Underrated: Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)
/Every friday we review a movie that we think is underrated or over looked. Something you need to watch.
Aka Joshuu 701-go: Sasori
Women In Prison films are the thing of the past here in America. We haven’t seen one in years. For most film enthusiasts WIP means Campy. And for good reason. Most WIP movies are campy! From Chained Heat to Bad Girls Dormitory, we love the films but they are pretty damn cheesy. The genre has become so predictable there are even parody films. This is what feels so great about watching Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion. Here we have an outstanding Women In Prison film. One filled with action, story, and best of all: quality acting. FP701 may be the best Women In Prison films ever made and this is where it all started.
After being scammed by her lover Sugimi, a local cop, Nami Matsushima is sentenced to hard time in a female prison. Here she attempts to escape. Once caught she sets in motion a series of events to turn the whole prison inside out.
FC701 is the sharp edge of a blade. It’s directed by Shunya Ito with a beautiful, fully 70’s psychedelic style that lays the ground work for hundreds of directors in the future. The colors, lighting and use of space is beautiful in ways not seen in any other Women In Prison film since (expect for it’s sequels of course). The film is deadly.
Starting in the title role as Scorpion is the beautiful Meiko Kaji. Her face strikes you as so iconic it seems to make every shot it graces. She films perfectly and stands out as one of the best action stars ever of her time. She was also the lead in Lady Snowblood, another brilliant action film directed by Shunya Ito. Both of which heavily inspired Quentin Tarantino for his Kill Bill films. She really makes the film something exceptional with her damning eyes, quick hands and seductive body.
For those who don’t know, FP701 is known as a Pink Film. Pink film is a style of Japanese softcore pornographic film. Films of this genre first appeared in the early 1960s, and dominated the Japanese domestic cinema from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. In the 1970s, some of Japan's major studios, facing the loss of their theatrical audience, took over the pink film. This is when FP701 was made. Along with the beautiful photography the film is filled with half naked girls being raped and tortured. Do not take this lightly. Although FP701 is a beautiful film it is also very dirty, which is how WIP films should be!
FP701 must be seen. It stands as the first piece to a six film saga of Scorpion, Female Prisoner, that has already gone down as the strongest WIP films ever made.
IMDB FP701 HERE
Buy FP701 HERE
After being scammed by her lover Sugimi, a local cop, Nami Matsushima is sentenced to hard time in a female prison. Here she attempts to escape. Once caught she sets in motion a series of events to turn the whole prison inside out.
FC701 is the sharp edge of a blade. It’s directed by Shunya Ito with a beautiful, fully 70’s psychedelic style that lays the ground work for hundreds of directors in the future. The colors, lighting and use of space is beautiful in ways not seen in any other Women In Prison film since (expect for it’s sequels of course). The film is deadly.
Starting in the title role as Scorpion is the beautiful Meiko Kaji. Her face strikes you as so iconic it seems to make every shot it graces. She films perfectly and stands out as one of the best action stars ever of her time. She was also the lead in Lady Snowblood, another brilliant action film directed by Shunya Ito. Both of which heavily inspired Quentin Tarantino for his Kill Bill films. She really makes the film something exceptional with her damning eyes, quick hands and seductive body.
For those who don’t know, FP701 is known as a Pink Film. Pink film is a style of Japanese softcore pornographic film. Films of this genre first appeared in the early 1960s, and dominated the Japanese domestic cinema from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. In the 1970s, some of Japan's major studios, facing the loss of their theatrical audience, took over the pink film. This is when FP701 was made. Along with the beautiful photography the film is filled with half naked girls being raped and tortured. Do not take this lightly. Although FP701 is a beautiful film it is also very dirty, which is how WIP films should be!
FP701 must be seen. It stands as the first piece to a six film saga of Scorpion, Female Prisoner, that has already gone down as the strongest WIP films ever made.
IMDB FP701 HERE
Buy FP701 HERE
