Rent Female Prisoner No. 701: Scorpion (1972)
3.6 of 5 from 74 ratings
1h 27min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Feature is "Jailhouse Rock" for the stay-at-home generation: an amphetamine-fueled descent into the humid cells of a women's lock-up. High-pulse nymphomania, bone-shattering violence, and a gruesomely gynaecological approach to torture rear their collective head in the workyard, in the cafeteria,...and in the showers of this messed-up big-house - more akin to a hen-house where all types of filthy birds come to roost. Take Meiko Kaji for instance - she's serving time as a result of circumstances that went a little, well...beyond her control. But whether she's tied down or chained up, Kaji (a.k.a. Nami "Matsu the Scorpion" Matsushima) knows how to channel her sense of vengeance into that delta-sized libidinal urge known by any prison-vixen of the sensational 70s - and thereby makes the most of her incarceration. - Actors:
- Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Yayoi Watanabe, Yôko Mihara, Akemi Negishi, Keiko Kuni, Yumiko Katayama, Emi Jô, Sue Mitobe, Chie Kobayashi, Rie Yuki, Hideo Murota, Saburô Date, Shinzô Hotta, Yôichi Numata, Takeo Kamura, Shiro Hisano, Kôji Hio, Kôji Fujiyama, Kôji Miemachi
- Directors:
- Shunya Itô
- Producers:
- Kineo Yoshimine
- Writers:
- Fumio Kônami, Hirô Matsuda, Tooru Shinohara
- Aka:
- Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori
- Studio:
- Eureka
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Behind Bars: Visit These Essential Prison Films, Films & TV by topic
- Countries:
- Japan
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 28/10/2019
- Run Time:
- 87 minutes
- Languages:
- Japanese LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.35:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Newlyfilmed 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
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Reviews (2) of Female Prisoner No. 701: Scorpion
Serving a Longer Sentence - Female Prisoner No. 701: Scorpion review by griggs
Meiko Kaji barely speaks, yet her stillness is more unsettling than all the shouting around her. One glare from Scorpion could curdle the prison tea.
Shunya Ito spends his debut doing time in two genres: women-in-prison exploitation and an art film having a particularly lurid breakdown. Nudity and sadism rub shoulders with theatrical sets, wild colour filters and camera angles that appear to have escaped custody. One flashback unfolds across shifting stage scenery, bringing the story to a halt for some shameless visual showing off. Fair enough—it earns the interruption.
The guards and male authorities are such spectacular wrong'uns that their cruelty eventually becomes savage satire. Even the endless digging punishment receives more care than many films manage for their climax.
I found the middle padded, with a basic revenge story serving a longer sentence than necessary. Exploitation and artistry remain uneasy cellmates, forever rattling each other's bars.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Insanely Kinetic and Inventive Japanese Exploitation Gem... - Female Prisoner No. 701: Scorpion review by sw
I just wanted to implore anybody vaguely interested in renting 'FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION' to please do so because you'll be guaranteeing yourself a truly unforgettable experience.
Don't dismiss this stunning achievement as yet another mere sexploitation, women-in-prison yarn because this flick contains more cinematic invention and jaw-dropping visual gymnastics than anything else I've witnessed in the genre.
Go on, give it a whirl and you won't be disappointed.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.