Female Prisoner Scorpion

Arrow is quickly becoming the go to company for great collections.  And let me tell you Female Prisoner Scorpion is at the tops of there list of great releases.

The female scorpion in question is  Nami Matsushima.  She gets framed by a cop she is dating and sent away to prison for a crime she didn't commit.  She is abused, tortured, you name it.  She does however manage to escape and seek revenge on basically everyone.

The second film in the series is actually my favorite.  Nami is back in prison.  As she has become sort of a legend to the other prisoners the warden orders her raped in front of the other inmates.While being transported with other prisoners she, along with the others escape into a small village complete with potential hostages.  This takes the violence, and also the acting to an entire new level.  This is probably my favorite women in prison film to date.

In the 3rd film Nami is still on the run and hiding out with a small time hooker who is having sex with her own brother, who, if that wasn't bad enough, is also retarded.  If the cops hunting her her aren't bad enough she has to contend with the local Yakuza who run the brothel her friend works at.

Finally we come to the last film in the series.In what I have to say is a very weak entry.  Nami has fallen in love and is betrayed.  She is sent back to prison yet again and placed on death row.  Sure its a nice ending for the series but it lacks anything we have seen in the previous instalments.

This set is loaded, and a must have for an fans of exploitation films.  This is all the special features this box set is loaded with

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited Edition Blu-ray collection (4000 copies)
• Brand new 2K restorations of all four films in the series presented on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD
• Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) for all films
• Optional English subtitles for all films
• Double-sided fold out poster of two original artworks
• Reversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
• Booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Chuck Stephens, a brand new interview with Toru Shinohara, creator of the originalScorpion manga and an archive interview with Meiko Kaji by Chris D. illustrated with original stills

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

Overall 5 out of 5 stars.  A must have