Blind Woman’s Curse — dvd review — early!

by Chris   ⋅   April 29, 2007   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

The third film in Nikkatsu/Daiei’s Rising Dragon series of female yakuza films, Blind Woman’s Curse marks quite a departure from the norm. This entry features a new heroine, new enemies, and a new theme: that of a period yakuza/horror hybrid. Meiko Kaji, in her first starring role, plays Akemi Tachibana, who, following the death of her father, finds herself the newly branded leader of the Tachibana clan. The film opens on a dark and stormy night, with Tachibana and crew confronting her father’s killers at their clan headquarters. In the rain-soaked sword battle that follows (a sequence later echoed in Teruo Ishii’s own Female Yakuza Tale: Inquisition and Torture), Akemi deals out her vengeance – but not without an unfortunate casualty. Her death blow inadvertently blinds the daughter of the opposing clan leader.

Flash forward five years. Akemi Tachibana has been released from jail and her clan is back on its feet. That is, until the arrival of a blind swordswoman, under the employ of a traveling terror show, which incidentally coincides with a series of gruesome deaths of Tachibana clan members (their yakuza tattoos skinned from their bodies). Add to the mix attempted clan takeovers, human trafficking, an ominous and thieving black-cat, and a creepy supernatural hunchback, and you have a yakuza-terror experience only Teruo Ishii could create.

Surprisingly, though Blind Woman’s Curse marks Meiko Kaji’s first true leading role, she’s allowed quite the impressive amount of dialog. In fact, she delivers more lines than in the entire run of the Female Convict Scorpion films (and possibly the Lady Snowblood films). While not quite her best work (It would be rather sad if it was, having no room to grow), her performance is nonetheless magnetic, and evidences many of the subtle nuances and character traits that would later cement her place in the canon of Japanese action film heroines. As usual, Kaji also handles the film’s theme song. It’s nice, a little bit traditional, but not particularly memorable (as such, it’s not on Zenkyokyusu). Still, a novice Kaji is better than no Kaji at all. Other standouts come in the form of Hoki Tokuda, as the titular Blind Woman, Tatsumi Hijikata (Horror of Malformed Men), as the leaping hunchback, and Makoto Sato, as the “handsome” male action lead.

Director Teruo Ishii (Screwed, Japanese Hell) balances the film’s opposing themes admirably. The transition from yakuza revenge tale to horror show is completely transparent to the viewer, providing a far more natural flow than one would expect given the plot synopsis. Ishii does inject his trademark humor into the tale, delivering laughs through slapstick, (the “Mustard man” encounter) and occasional absurd shocks (the ever-in-frame loin-clothed butt of an eccentric clan leader). Understanding that capturing the action is only half the job of the director, Ishii makes sure to enhance the tone, and in turn the conveyance of each scene using a range of color emphases (ghostly blues for scenes of horror, warm flesh tones for those of comedy and heartwarming family drama, and strong reds for danger), lighting techniques and impressive camera placements (most notably the use of the bars and slats in the rival clan’s basement of decadence, both obscuring and hinting at things an upstanding citizen probably shouldn’t see.). While not quite the full on Shunya Ito/Norifumi Suzuki melding of stage and photographic sensibilities, his technique results in and undeniably attractive, interesting, and rewarding set of visuals. Ishii’s action sequences are slightly less meticulous, more chaotic than staged, but given the film’s yakuza battle roots it fits just fine.

In closing, Blind Woman’s Curse is a Japanese cult cinema enthusiast’s dream come true. You have gonzo director Teruo Ishii directing the uber-cool Meiko Kaji, swordplay, supernatural grudges, yakuza, mystery, terror, and intrigue. Seriously, what’s not to love? It may not be the best work of either Kaji or Ishii but their raw talent is still very palpable, and the film’s oddball story, deliberate pacing, and sense of fun will keep you at rapt attention throughout the film’s 85 minute runtime.

The DVD
First off, I must admit that this DVD is the DVD release I’ve been looking forward to all year. Discotek has restored Blind Woman’s Curse to its original brilliance, presenting it in a clean 2.35:1 transfer, with a crisp Dolby 2.0 audio track and newly translated subtitles. This new translation is quite nice, save for one or two grammatical issues (one character line actually reads “your a dirty man”). Colors are represented wonderfully, with no bleed, even on my “red-spreading” Sony DVD player.

In a nice turn for J-Cult cinema releases, Discotek opted to release Blind Woman’s Curse with its original poster art for the cover. While some of you may prefer the work of an amateur Photoshopper, abounding with screen crops and strokes aplenty, this will undoubtedly delight genre fanatics. Furthermore, the actual disc features Discotek’s best DVD menus to date.

As far as Extra Features are concerned, Blind Woman’s Curse receives a film essay by Chris D (author of Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film), selected filmographies for Teruo Ishii and Meiko Kaji, a photo gallery featuring posters and stills from the production, and trailers for Blind Woman’s Curse, Ebola Syndrome, Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs, and Sars Wars.

The audio commentary by Chris D. is ultra informative. If you own the Pinky Violence Collection or the Sex and Fury films you’ve probably heard him before. Easily one of the most knowledgeable Japanese film enthusiasts around, listening to a Chris D. commentary is like attending a film lecture for the super elite. He does speak in a bit of a monotone, but if you’re a fan, the material presented will more than keep your attention.

All in all, Blind Woman’s Curse is a slick disc from Discotek. You have a great transfer for an awesome film, decent, relevant extras, and kickass box art. I would have liked to see possibly additional essays focused solely on Kaji and Ishii, but Chris D.’s umbrella essay more than suffices. The disc is a no-brainer purchase for Kaji and Ishii fans alike, but is also worth picking up for those looking to get into the 1970’s Japanese action/exploitation film scene.

Blind Woman’s Curse hits dvd May 8, 2007

About the Author

Chris Nelson has been a film fanatic since age six. A former film and English major, he is now a Software Engineer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley.

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