Female Yakuza Tale - Inquisition and Torture (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Directed by seasoned veteran of Japanese exploitation cinema Teruo ISHII, FEMALE YAKUZA TALE - INQUISITION AND TORTURE is the unrelated sequel to SEX AND FURY (also available on amazon), again starring beautiful and very sexy Reiko IKE as tough as nails female gambler Ocho. Set in Kobe ca. 1920, the story with various fractions of yakuza, revenge and double - crossing is a bit too overconvoluted for its own good. To cut a long story short, let`s just say you can expects LOTS of nudity, sex, violence and sleaze. Some examples of what you can expect here: there are some nasty yakuza who force women to smuggle drugs in their private parts (!) As incentive the poor drug addicted gals get their fix injected in their naked breasts (!) In one particularly sleazy scene our heroine is engaged in a card game with mean yakuza mobster Big Tiger, who foolishly accuses her of cheating and insists that Ocho strips naked (!) to prove she did not hide cards. On the condition that he cuts off some of his fingers in time honoured yakuza-tradition, should he be proven wrong, she drops her clothes (in the process clandestinely disposing of an incriminating card). Now it's time of the unfortunate yakuza to cut off his fingers, but his girl comes to his rescue and asks Ocho for a favour "from woman to woman": Making an obscene gesture with her hand, she begs Ocho to spare Big Tiger's middle finger. It's up to the viewer's dirty imagination, why she asks his finger be spared...
The showdown, involving sword- and gunplay, explosions, blood geysirs and about two dozen naked girls (!) is particularly over the top. As if this was not enough there is some downright silly slapstick and funny dialogue ("trashy boss" being my favorite) thrown in for good measure.
When all is said and done, FEMALE YAKUZA TALE - INQUISITION AND TORTURE is surely a pleasureable and entertaining way to spend an evening. The film is well-shot with stunning cinematography. Reiko IKE is great. However, I found the film still a bit disappointing. The story is convoluted and over blown. Personally, I found SEX AND FURY a far better film. Sure, there is more sex and violence in INQUISITION (though there is not a shortage of it in SEX AND FURY either), but SEX AND FURY has a better story and is overall a far more rewarding viewing experience.
Technically the DVD is great. The film is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio, colours are nice and the print is pristine. There are also several interesting extra features. First of all the excellent trailer. Then there are picture galleries of promotional art and stills from the film. There are also excellently written production notes and bio- and filmographies of director Terou ISHII and star Reiko IKE.


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Female Yakuza Tale - Inquisition And Torture is an anarchistic apex in the career of Japanese cult director, Teruo Ishii, whose fifty year resume includes Horror of Malformed Men and Blind Beast Vs. Killer Dwarf. Notoriously lacking restraint, sexy 'pinky violence' star, Reiko Ike, returns in this gonzo sequel to Sex & Fury following the further exploits of Ocho, a thief and gambler running afoul of evil yakuza in Meiji Era Tokyo. Aided by a lone wolf adventurer (Ryohei Uchida), Ocho investigates a ruthless gang of cutthroats who are using indentured prostitutes as drug mules to smuggle heroin from China. Director Ishii throws everything but the kitchen sink into this mind-altering sexploitation action saga, all culminating in a bloody mobster massacre replete with sultry swordswomen. Full of intoxicating mayhem and uproarious kabuki-striptease antics, Female Yakuza Tale - Inquisition & Torture is freak-out filmmaking at its finest! Panik House is proud to present Female Yakuza Tale uncut, uncensored and totally restored from the original vault elements. Available for the first time anywhere on DVD! FEMALE YAKUZA TALE DVD Features- Audio Commentary with Chris D., American Cinematheque film programmer and author of the book Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film.- Director & Star Bios for Teruo Ishii and Reiko Ike, written by Chris D.- Original Theatrical Trailer.- Poster and Still Galleries- Production Notes- Special Insert Sticker - Optional English Subtitles - Brand New 16x9 transfer with completely re-mastered video and audio - Special Packaging – stunning transparent amaray and the first 10,000 units debut in a clear O-Sleeve

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Risky Business (1983) Review

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(More customer reviews)I think most people who buy/rent this DVD have already seen the movie and know what they're getting. There are a lot of good reviews on this movie here at amazon.com but I only saw one that mentioned the quality of the DVD. It is absolutely horrible. The companies who produce these dark, grainy DVDs need to know that the consumers aren't going to accept this type of low-quality transfer. I'd gladly pay a bit more money for a DVD that's viewable. We know how good movies can look on DVD. So why release a disc that looks as poor as this one? As consumers we need to demand better! Just as VHS movies recorded in SLP or EP were unacceptable, so are DVDs that look as bad as this Risky Business disc.

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High school senior is tired of being Mr. All-American and facing such traumatic decisions as which Ivy League college to attend. His life gets turned around when he meets a sexy call girl who transforms his house into a brothel while his parents are away.DVD Features:Production NotesTheatrical Trailer

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TCM Archives - Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 1 (Waterloo Bridge / Baby Face / Red-Headed Woman) (1933) Review

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(More customer reviews)There seems to be a great deal of pre-release confusion concerning what will actually be included on this upcoming set, and why. In the interest of sorting things out, I should first point out that although this is the first "Forbidden Hollywood" collection to be released by Warner Home Video on DVD, the franchise itself is not new. There were previously two "Forbidden Hollywood" boxed sets and a number of double features released on LaserDisc back in the 1990's. Additionally, quite a few "Forbidden Hollywood" titles were also offered on VHS cassette. From the git-go, "Forbidden Hollywood" titles were only culled from that cache of movies that premiered during the few short years after the introduction of "talkies" and the imposition of the Hays Production Code in 1934.
During this time frame, roughly 1929 to mid-1934, Hollywood studio product became increasingly concerned with subject matter that would later be condemned as taboo after the Code came into effect; these so-called "pre-Code talkies" were filled with characters who indulged in premarital sex, extramarital affairs, and even gay and lesbian liaisons. Films touched on hot-button topics such as rape, abortion, feminism, having children out-of-wedlock, drug abuse, and other social ills. And mind you, these things weren't just delicately hinted at in screenplays ... they frequently were shown on-screen and discussed quite frankly. After the Hays Code was adopted by the motion picture industry as a self-censorship tool, this group of films was deemed unacceptable for future distribution and exhibition without judicious editing to trim out now-objectionable material, and so they became, literally, "Forbidden Hollywood" product.
This new two-disc DVD set will feature three titles, but four films, two of them extremely rare. The first disc will include James Whale's 1931 "Waterloo Bridge", a film once thought "lost" and for the last 20 years only screened at film retrospectives (and apparently once or twice on TCM several years ago). The 1940 remake starring Vivien Leigh, though a wonderful and deservedly beloved film, will not be included here since it is not from the pre-Code era, and was never suppressed as part of the "Forbidden Hollywood" catalogue. Instead, the second film on this first disc will be the racy 1932 Jean Harlow vehicle, "Red-Headed Woman", which pushed the envelope back in the day for its bold depiction of a sexually free secretary who sets her sights on her married boss.
The second disc will include two versions of a single film, the 1933 scorcher "Baby Face", starring Barbara Stanwyck as a blonde bombshell who - after being pimped out by her father in her own hometown - moves to New York and sleeps her way up the corporate ladder to the very top. Many film historians point to "Baby Face" as the single film most responsible for the introduction of the Hays Code, the one that ushered in an era of censorship that was to last for more than 30 years. Intriguingly, the version that so shocked the public was actually an edited version of the original cut, which then disappeared for over 70 years ... until a complete print was found, restored, and finally premiered on the revival circuit in early 2006. That long-awaited, long-sought original version will be included on this set, as will be the edited version that managed to cause such an uproar when it played theatres in 1933.
And there you have it, the official contents of the "Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume One", enough to have a large number of pre-Code devotees jumping for joy at the chance to finally see (and own!) some seldom-displayed jewels. Let's just all hope that Volumes Two, Three, and so on are quick to follow!

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Includes: Waterloo Bridge (1931), Baby Face (1933), and Red-Headed Woman (1932).

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The Arena (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)Unlike the reviewers before me I was not familiar with the actresses in this movie. I was familiar with the original low budget movie from the early seventies. I bought this DVD hoping for an improved movie. I was quite dissapointed. This movie followed a similar but different storyline. Some of the original dialog and camera angles were used. They found some nice halls to film the "Rome" locations in. The Arena looked purpose built and they actually had crowds of spectators. Unfortunately everything else was worse. The original had two great catfights plus three arena duels plus the final rebellion/escape. This movie only repeated the last two arena duels, one of which was shot at night so dark I was unable to see what was going on. The girls in the original movie all have quite distinct and interesting personalities. Not so in this one. The voiceover narration used intead of showing the story did not help either. I suggest you buy the original Roger Corman classic instead - The Arena (aka Naked Warriors) (1973) -- DVD. This review was bases on the DVD versions of both movies.

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In an age of Gladiators, the power that was Rome held its empire together with the might of its armies, the sweat and tears of its conquests, and the cheers and bloodlust of its citizens - glorified in the deadly spectacle of The Arena. Stolen from their homelands, the fiery Druid maiden Bodicia, exotic slave girl Jessemina, and the powerful barbarian Flavius, are pitted against each other as gladiators by the sadistic Roman Governor Timarchus. Banished by Caesar, Timarchus unleashes his frustration on his gladiators, staging extravagant spectacles of combat, orgy and death. In a violent world where only the strong survive, love and hate, life and death, are separated by an instant. Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Language: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Rated: R (Restricted) Studio: New Concorde DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001 Run Time: 92 minutes

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