Female Prisoner Scorpion

Synopsis: 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 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

Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid)

Shunya Ito: Birth of an Outlaw, an archive interview with the director

Scorpion Old and New, a new interview with assistant director Yutaka Kohira

Theatrical Trailers for all four films in the series

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41

Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kier-La Janisse

Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp examines the career of Shunya Ito

Designing Scorpion, a new interview with production designer Tadayuki Kuwana

Original Theatrical Trailer and Teaser

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: BEAST STABLE

Newly filmed appreciation by critic Kat Ellinger

Shunya Ito: Directing Meiko Kaji, an archive interview with the director

Unchained Melody, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the career of Meiko Kaji

Original Theatrical Trailer and Teaser

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: #701 S GRUDGE SONG

Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts)

Yasuharu Hasebe: Finishing the Series, an archive interview with the director

Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp examines the career of Yasuharu Hasebe

They Call Her Scorpion, a new visual essay by Tom Mes on the film series