Les tueuses en collants noirs

Hasebe's debut feature could definitely pass for a crazy '60s films from his mentor, Seijun Suzuki. It's a colorful spy spoof about a couple (Akira Kobayashi and Chieko Matsubara, who starred in Tokyo Drifter) who are caught between several groups, Americans, yakuza and lady ninjas, searching for lost WWII era gold that Matsubara's father is rumored to have hidden. It's the lady ninjas who give the film its American title (the Japanese title translates to "Don't Touch Me, I'm Dangerous"): dressed in black tights, they fight with razor sharp tape measurer swords, chewing gum bullets and 45 rpm records, used as ninja stars. The use of color is amazing and will definitely recall Tokyo Drifter. Released on DVD in the US in 2000 by Image, the disc is pretty terrible, with hardcoded and often misspelled subtitles which often disappear when anything white appears on screen. This probably accounts for why the story is difficult to follow at times, but this is the kind of movie you watch more for the image anyway. I'd kill to see this on a nice Blu Ray. Highly recommended.

"Daisuke Hondo" (Akira Kobayashi) is a professional photographer who is on his way back to Tokyo after a brief assignment in South Vietnam. On the flight there he meets a young stewardess named "Yoriko Sawanouchi" (Chieko Matsubara) and promptly asks her out on a date. She agrees and they go to a bar downtown. While dancing she notices a man who has been following her which results in Hondo going over to have a word with him. However, when he gets back to the table he finds that she is gone. This prompts Hondo to look for him and when he goes outside he notices three women clothed in black attacking the man who had been following Yoriko. Upon quickly killing the stalker, the three women then proceed to kidnap Yoriko and subsequently leaving Hondo to be interrogated by the police. As it turns out, the man who was beaten and killed was a member of the Yakuza and they want information which they believe Yoriko has. Likewise, the women are members of a female ninja organization who also want this same information. Since he realizes that both sides mean business Hondo knows he has to act fast if he is to somehow save Yoriko before it is too late. Now rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this particular movie was quite similar in style to the popular James Bond films of the time but with a smaller budget and a definite Japanese flavor. I especially liked the artistic manner in which the director (Yasuharu Hasebe) used color to amplify certain scenes along with certain elements of humor throughout the course of the movie as well. Having said that, I thought that this was a fairly decent film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

This movie is very similar in atmosphere to Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter. The best thing about it is the incredibly wild use of color, something one surprisingly rarely sees exploited in movies (aside from the occasional Dick Tracy or Umbrellas of Cherbourg). The film really goes all out on wild stylization and campy action. Also, no movie that features go-go dancing at regular intervals can be completely bad, regardless of how poor the dancing the is. However, the plot never really becomes interesting enough to justify the the love lavished on the sets and look of the film. Suzuki does this better in Tokyo Drifter, and if you like surreal sixties Japanese nuttiness, Branded to Kill massacres both. This is worth a rental but don't have too high expectations.

I thought this would be wonderful but unfortunately it is just not as good as I expected. A tongue in cheek spy spoof and there are some great moments especially with the girls dancing routines and the colours and music rather splendid. I didn't think that Akira Kobayashi was really into this but went on with some 140 and he wanted more serious films like Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973). The lovely, Chieko Matsubara really captured the mood and she was even better later that year with the Tokyo Drifter, she went on to make more than 150 films and still working. This was Yasuharu Hasebe's first film and even if it wasn't splendid he would go on with his next one with Massacre Gun (1967) a really cool, jazzy yukuza crime drama. He made Female Prisoner Scorpion: 701's Grudge Song (1973) and considered the creator of the violent pink sub genre like the Stray Cat Rock series in 1970 and then some even more violent like the amazing, Assault! Jack the Ripper (1976). So you can't chuck this film away but it's just not as great as it might be, but will be just round the corner.

The "Black Tight Killers" are a group of go-go dancing ninja women who use 45 rpm records and bubble gum as weapons. The central character is a war photographer who meets an airline stewardess and unknowingly enters into an adventure for money smuggled into the country by her father at the close of WWII. The money is pursued by Japanese yakuza, American gangsters and the title five with spirited action that very nicely reflects the colors and pop art flavor of the day. All is played with a tongue in cheek style that nicely parodies the spy adventure films of the time. Enjoy the fun. Supposedly also known as "Don't Touch Me, I'm Dangerous."