Female Yakuza Tale

For me, not quite as delirious as 'Sex and Fury', there are less set pieces and this is a little confusing now and again. Even so with the fabulous Reiko Ike to the fore with her penchant for bare breasted swordfights, this remains a must. The opening credit sequence with the parasols is wonderful and I was surprised not to see it reprised during the body of the film. Super camera-work, splendidly colourful sets and costumes plus an incredible amount of female flesh. So many beautiful naked girls, prancing, dancing and bending over to have phials inserted! The final fight is way over the top with naked flesh and rivers of blood, it just seems a shame there were not a couple more such scenes between the glorious opening and the gratuitous finale. Very enjoyable, nevertheless!

Like the Italians around that same era, the Japanese exploitation cinema industry didn't waste any time, money or effort during the 1970's. "Female Yakuza Tale", the sequel to "Sex and Fury" was released in the very same year as the original. Reiko Ike, the ravishing and slightly exhibitionist lead actress, even appeared in six different films that same year and – according to her filmography - made a total of twenty films in a span of barely eight years (between 1971 and 1979). That's very impressive, to say the least, especially considering the fact these movie don't feel rushed or unfinished at all, like often the case with their European counterparts.

Fortunately enough for us fans, the sequel isn't just a quick and derivative rehash of the original. Like the different entries the righteously acclaimed "Female Prisoner: Scorpion" series, the sequel is a completely new adventure with other themes and – thanks to the change in director from Norifumi Suzuki to Teruo Ishii – there's also another type of stylishness and flamboyance. After extracting vengeance on her father's murderers, and killing a whole bunch of other bastards in the process, you would think our heroine Ochô Inoshika could now finally lead a happy and peaceful life. Think again, because this time around she plots to almost single-handedly bring down a whole network of drugs and prostitution. And these two crimes are really inseparable as the sleazy male gangsters use the prostitutes' gouged vaginae to smuggle the drugs. The modus operandi is integrally and quite graphically illustrated a couple of times and really has to be seen in order to be believed. I swear, only in Japan they can come up with deranged stuff like this and simultaneously find aspiring young actresses to comply. When Ochô is wrongfully mistaken for one of the prostitutes, she's abducted, abused and humiliated. She swears revenge and, with a little help from a mysteriously sexy and praying woman, Ochô gradually mobilizes a whole army (and you make take that literally) of girls to unleash a war.

Although I've yet to check out a lot of acclaimed titles, "Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture" is bound to be one of the purest and sub- genre defining Pinky Violence movies out there! It's literally chock- full of gratuitous nudity (during the opening title sequence already), mildly stunning "crotch-gouge" absurdity and sword-wielding splatter. The climax in particular is perplexing, with dozens and dozens of girls stripping off their robes before battling against the other sex. And they're bound to lose, of course, because every single man depicted in this film is perverted, abusive and exaggeratedly chauvinist pig! There's only one "good" male character in the film, and he's a bit of a silly loser who makes jokes like "your pussy is going to catch a cold". I love feminism.

This is considered a sequel to Sex & Fury also released in 1973. Not a continuation of the story. Rather a continuation of the character Ocho Inoshika again played by Reiko Ike.

This movie as a whole is definitely watchable. Unfortunately the script has a number of holes which makes it a little confusing at times. The fight choreography which was excellent in Sex & Fury is disappointing here. There is plenty of nudity just like before if that's what you seek. A decent helping of violence as well. You could compare both Ocho Inoshika films to Lady Snowblood. Have to think Quentin Tarantino has seen these.

Reiko Ike is of course excellent. The rest of the cast ranged from passable to excellent. Change in directors for this film is definitely noticable, giving this film an entirely different feel and atmosphere.

If you're looking for a Yakuza pinky violence story with action, then definitely watch. It's not required to see Sex & Fury first but it is a much better movie.

I recall some politician once being advertised as "tan, rested, and ready." Well, Ochô (Reiko Ike) has recovered from her massive wounds sustained in Sex & Fury, and is ready to do battle again.

This time she is involved in the "Crotch-Gouge" murders. Something to do with Chinese drug mules who smuggle the drug up their crotch. Needless to say, the drug gang picked the wrong person to mess with.

Exploring the video nasties of the 70s and the pinky violence of the same period is an adventure in just how wild filmmakers can be. At least the Japanese films are all in glorified color and full of gorgeous beauty. The music is also very upbeat and enjoyable.

There are more breasts than in a chicken processing plant, and the blood flows freely in the final battle. This was not as good as Sex & Fury, but it had a whole lot more skin.

This "sequel" to "Sex and Fury" is more of a softcore sex romp than the bloody tale of revenge its parent was. Teruo Ishii's direction is a little flat and uneven and it's quite obvious his passion is female flesh, not kinetic action or creating a glorious action/erotic hybrid. Norifumi Suzuki, the director of "Sex and Fury", is a more original, energetic director and brought great artistry and aesthetic brilliance to his work. Ishii's accomplishment is a diverting time filler with too many characters, some intrigue, and mountains of softcore canoodling. The opening fight scene revisits the stylistics of the original film, but quickly dispenses with that style and involves itself in unnecessarily complex plotting. The finale is reasonably bloody, but it never reaches the towering heights of its predecessor because Ishii directs it like he's bored.