Sukeban gerira

The British may have their video nasties, but the Japanese "pink" is much more exciting.

Sachiko (Miki Sugimoto from the Red Handcuffs episode of Zero Woman) is the leader of a girl gang from Tokyo. We aren't 5 minutes into the film when she is unzipping her leather to show a flower tat covering her entire left breast to a group of harassing males, which the gang dispatches quickly. I thought that may be the leaders sign, but later in Kyoto all the gang is topless with the same tat which they are applying to a new member - a nun.

The nunsploitation angle continues as they take pictures of a nun getting a real religious lesson from a monk and use them for blackmail.

There is a lot of fighting in the flick - mostly girl on girl - and that leads to some ripped blouses, of course. There is also a whole lot of sex, as one of the gang members seems to want it frequently.

But, the thrust of the film is the girl's constant scrapes with a yakuza gang, and after losing a friend to a yakuza knife, she gets even more determined to do something, which ends up in a stunning scene of torture.

Sugimoto does a good job and has help from some other good actresses in this wildly entertaining sexploitation film that has elements of nunsploitation, torture, golden showers, and even a little incest.

All out sexy, bloody, violent action plus girls on bikes fighting girls on bikes as well as sorting out the yakuza. This may not be the most subtle of movies, although there is a fair amount of character development, but what this excels at is in the thrill quotient. Almost non stop, just one little comedy/slapstick moment of dubious taste and then it's back on the road. Not always easy to follow who is the baddie and who the even badder but our girls do have those wonderful breast tattoos so you can't go too far wrong. Missing a big fight out at the end and instead we get an explosion preceded by some of the most brutal beating of bound women you are likely to see. Not family viewing then but certainly a wow for everyone else.

Admittedly the Japanese exploitation cinema of 70's, and then particularly the so-called "Pinky Violence" movie trend, wasn't my personal biggest area of cinematic expertise but I've learned a lot in one week through watching a handful of classics. I even learned some Japanese, like I know that the term "Sukeban" means 'delinquent boss girl' and refers to a series of films revolving on untamed all-girl biker gangs and their fierce adventures. Less impressive than the contemporary WIP efforts (like the "Female Prisoner: Scorpion" series) and less virulent than the Yakuza flicks (like "Sex and Fury"), but definitely great entertainment and quintessential cult cinema!

"Girl Boss Guerrilla" introduces the bad-ass Red Helmet gang, led by the self-assured and insanely luscious Sachiko. The girls proudly expose their sexily tattooed left boobs and fill their days by making illegal money, like through blackmailing religious monks and stealing charity money meant for the victims of the Hiroshima bomb. See, it's little details like that what make films like "Girl Boss Guerrilla" so provocative, scandalous and shocking for the time & spirit in which they came out. The girls head from Tokyo to Kyoto, where Sachiko promptly takes over the leadership of a local girl biker gang. This is naturally settled through a cat-fight where shirts are torn to shreds and eyes are nearly scratched out. Halfway through the film, Sachiko falls in love with an amateur boxer and the gang runs continuously in conflict with the male Yakuza criminals until war and deadly vengeance become inevitable.

This is another terrific Pinky Violence "classic" that has it all. There's plenty of kinky sex and turbulent violence, but particularly the demented sub plots and bizarre flashes of (unintentional??) slapstick make "Girl Boss Guerrilla" such a fascinating and compelling experience. There's the priest with an STD, sentimental guitar singing by a long- haired Japanese hippie and the random kidnapping of a boxing instructor's daughter. Excellent acting performances from the stunning Miki Sugimoto, the even more stunning Reiko Ike – who strangely enough keeps her clothes on throughout the whole film – and a whole lot of other unscrupulous Japanese beauties.

I'm a great fan of Pinky Violence flicks, and "Sukeban Gerira" aka. "Girl Boss Guerilla" of 1972 is another sleazy and great example for this awesome Japanese Exploitation subgenre coming from the great Toei Studios. The film, which revolves around an all-female biker gang, stars two of Japanese Expoitation's greatest and most ravishing sirens, Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike in the leading roles, and once again features a lot of stylish sleaze that no Exploitation lover should consider missing. The beautiful and tough Sachiko (Miki Sugimoto)is the leader of the Shinjuku-based 'Red Helmet' biker girl gang. The tough girls, who have trade-mark tattoos on their breasts come to Kyoto in order to take over other girl gangs. After a while they get in trouble with the local Yakuza... While this is not necessarily one of the greatest Pinky Violence flicks I've seen (the absolute greatest of all are the "Joshuu Sasori" aka "Female Prisoner Scorpion" films with Meiko Kaji, and there are a number of other truly brilliant entries to the subgenre), it is definitely a very stylish one. Miki Sugimoto is once again stunningly beautiful and extremely cool in the leading role of tough girl Sachiko. So is fellow Exploitation goddess Reiko Ike, who plays Nami, a former gang leader who refers to herself as a 'lone wolf' and is the sister of a local Yakuza. Director Norifumi Suzuki is one of the most prolific directors in the field, most memorably with films like "Sex And Fury" of "Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom" in his repertoire, and he once again did a great Job with this little gem. "Girl Boss Guerilla" is very comedic in the beginning, and it gets very sleazy later. It is not nearly as gory as some other Pinky Violence flicks (such as "Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs", for example), but it gets pretty sadistic occasionally (as usual for the genre, there's quite some torture and lots of sweet revenge). A sleazy and immensely entertaining film, "Girl Boss Guerilla" comes along with a funky score, and stars two ravishing stars of Japanese cult-cinema, Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike. Miki and Reiko alone would be reason enough to see this film twice, and "Girl Boss Guerilla" even has a lot more to offer. Highly recommended to all my fellow Exploitation fans!

Good Japanese cult film with everything a cult movie needs: girls on motorcycles, cat fights with exposed breasts, nuns (also on motorcycles and with exposed breasts), groovy 70's music, and plenty of BDSM. The girls are really hot, especially the lead, Miki Sugimoto. My cult arch-nemesis, Reiko Ike, is also in it, but she's not too bad here. She doesn't get naked and her hairstyle hides her chubbiness. The film is exciting and fun, though it does lack drive. The plot takes a long time to emerge. My favorite part is when a folk singer puts his fingers to his guitar strings and it emits piano music. I'm still kind of glad that I haven't purchased the Pinky Violence set (I'm getting the discs through Netflix), but this film almost would have made it worth it.