Recently seen movies #166

Sukeban Deka: Dirty Mary (Japan, 1974) 1,5/5

Yasuharu Hasebe was quite a unique director for having pioneered two very different type of genres. Following his success in the Nikkatsu Action genre Hasebe directed the film that set the standard for all modern girl gang movies: Stray Cat Rock: Girl Boss (1970). But it was soon after Hasebe’s pop-art tornado that Nikkatsu nearly went bankrupt, and switched almost exclusively to pink cinema. Most of the studio’s talent found themselves looking for a new employer. Hasebe’s second golden era was, however, nowhere else but at Nikkatsu. Only this time it would not be referred pop-art, but violent pink. The titles of Hasebe’s classics – Assault! Jack the Ripper (1976), and Rape! 13^th Hour (1977) – speak for themselves. It was all quite ironic considering it took Hasebe a long time to decide whether he would even like to take part in the studio’s new pink film alignment.

Sukeban Deka: Dirty Mary, which was not related to Shinji Wada’s Sukeban Deka manga that rocked the world two years later, was the last film Hasebe made for Nikkatsu before becoming the leading director in violent pink. This Dirty Harry inspired thriller owed far more to crime cinema than typical Nikkatsu erotica. The audiences, however, rejected the film, and Hasebe’s career took some damage. The preceding years on the director’s career had not been on solid ground either. Unsure of his future with Nikkatsu, Hasebe had worked on TV, made a brief visit to Toei Studios (Female Prisoner Scorpion: Grudge Song, 1973), and, also, one experimentation  at the Nikkatsu pink genre; the miserable Sengoku Rock: Female Warriors (1972).

Dirty Mary, to some extent at least, could indeed pass as one of the numerous Dirty Harry sequels. It’s not a rip off, nor does it make direct references to the Eastwood classic, but it is very much a film of the same genre. The screenplay could actually pass for a mainstream production quite easily. In a matter of fact, among all the violent and sexually explicit action and crime movies of the 70’s Dirty Mary doesn’t stand out as being particularly exploitative. By Nikkatsu’s standard’s it’s certainly short on sex. Keeping in mind some of Hasebe’s other 70’s works have been substantially weakened by sex scene boredom this is nothing but a positive twist.

Unfortunately what was sacrificed in terms of sex isn’t redeemed on the field of action and violence either. Contrary to the action packed poster art, Dirty Mary only comes with a couple of gunshots and no car wrecking mayhem at all. The two chase scenes included utilize fast feet and short distances. There is atmosphere to some of these bits, but only the ending can be considered as true highlight. Another problem is, getting back to the thicker than usual screenplay, the storyline. The battle between a lady detective (Hitomi Kozue) and villain (Tatsuya Hamaguchi) blackmailing his victims with dirty photos, is not captivating and often loses its interest.

Dirty Mary’s most interesting offering is its slight feminism. 1970’s genre cinema is full of fearless katana and karate heroines, but Mary stands out as slightly more realistic protagonist. A super cop she isn’t, but she can stand up against the male opponents most of the time. Defeats are swallowed without melodrama or epic revenge roar. A well crafted main character improves the film, but as a single asset it’s not nearly enough. Sukeban Deka: Dirty Mary is not a complete failure, but it does severely lack punch.

Recently seen movies #166

The Terrifying Girls’ High School series (1972-1973)

Hitting the Toei theaters in the midst of their second Pinky Violence wave (preceded by Teruo Ishii’s period movies in the late 1960’s) Terrifying Girls’ High School movies were basically a high school variation of the Sukeban girl gang movies which ran from 1971 to 1974. The main difference was that the girl bosses would now wear school uniform, and the villains would include corrupt high corrupt school officials rather than just ordinary yakuza. The opening installment, Violent Women’s Classroom (1972), stars Miki Sugimoto as a heroine who must fight Ema Ryoko’s ruthless girls for the supremacy of the school. Reiko Ike co-stars as a sukeban who has not yet decided her side. This was the basic casting also in most of the Sukeban films, where Ike and Sugimoto would take turns playing the heroine / guest star. Poor Ema Ryoko was destined for villain roles and fight scenes where her shirt gets ripped for life.

Violent Women’s Classroom features little if any deviations from the genre conventions. It’s an enjoyable, fast paced exploitation film full of violent girls beating each other and making fools of their senile teachers. Typical to Suzuki, there’s a lot of humor included, and none of it can be described as very sophisticated. Nudity is plenty as well, but thankfully there are no long sex scenes interrupting the minimal storyline – something director Norifumi Suzuki has been found guilty of a few times before. Technical execution is of relatively high standard, as expected from a Toei production. The stylish theme song is performed by supporting actress Rika Sudo, and was re-used in the superior sequel, Lynch Law Classroom.

Lynch Law Classroom (1973), Norifumi Suzuki’s second attempt with the Terrifying Girls’ High School series, counts as one of the high points of the genre. Compared to its predecessor the follow up is a much darker film. Occasional silly comedy now walks in hand to hand with torture scenes that make reference to the Vietnam War! At the same time the film manages to be wildly entertaining (Reiko Ike’s introduction scene with a motorcycle is a small genre benchmark) and even beautifully shot at times. Dull moments are almost entirely missing for the film. The primary casting is the same as before (Sugimoto as heroine, Ike as guest star, Ryoko as villain), with Tsunehiko Watase’s sunglass wearing lone wolf yakuza being the most notable addition. The film’s most satisfying scene by far is the ending, which is high school anarchism at its best.

After Lynch Law Classroom the series lost two important talents; actress Miki Sugimoto and director Norifumi Suzuki. In Delinquent Convulsion Group (1973) Reiko Ike carries the lead role, leaving the film without a strong guest star. Probably standing out most (and not due to their acting talents) are the American actors who play evil drug dealers and rapists. Yes, this is yet another film that does not improve cross cultural understanding. Director Masahiro Shimura is no first timer in the field of exploitation cinema. He worked as an assistant director in the previous two films, and was also involved in screenwriting several Toei action films such as The Street Fighter (1974). His directorial filmography is short, but perhaps for a reason. While not a bad movie, Delinquent Convulsion Group is not among the genre’s best films, and this would appear to be largely Shimura’s fault. His direction is a bit sloppy, lacking the intensity and visual style of Suzuki’s best movies. Delinquent Convulsion Group is mainly saved some memorable scenes such as the sailor suit and machine gun finale.

The Terrifying Girls’ High School series ends with another Shimura effort. Unfortunately Animal Courage (1973) is the weakest of the four films. It suffers from similar problems as the previous film; Shimura directing features no sharp edges, and there are no strong supporting characters (although lead star Reiko Ike almost becomes one). The storyline is all over the place, and gives more room to sex scenes than action. There are visual highlights, but they tend to be inconsistent, and often the follow up doesn’t live up to build up. The soundtrack is somewhat restrained but does feature one rather stylish spaghetti western tune. Another ear pleaser is the language mix on offer; you’ll get to hear the girls speak French and English on language lessons. Yes, we are trying hard to find positives here…

Somewhat interestingly the film spends a considerable amount of time mocking Christianity (Yankee Mark Darling returning as a dirty priest), immediately making one suspect Suzuki had his fingers involved with the screenplay. Another cast member one might recognize is Harumi Tajima, who later made a rather memorable beach run in the final Sukeban movie (1974). Finally, and literally so, the film’s very last scene is quite excellent. Animal Courage may not have been the best way to end the series, but the last 30 seconds couldn’t have been better (rviewer note: it’s been approximately 2 months since I viewed this film and wrote this review, and I can no longer remember how the film ends).

Verdict:

Violent Women’s Classroom (Japan, 1972) – 3,5/5
Lynch Law Classroom (Japan, 1973) – 4/5
Delinquent Convulsion Group (Japan, 1973) – 2,5/5
Animal Courage (Japan, 1973) – 2/5

Recently seen movies #135

Journey to Japan (Japan, 1973) -2/5

The Japanese thought Kurisuchina Rindobaagu, Christina Lindberg that is, did not make enough movies nude, so they tricked her to come to Japan… and make even more bizarre sex films. The first attacker was Norifumi Suzuki who cast miss Lindberg in his pinky violence bravura Sex and Fury (1973). Yakuza film director Sadao Nakajima was the next one in line. Lindberg plays a Swedish woman who steps into the wrong car at the airport and is kidnapped by a sex manic taxi driver. Later she asks help from nice Japanese people she meets in bar… who all turn out to be sex manics. It’s very amusing that if this movie were directed by a foreigner, it would be considered the most racist piece of filth. But since Nakajima is of Japanese nationality, the movie falls under the ”socially critical” category. Well, almost at least. Unfortunately this is not quite enough to make Lindbergs second Nippon adventure very interesting. Also disappointing is that we don’t get to hear her speak any English (or Japanese, her dialogue is in Swedish). As a consolation prize, there is one Japanese guy speaking Swedish… Director Nakajima, shooting with a shoe string budget, only manages to create a couple of visually stylish scenes. Male lead Ichiro Araki’s soundtrack is one of the film’s assets. Some of his other, superior work can be heard in Suzuki and Nakajima’s Sukeban films.

Recently seen movies #130

Daydream (Japan, 1964) – 2,5/5

Tetsuji Takechi’s psycho sexual arthouse film follows the logic of dream. The story begins when a man and a woman meet at the dentist’s office and are given strong tranquilizers. The rest of the film is either reality or hallucinations. He meets her again at a night club but finds out she’s being abused by a high class man. He tries to help her, but the situation turns into a living nightmare. Takechi uses surreal images and especially long takes effectively, but also allows the film to become too long. The Japanese government, in the middle of organizing the Tokyo Olympics and polishing the nation’s image, was reportedly less than happy with large advertising campaign Takechi’s ”disgraceful” movie was given.

However, author Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, on whose 1926 short story the movie was based on, gave Takechi his blessing, stating that this is how he would have written it in the first place if not restricted by the censorship of the time. The film version does go quite far indeed, remaining disturbing 45 after its release. After Daydream Takechi continued making controversial films, releasing The Dream of the Red Chamber later the same year, and Black Snow, which led to the director being arrested for indecency, in 1965.

Recently seen movies #127

Star of David (Japan, 1979) – 2,5/5

Norifumi Suzuki made an unexpected move by directing a Nikkatsu pink film in the middle of his hugely successful mainstream period. Basing the film in Masaaki Sato’s manga Suzuki took full use of Nikkatsu freedom and delivered a sexploitation film Toei wouldn’t dare to produce. The story follows an anti hero (Shun Domon) – a young and intelligent gentleman – who captures women uses the basement of his mansion as a torture chamber. As expected from the director, the film is film is well done and comes with plenty of christian and political references. Unfortunately it’s also too long, with the 100 minute running time offering a few rape scenes too many and not quite many enough visual or story highlights. By Nikkatsu standards it’s nevertheless more ambitious – and better – than their average genre production. Casting wise the film is remarkable for starring the 1974 Miss Kimono / 1975 Miss Japan Hiromi Namino in a role usually played by unashamed Nikkatsu actresses. Also, Suzuki’s Toei collaborator Bunta Sugawara is seen in a short but hilarious cameo role.

Recently seen movies #121

Sukeban – Crazy Ball Game (Japan, 1974) – 3/5

The final showdown. Ike and Sugimoto are both missing but Yuko Kano does surprisingly good gob as the new delinquent girl boss. After 6 instalments it’s nice to see a new face in the lead role. Concept-wise director Sekimoto’s second try follows the same functional patters as the earlier films; Kano and her gang draw up a diamond heist plan, but Toru Abe (again) fights back. The nasty villain is backed up by Ema Ryoko, whose biggest star moment comes in the beginning when she and her girls – all dressed in white school uniforms – confront Kano’s gang. Another memorable moment is the silly and sunny ’running topless on the beach’ scene. Like the previous film, Crazy Ball Game a fun girl gang action film with a couple of more graphic violent scenes. A good way to end a long running series.

Recently seen movies #120

Sukeban: Diamond Showdown (Japan, 1974) – 3/5

Ikuo Sekimoto grabs the director’s wheel in the sixth girl boss film. Reiko Ike is back, but Miki Sugimoto didn’t return to the series anymore. Tsunehiko Watase (antihero with sunglasses) and Toru Abe (slimy villain, as usual) play the primary male roles. Sekimoto later helmed some miserable pinky dramas but this film is solid girl gang fun with catfights every 15 minutes and Ike’s girls putting holes into the male yakuzas. There’s one rather strong torture scene but the overall tone is easy going… especially when the bad girls go for a picnic with Funky Monkey Baby by Carol rocking the soundtrack.

Recently seen movies #119

Sukeban: Escape From Reform School (Japan, 1973) – 3/5

The fifth Sukeban film changes some key players; Norifumi Suzuki is gone for good, replaced by Sadao Nakajima, and Reiko Ike is taking her first day off. In the opening scene Miki Sugimoto tries to run from the officials, but is captured and thrown to a dark cell with her hands tied and shirt removed (of course). After some 30 minutes of passable women in reform school entertainment the film kicks off when the girls escape. Sugimoto meets a man running from the law (Tsunehiko Watase), while the other girls have their own adventures. Escape From Reform School isn’t a classic film, however, it’s an enjoyable representative of a classic genre. A bit surprisingly yakuza-director Nakajima gives even more room to erotic content than his predecessor, and does quite successfully. There isn’t too much violence, but the action packed ending is very satisfying. Good soundtrack as well.

Recently seen movies #118

Ijo seai kiroku, harenchi (Japan, 1969) – 2,5/5

Teruo Ishii’s psycho-drama opens like an Italian giallo – with extreme close-ups of a madman’s eyes, quick shots of blood splattered on white feathers, and animal roaring serving as the soundtrack. Cut to upbeat 60’s romance imagery with Teruo Yoshida and Masumi Tachibana kissing at sunset and the perfect contrast is ready. Unfortunately, this project seems to have been a routine effort for Ishii – the same patterns are repeated too many times during the films course, and the screenplay is too thin, falling somewhere between a 30 min episode and a 90 minute feature film. But unlike most of Ishii’s late 60’s films, this is a single storyline without episodic structure. The film is clumsy at times, effective at others, and features an enjoyable if not entirely convincing leading performance by Eiji Wakasuki as a stalker who won’t let one of his girlfriends go. Fans of the director will find enough satisfaction to warrant a viewing or two, but others can move on to Ishii’s more accomplished – and gorier – works from the same era.

Recently seen movies # 112

The Machine Girl (Japan, 2008 ) – 2,5/5

Director Noboru Iguchi continues exploring his ‘limbs replaced with guns’ fetish (his 2006 film Sukeban Boy featured a girl with machine gun legs) in this festival favourite. A ninja-yakuza family kills a high school girl’s brother and leaves her with one arm, but she strikes back with a newly installed machine gun arm. Seifuku / machine gun combination has produced some masterworks before, but this one falls a bit short. Iguchi loads the film with amusing, handmade splatter effects, but he lack that sense of style and technical expertise that the great exploitation filmmakers possess. Nevertheless, the film is built on good grounds and entertains enough to deserve one viewing.

Also worth a quick view is Hajirai Machine Girl. This 22 minute spin off film stars Noriko Kijima as a girl who gets a machine gun inserted into her, uhm, butt. Many characters from the main feature return from the dead and appear in Hajirai Machine Girl. There isn’t much gore, but the film is thrice as ridiculous as The Machine Girl. It’s also slightly more sexually toned, although Kijima being a gravure idol don’t expect anything more than bikini close ups.