|
| Panik House (USA). Region 1, NTSC. 2:35:1 (16:9 enhanced). Japanese DD mono. English Subtitles. 86 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
 |
| Credits |
Director: Teruo Ishii
Starring: Reiko Ike,
Ryohei Uchida, Akemi Negishi, Jun Midorikawa
Screenplay: Teruo Ishii,
Masahiro Kakefuda
Country: Japan |
There's a scene that occurs relatively early
in Female Yakuza Tale that had
me rubbing my chin in a quasi-academic manner.
The scene involves a naked Reiko Ike (here reprising
her role as Ocho from the first of the two Elder
Sister films: Sex and Fury) dangling
from her wrists while three revolting men look
on and leer. Dialogue is exchanged, not a word
of which I can recall, and then Ike is digitally
penetrated by two of the men whose expressions
change from glee to disappointment as they discover
that Ike's vagina does not contain, as it were,
what they're looking for. When I say that this
scene occurs early, I mean within the first five
minutes.
As an introduction to the tonality of the film,
and as an indication of the almost jaw-dropping
scatology that is to follow, this bondage and
rape sequence is a brilliant device and one which
immediately serves to set this film apart from
its predecessor.
Ocho is eventually knocked unconscious and awakens
to find herself dumped in an alley beside the
corpse of woman who has had her, and I'll let
the film describe this for me, "crotch gouged".
It's a set-up, of course, and one which Ocho does
not appreciate in the slightest. During her quest
for revenge, Ocho becomes embroiled in a Yakuza
drug smuggling scheme that shares some striking
similarities to the, ahem, "examination"
she received at the start of the film. Add to
the mix an assassin dressed as a nun, a mysterious
stranger who has an agenda of his own (I'm pretty
sure that every Japanese exploitation film has
an archetypal "brooding, cool guy whose machinations
parallel those of the protagonist") and a
bevy of sword-wielding prostitutes and you end
up with the strange alchemy that is Female
Yakuza Tale.
The narrative course that the film takes is
reasonably streamlined (compared to other films
in the Pinky Violence pantheon). There are, really,
only two scenes of swordplay to be found in Female
Yakuza Tale: a pre-credit tussle in the
rain that, as a metaphor, serves the film's intentions
wonderfully, and the climactic battle between
a literal army of naked women and a sizeable gang
of Yakuza. This sequence in particular serves
as a microcosmic example of what Female
Yakuza Tale is all about: it is a sloppy,
poorly staged set-piece that is neither particularly
bloody nor particularly cool. But the point is,
I don't think it's supposed to be. Female
Yakuza Tale is, in essence, the exploitation
equivalent of a teen sex-comedy. Beautifully choreographed
swordfights, the bathtub scene in Sex
and Fury for example, really have no
place in a film as obsessed with genitals and
bodily fluids as this is. And if the only real
scene of action in the film is a bizarre, slapstick
free-for-all (with the added tang of sadism to
help keep its credentials in check), then so be
it.
I'm going to crawl out on a limb here and admit
that I enjoyed this film almost exponentially
more than Sex and Fury. Make
no mistake, Sex and Fury is a
work of brilliance, an illegal cock fight between
artistic aspirations and grindhouse sensibilities.
But Female Yakuza Tale has no
such pretenses. It is what it is, which is perfectly
fine with me when all it wants to be is a borderline
juvenile sex-comedy in the poorest taste imaginable.
Is it the better "film"? Absolutely
not. But if I ever get the urge to see several
naked women smack a guy down, kick him in the
balls and then give him a golden shower while
he's dying, I'll know where to go. |
| Video |
| While the cinematography itself isn't quite on
par with its predecessor, the transfer to DVD most
certainly is. Minimal print damage aside, the image
is literally popping and bursting with colour, deep
velvet blacks and astonishing levels of detail.
The subtitles are well placed, intelligently translated
and removable. Keep 'em coming, Panik House. |
| Audio |
| A strangely "spatial" mono track. Dialogue
is nice and clear, all of studio Toei's well loved
sound effects make nice, crisp appearances and the
porn-funk soundtrack is rich and dynamic. |
| Extra Features |
| A selection of extras similar to those found on Sex and Fury. Director and star
biographies, the original theatrical trailer (16:9),
poster and stills galleries, production notes and
another commentary by author and American Cinematheque
programmer Chris D. I do find Mr. D's commentary
tracks to be somewhat arid, but he is certainly
knowledgeable and his constant referencing of director's
and films that have inspired (and, in turn, been
inspired) by films like Female Yakuza Tale is both wonderfully educational and a serious
strain on my credit card. |
| The Verdict |
An ocean of irreverence separates Female
Yakuza Tale from the altogether more restrained,
and reserved, Sex and Fury. I heartily
believe that both films, especially when viewed
in succession, are the exploitation equivalent of
a debauched evening in a Japanese Love Hotel. Both
films are indispensable monuments to grindhouse
excess and while I certainly regard Sex
and Fury as the more accomplished of the
two, in my heart of hearts I know which film put
a broader smile on my face.
Comment Script
|
Got something else to say? Spill your guts on the
Digital Retribution Message Forum! |
|
|
 |
Be the first to comment on this item!