Female Prisoner Scorpion Collection

Starring the iconic and beautiful Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood, Stray Cat Rock) in a role that came to define her career, the four-film Female Prisoner Scorpion series charts the vengeance of Nami Matsushima, who assumes the mantle of Scorpion, becoming an avatar of vengeance and survival, and an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world.Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion introduces Nami, a gullible young woman unjustly imprisoned, who must find a way to escape in order to exact revenge upon the man who betrayed her. The visually avant-garde Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 sees director Shunya Ito and star Meiko Kaji re-unite as Nami and six other female convicts escape prison once more. The Gothic horror-inspired Beast Stable finds Nami branded public enemy #1 and on the run. She soon finds refuge with a sympathetic prostitute, but runs afoul of a local gang. The final film in the series, #701's Grudge Song (from director Yasuharu Hasebe, Retaliation, Massacre Gun), shows a gentler side of Nami as she falls in with Kudo, an ex-radical suffering from physical and psychological trauma caused by police torture.Spiritual kin to Ms. 45, Coffy and The Bride Wore Black, Female Prisoner Scorpion is the pinnacle of early 1970s exploitation cinema from Japanese grindhouse studio Toei, and one of the greatest female revenge sagas ever told.Special Edition Contents:Brand new 2K restorations of all four films in the series presented on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p)Original uncompressed PCM mono audio for all filmsOptional English subtitles for all filmsReversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwanFEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPIONNewly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid)Shunya Ito: Birth of an Outlaw, an archive interview with the directorScorpion Old and New, a new interview with assistant director Yutaka KohiraTheatrical Trailers for all four films in the seriesFEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kier-La JanisseJapanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp examines the career of Shunya ItoDesigning Scorpion, a new interview with production designer Tadayuki KuwanaOriginal Theatrical Trailer and TeaserFEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLENewly filmed appreciation by critic Kat EllingerShunya Ito: Directing Meiko Kaji, an archive interview with the directorUnchained Melody, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the career of Meiko KajiOriginal Theatrical Trailer and TeaserFEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701'S GRUDGE SONGNewly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts)Yasuharu Hasebe: Finishing the Series, an archive interview with the directorJapanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp examines the career of Yasuharu HasebeThey Call Her Scorpion, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the film seriesOriginal Theatrical Trailer