that – exclusive. While the company is considering releasing two of the titles from this set as stand-alone discs at some point in the not-too-distant future, once TPVC sells out – and it is close to doing so at the time of writing – the CD will no longer be available as Panik House signed a contract that does not allow them to reissue the material in any form.

Listening to REIKO IKE SINGS is akin to having a 45-minute, full body orgasm – multiple orgasms! Indeed, the experience is like eavesdropping on Miss Ike being spanked, whipped and made love to for hours: this is not a disc to listen to while driving, and to play it in public may get you arrested, even if no one can understand what she’s singing about. Actually, you don’t need to know the words, those moans and sighs say it all. But enough of the packaging and the additional content – on to the movies!

Like all previous Panik House releases, every film in this set has been lovingly restored from the original vault materials. Picture and sound on all discs are undoubtedly better than they ever played in Japanese theaters between 1971-73. While the soundtracks are mono, the reproduction is crisp and clear; one only wishes they could have been remixed in stereo to really feel the full aural experience of some crazy, funky and jazzy musical underscore. All four movies fall under the sukeban heading (literally, “girl boss” or “bad girl boss”) and provide a good, albeit uneven, cross-section of the genre. In alphabetical order –

CRIMINAL WOMAN: KILLING MELODY (Zenka Onna Karoshi Bushi, 1973)

Starring Pinku Eiga icon Reiko Ike and her rival for marquee positioning, Miki Sugimoto, this straightforward revenge saga marked the 10th time they had starred together. Ike plays Maki, daughter of an alcoholic who was turned into a drug addict/supplier by the ruthless Oba Industries yakuza clan and then murdered. The film opens with Maki attempting to avenge her dead Dad, slashing up gang members in a topless go-go club, but she’s soon overwhelmed and raped and ends up in prison. There, she meets and bonds with three fellow inmates after standing her ground in a vicious girl fight with Sugimoto, who, it turns out, is Oba’s concubine. After being released from prison several years later, Maki’s prison pals keep the bond going and decide to aid her in her quest for revenge. What starts out as a typical, although mild by Roger Corman standards, Women In Prison story soon turns into a Machiavellian battle between competing yakuza clans, orchestrated by a now hardened Maki who wants to see them all dead. Nothing new here, plot-wise: In America, this could have easily played out as a Pam Grier vehicle like COFFEY or FOXY BROWN. But Ike, of course, is charismatic and brings gravitas to her role, and the tension between her and Sugimoto produces sparks. Novice PV director Atsushi Mibori orchestrates the proceedings with a restrained flair, yet the movie delivers on all levels (the rope bondage/tit torture, cigarette branding scene would make Norifumi Suzuki proud). Our favorite character is the gum-chewing, lethal gum-spitting yakuza henchman. It’s surprising Quentin didn’t appropriate him as a role model in KILL BILL. This is a solid slice of oriental exploitation that has stood the test of time.

DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS: WORTHLESS TO CONFESS (Zubenko Bancho Zange No Neuchi Mo Nai, 1971)

This movie is the one lame duck in the collection if you are expecting lots of nudity, sex, violence and mayhem. Nevertheless, it’s a good, solid piece of movie making, and generally considered the best of the four in the Delinquent Girl Boss series.
A reviewer on another site wrote of this film as being “truly a film that defies description, but imagine a Jack Hill production of HAIR with an unsupervised Riot Girl cast, and you're starting to get the picture. The result is a delicious example of Japanese pop culture in high transition from the groovy '60s to the dangerous '70s.” That comment bears no relation to DGB:WTC, at least not the version I saw, but I wish it had. While I appreciated the acting and restrained directing and character-driven story, being unfamiliar with the characters or the series as a whole, I was disappointed. The best part of this disc is Chris D’s highly informative audio commentary that acts as a master class in Japanese exploitation film making. But I shan’t forget the final battle sequence in a hurry, mainly due to the stylish visuals.

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GIRL BOSS GUERILLA (Sukeban Gerira, 1972)

Now we’re talking pinky violence! More mammaries and mayhem as Ike and Sugimoto go head to head again before taking on the local yakuza scum (sound familiar?) Yes, it’s formula, but this time it’s female bikers a la Russ Meyer’s FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! in the care of the erratic and wild stylings of SEX & FURY director Norifumo Suzuki. This is badass biker babe action unlike anything seen in U.S. cycle tramp flicks. Miki is Sashiko, leader of the Shinjuku Red Helmet gang; Reiko is Nami, the former girl boss of the Kyoto girl gangs turned lone wolf. She’s also the younger sister of Nakahara, the second in command of the Tsutsui yakuza clan, a fact destined to complicate matters and lead to tragedy down the road. In between cat fights, gang violence, rape, the inevitable tit torture and swinging ‘70s outfits that would look great on the original CHARLIE’S ANGELS, Suzuki vacillates wildly between high melodrama and tasteless low-brow comedy worthy of British seaside smut like a bunch of Benny Hill sketches (anyone “up” for CARRY ON GYNECOLOGIST?). A farting, thieving Buddhist nun, a copulating Catholic priest with the clap, corrupt monks – Suzuki shows his anti-clerical colors again, albeit with Chaucerian tongue-in-cheek this time. But all this bad taste makes for a weird mix up against the serious conflicts between the invading biker babes, local girl gangs and the yakuza who run the city. Although pro-feminist with our spunky bikerettes the anti-heroes, the deeply ingrained Japanese patriarchal trait often borders on full blown misogyny, particularly in the scene where the yakuza boss uses a cigarette lighter between Miki’s thighs. Crass, colorful and designed to deliver as much bang for the buck on its low budget, GIRL BOSS GUERILLA delivers the goods and is a prime example of PV dementia.

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“I only do guys to wash out the aftertaste.”

When one of the bisexual characters in LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM states this as a retort while having her vagina searched in the bathroom approximately 20 minutes into this depraved flick, certainly the most demented disc on the PINKY VIOLENCE COLLECTION, you know the weirdness isn’t going to stop. This is way after the opening torture scene, one of the most grotesque yet stylish pre-credits sequences in any exploitation movie, period (make that movie. Period.) Said character, Michyo, is partially stripped, has a breast sliced open with a scalpel, and is then forced to watch her blood drain from her body into a chem lab beaker. Breaking free of her tormentors, the discipline committee of a reform school for delinquent girls, the dying babe flees for the school roof only to have her torturers beat and force her to the roof’s ledge. They then stomp on her fingers until she falls to her death. Welcome to the Japanese school system.

Once again, Sugimoto and Ike are paired up to kick ass and take no prisoners, but this is Miki’s movie both in terms of billing and screen time. Here she plays Noriko The Cross (as in crucifix, the symbol of which is tattoo on an inner thigh), head of a sukeban gang who has been sent to the School of Hope for Girls as a last resort. She arrives, accompanied by two other bad-ass babes, knife-wielding Razor blade Remi and voluptuous Kyoko Kubo (the bisexual referred to above). But it turns out Noriko is there for other reasons – to solve the mystery of Michyo’s death and seek revenge for the murder of her friend and second in command. With the aid of some other students and a sukeban gang rival played by Ike, Noriko uncovers a web of corruption, sexual perversion and blackmail that culminates in an orgy of destruction.

By turns gripping, grotesque, ultra-violent and strangely erotic, LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM also manages to be a sly critique of Japanese society and hypocritical double standards (the Hope School’s mandate is to turn delinquent girls – i.e. free spirits – into good wives and mothers). While Jonathan Demme and Joe Viola were injecting political subtext into Roger Corman-financed Chicks-In-Chains/Women-In-Prison pics like THE HOT BOX (1972) and Demme’s directorial debut, the infamous WIP flick CAGED HEAT (1974) in the U.S., it’s surprising just how all of these Pinky Violence titles deal with feminine empowerment when the culture dictates that the salaryman is king.

All discs are excellent quality and loaded with extras. All in all, it’s no wonder numerous reviewers named this set the best collection of 2005. Get it now before it sells out (the recommended price is $99.95, but as of writing Amazon.com are offering the set at half price.