Female Prisoner Scorpion – The Complete Collection | Blu-ray (Arrow Video)
RELEASE DATE: December 17, 2019
Arrow Video is back it with its ongoing storm of Japanese cult classics. On December 17, 2019, the company is releasing the Blu-ray set for the Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection, which will include Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, Jailhouse 41, Beast Stable and Grudge Song.
Note: The difference between this new set and the previous one (released in 2016) is the new set doesn’t include DVDs and has different main box art (click here for a visual).
Check out the press release below:
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, the 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 films
- Optional English subtitles for all films
- Reversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan
FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION (read our review)
- Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid, The Raid 2)
- Archive interview with director Shunya Ito
- New interview with assistant director Yutaka Kohira
- Theatrical Trailers for all films in the series
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 (read our review)
- Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kier-La Janisse
- Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Shunya Ito
- New interview with production designer Tadayuki Kuwana
- Original Theatrical Trailer
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE (read our review)
- Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kat Ellinger
- Archive interview with director Shunya Ito
- New visual essay on the career of star and icon Meiko Kaji by critic Tom Mes
- Original Theatrical Trailer
FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701’s GRUDGE SONG (read our review)
- Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts)
- Archive interview with director Yasuharu Hasebe
- Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp looks over the career of Yasuharu Hasebe
- Visual essay on the Scorpion series by critic Tom Mes
- Original Theatrical Trailer
Pre-order the Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection from Amazon.com today!
