This is the story of Nami Matsushima or Female Prisoner Scorpion 701. She has been on the run, tortured, accosted, abused, imprisoned, bamboozled, and vindicated. Within these four films, this girl has really been through the ringer from her boyfriend being a crooked cop and selling her body until she gets her bloody revenge.
The films are loaded with sexism and sexual torture but not in a way that it’s against women. This is more to give Nami a drive to hate the corrupt police and prison guards that treated her and the other inmates like they aren’t people. The film series is similar to some of the american b-movies that you might catch at a drive in like SWITCHBLADE SISTERS. This entire genre is what has inspired many of the Quentin Tarantino films as far as showing a strong female getting her vengeance in the long run.
The video is a 1080p AVC presentation.
The transfer of all of the films are brand new 2k restorations from the original sources. Like most of the restorations that have been done out there, this creates the best versions of the movies available. The picture is clear with a slightly heavy grain to try to maintain the original feeling of the original source material. The grain most likely looks heavier due to the sharpness and the restoration picking up all of the little details including the errors. There is dirt and speckles on the film that look a little more prominent on the transfer. The coloring from scene to scene changes tint with reds, teals, and greens that changes the skin tones. There is also some noise in the picture that is either from the contrasting or in the compression but it is definitely in the transfer.
The audio mix is a Japanese LPCM mono track.
With Arrow keeping the original mix, the audio has a decent sound. For the most part, the noise has been reduced to make the voices and effects come through clearer. The score is clean but there isn’t a whole lot of bass but that’s to be expected. Overall, it is a solid mix.
-Limited Edition of 3000 units
FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION
-Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid)
-Shunya Ito: Birth of an Outlaw, an archive interview with the director
-Scorpion Old and New, a new interview with assistant director Yutaka Kohira
-Theatrical Trailers for all four films in the series
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41
-Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kier-La Janisse
-Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Shunya Ito
-Designing Scorpion, a new interview with production designer Tadayuki Kuwana
-Original Theatrical Trailer and Teaser
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE
-Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kat Ellinger
-Shunya Ito: Directing Meiko Kaji, an archive interview with the director
-Unchained Melody, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the career of Meiko Kaji
-Original Theatrical Trailer and Teaser
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701’s GRUDGE SONG
-Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts)
-Yasuharu Hasebe: Finishing the Series, an archive interview with the director
-Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Yasuharu Hasebe
-They Call Her Scorpion, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the film series
-Original Theatrical Trailer
Disc Details
8 disc set w/ 4 Blu-rays and 4 DVDs
Running Time
353 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region A/B
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Mixes
Japanese LPCM mono
Subtitles
English
The FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION Series is a grizzly bunch of films that after watching, I see how they have influence many of the filmmakers today. This series feels like where shock value was born and shows how strong Nami is to make it to the end of her terrible journey. The restoration process created an older series of films that still look like they are film and haven’t been put through the digital ringer. However, there are some issues that can’t be missed like the coloring and the artifacts. To be fair though, these don’t take away from the film but they needed to be mentioned. The audio sounds great and has clear dialogue. There are also plenty of excellent bonus features for each film by some of today’s visionary directors. If you’re into the genre or this set has peaked your interest, i highly recommend picking this one up.
FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701’s GRUDGE SONG
