Sex & Fury

Well, if blaxploitation films exploited the black culture and nunsploitation films exploit the nun image, then Sex and Fury falls under the sexploitation genre because it very decidedly exploits sex. And that ain't a bad thing in my book. Anyhows, Sex and Fury is a film that also falls under what is called Pinky Violence. Essentially what Pinky Violence is, is a bunch of Japanese films that came out in the 70s that dealt with hot lady killers who went out and distributed large amounts of vengeance on evil doers. It eventually died out, but boy what a legacy of films it left behind. Sex and Fury was one of the good ones.

The story is about this little girl called Ocho Inoshika. When Ocho sees her father get murdered right before her eyes by a bunch of Yakuza leaders she grows up to be a vengeful spirit. She does nothing else in this life but search for her fathers killers. And that she does, but not without helping a soul or two along the way.

At first when Sex and Fury started out, I thought it was going to be a rehash of the story I had seen before in the truly excellent Lady Snowblood. Its a very similar story dealing with a little girl who grows up to be a stone cold killer because she had an extremely traumatic childhood experience, but the only thing is that Sex and Fury amps up the sleaze and the tits and ass a whole lot more. Suddenly, without no apparent reason Ocho begins to fight and loose her clothes. Suddenly and without warning a bad guy slashes away the top part of her gown and Ocho begins to swordfight topless! Or in another sequence a bunch of hoodlums attack Ocho as she takes a bath and she proceeds to fight them buck naked! And not just a flash, I mean the fight sequence goes on for a long time and shes totally naked, gotta admit Id never seen that in a movie before, but it rocked! Of course it does add a level of sleaze to the movie because its obviously gratuitous nudity we are seeing here solely for the purpose of titillating the males in the audience. But so what, I gotta say it works.

So I'm like oooh, OK. So thats what this is all about! A movie that purposely shows a woman fighting and killing while naked. OK, I can go with that. But it wasn't only that. This movie has some sex scenes that scratch on being porn. Suddenly and without warning these two chicks start to make out on screen, necking each other. So I was thinking "thats probably as far as they are going to go with this cause this movie is old". Boy was I wrong, that sequence totally turned out to be an extended lesbo action sequence that was practically soft porn! I was like alright! This movie is pushing boundaries, its going all out and I dug that very very much. So be on the look out for certain kinky scenes.

And as for the violence, well its plentiful. Blood sprays body parts fall and the snow is sprinkled with red on more then one occasion. Its pretty freaking obvious this one was also a heavy influence on Tarantino. The whole ending sequence is extremely similar to Oren Ishii and Beatrix Kiddos showdown in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Both in terms of music and shots. It was crazy but I was having flashbacks. Anyhows that came as no surprise to me since I had heard about this movies and Lady Snowbloods influence on Tarantino.

The only thing that hinders this film a bit is the acting from Christina Lindberg an American actress that appears in this film playing an English spy. For those familiar with Grindhouse films, she appeared in another bad girl film called Thriller: A Cruel Picture. Anyhows Christina Lindberg does some pretty bad acting on this flick and it was really the only thing that kind of messed things up for me on this movie. But its a small imperfection on an otherwise cool flick.

So, if your into film with naked chicks going around on revenge killing sprees then this my friend is a film for you! I'm off to check out its sequel: Female Yakuza. Hope its every bit as good as this one.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Pinky violence films are often a real mixed bag and you can never be really sure what you're going to get when going into one. For me, Sex and Fury is not one of the major highlights of the genre; but it's an extremely well made, interesting and inventive effort that I'm sure will be appreciated by fans of this sort of film. The film brings together a number of common genre elements; we've got swordfights, gambling houses and plenty of nudity; which is good, but the script could have done with a little more focus, as the film has a tendency to descend into a mess. The plot focuses on Ocho; a Japanese pickpocket and gambler. After a fight in a gambling house, Ocho ends up with a fellow gambler dying in her arms. His last wish is for her to track down his sister and pay some money to prevent her being sold to a brothel. She sets off to fulfil this wish, but during her journey happens on information pertaining to the whereabouts of her fathers killers, and so sets about getting revenge.

The film starts with a bang as not long after it starts, we are treated to a swordfight in which the lead characters battles her foes naked. This fight is really well done; but unfortunately the film never reaches this dizzy high for the rest of the runtime. The film is not particularly violent compared to the rest of the genre, although there are a few good and well choreographed fight scenes. Aside from the main plot, we have another little story involving a "British" spy, played by Swedish actress Christina Lindberg. She's nice looking, but an awful actress and this plot really only serves in making the whole thing more complicated. It's not really believable either, and feels a bit ridiculous. Anyway, this is made up for somewhat by a fantastic score that features often throughout the film. There's plenty of nudity and as always, most of the actresses are very nice to look at. The film all boils down to a decent conclusion that gives closure to most of the plots featured. Overall; this is not among the best of the genre, but it's a good film and worth seeing.

"Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô" aka. "Sex And Fury" of 1973 is a great example for "Pinky Violence", the Japanese exploitation sub-genre often featuring hot female assassins, and always featuring lots of sleaze and violence. One of Japan's greatest exploitation goddesses, the ravishing Reiko Ike, stars in the role of Ochô, a sexy gambling-lady, thief and swords-woman who is out for bloody revenge. I don't want to give too much of the storyline away, but I can assure that "Sex And Fury" is an absolute priority for lovers of Japanese cult-cinema. The film has several resemblances to Toshiya Fujita's exploitation-masterpiece "Shurayukihime" (aka. "Lady Snowblood", 1973) starring the great Meiko Kaji, and while both films are blood-soaked and immensely stylish, this one is incomparably sleazier. As it is the case with "Lady Snowblood" this is often cited as an inspiration for Tarantino's (great) "Kill Bill". And it is indeed true that "Sex And Fury" clearly inspired the film. While I enjoyed "Kill Bill" immensely, however, I don't think that films like "Lady Snowblood" (the main inspiration) and "Sex And Fury" need this attribute. If I was considered, every "Kill Bill"-DVD-cover would say "Inspired by Japanese Exploitation Classics such as 'Lady Snowblood' and 'Sex And Fury'" instead (I am well aware that this is not how things work out, however).

As mentioned above, the stunningly beautiful Reiko Ike is both incredibly sexy and super-cool in the leading role of the seductive and lethal lady Ochô, who often fights bare-breasted (or completely nude), exposing her very presentable tattoos. European sex-star Christina Lindberg stars as a young Western agent. Many might disagree with me here, but Lindberg and the cheesy love story her character is involved in, were pretty much the only elements I didn't like about this film. Lindberg is a beauty, but her voice is annoying as hell and made me understand why her character in "Thriller: En Grym Film" was mute. The supporting cast includes several regulars of Japanese exploitation cinema, such as Yôko Mihara, who often played female bully characters in films such as "Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori" (aka. "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion", the first of the brilliant Sasori films starring Meiko Kaji), and "Zero Woman Red Handcuffs" (1974). Without spoiling anything of the plot, it is secure to say that "Sex And Fury" combines all the elements admirers of 70s exploitation made in Nippon should appreciate: merciless revenge, tons of stylish and ultra-bloody carnage, lots of sleaze and female nudity, constant action and great camera work, a funky soundtrack, fantastic style in all aspects and a vengeful and ravishing heroine played by none other than the great Reiko Ike! In short: Pure Japanese exploitation greatness, and an absolute must-see for all my fellow Cult-cinema-enthusiasts!

Ocho (Reiko Ike), decades after witnessing her father's merciless death, sets out on a quest to find the three responsible for the travesty and exact revenge. In her travels she befriends a handsome your anarchist who's involved with a European spy (the beautiful Christina Lindberg, perhaps best known for her "Thriller" film). This sexy spy along with co-horts wants to dismantle the country from within. All this comes together in a cinematic experience that has to be seen to be believed. Probably very controversial when it was released in Japan of the early '70's, the films more 'outragious' scenes (the battle in which Ocho is completely nude amongst others) seem almost quaint now, yet the film retains it's beautiful, almost poetic feel and is definitely one to actively search out. Followed by a sequel that couldn't really reach the same level as this had.

My Grade: B+

SEX AND FURY is a classic of the Toei "pinky-violence" (Japanese films typically of the 70's containing heavy violence and lots of nudity and simulated sex...)genre. A strong plot, beautiful cinematography, and a decent amount of swordplay and tits-and-ass make this one a winner.

The story surrounds Ocho - a female gambler, thief, master swordswoman...basically an all-around badass. When a fellow gambler is killed, his dying wish is for Ocho to retrieve his sister from the brothel that she's been sold to. Ocho agrees and begins a journey that will ultimately lead her to her own father's murderers - and revenge is sweet...

SEX AND FURY is so well made that it is hard to view this one strictly as a pinky-violence or exploit film. The cinematography is amazing, the fight choreography is well done, the acting is very good, the sets are elaborate, and the plot is tight and well thought out. A MAJOR high point for this film is that it also co-stars the GORGEOUS Christina Lindberg, of THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE fame, as a sexy British (?) spy - and of course she's showing plenty of skin in this one, too.

My only real gripe with SEX AND FURY is that there could have been a lot more violence. I would have been happier if the violence was more on par with films like the LONE WOLF AND CUB series, for example. Even so, I would definitely recommend this to fans of the aforementioned LONE WOLF AND CUB films, the ZATOICHI series, LADY SNOWBLOOD, etc...and for fans of Lindberg - seeing her naked is always a treat...Recommended 8/10