Rather than continuing to debate over a catchy introduction, I’ll just jump right in. If you’re reading this article you’re probably familiar with Panik House’s release of Girl Boss Guerilla. If not, no need to worry. Unlike other sukeban series (ie: Delinquent Girl Boss), the films in the Girl Boss series are pretty much stand-alone entities. In similar fashion to Fierce Creatures and A Fish Called Wanda, Girl Boss Revenge sees the entire cast of Girl Boss Guerilla playing completely different characters, while preserving basic setups of rivalries and affiliations.
The fourth film in the Girl Boss series, Girl Boss Revenge sees Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike in fine form as Komasa and Maya, two sukeban rivals on the run from the law, staking territory in Tokyo, and doing battle with the local yakuza, whose Turkish Bath business (read: slavery and forced prostitution house) happens to be fueled by kidnapped women from both their gangs. Jam packed with high-kicking tough-girls, gangland brawls, hana-fura gambling, tragic love, comedic sex, dirty tricks, sneaky pickpockets, and all around rebel rousing, the picture maintains an infectious sense of fun and jaw-dropping style throughout its 86-minute runtime. Yup, Norifumi Suzuki (The Street Fighter)’s sukeban are back and, dare I say it, better than ever.
To give you an idea of just how fast paced the picture is, the first few minutes alone see the girls escaping from a prison transport bus, beating up their captors, being chased through a dynamite field, and once in town, embarking on a series of scams in the streets and subways of Tokyo. You might think this was just a stream of stock exploitation setups, but there’s actually a decent and recognizably well thought-out logic to the twists, turns, and hurdles put in place by writing team Takayuki Minagawa and Kiyohide Ohara. Many a situation, even those depicted in the breezy first few minutes, have repercussions experienced by characters later in the film, the narrative’s causality and symmetry even extending as far as the film’s opening and closing sequences. Granted, these items are not as deep as you would expect from more intellectual fare, but it does take a degree of visual acuity on the part of the audience to spot them (see: the brief glimpse of an assassin’s face toward the end of the film, conveying an entire side story in split-seconds). And combined with director Norifumi Suzuki’s usual subversive social commentary, it makes for an exceptionally meaty exploitation treat.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Norifumi Suzuki is one of my favorite Japanese directors. I have much love for the other Suzuki’s artsy rebelliousness (I’ll be reviewing his Taisho Trilogy in the coming weeks), but Norifumi’s stylish railing against the establishment, both real and perceived, make his films a bit more fun to re-watch. And then, of course, there’s his style. On purely technical terms, his Girl Boss Revenge is par for the course. Near every shot is perfectly framed, edits are clean, smooth, and completely transparent, and the compositions themselves have a zest and flair found only in the most stylish of comic books. From the swooshing, tilting alley steady-cam capturing a running-gang brawl and playfully flippant camerawork surrounding the character of the amateur pink-film director, this film is pure visual candy.
As mentioned above, pretty pictures aren’t the only thing on Director Norifumi Suzuki’s mind. The targets of Suzuki’s wrath this time around are men and the institutions they lord over, feigning wisdom, honor, integrity, and authority when in fact they possess none. Whether Police, Yakuza, or romantic interest, no man proves anything approaching honorable. Police abandon duty in the face of free sake, Yakuza selfishly dispose of their own in order to make a clean getaway, boyfriends of the girls…well, I’ll leave you to find that one out. Even Suzuki himself is at fault, gleefully indulging in not one, but two brief sequences of fetishized rope-torture (both he and Seijun seem to like this). The girls on the other hand, smile in the face of adversity. No problem is too big or too small, and no opportunity to fight for the greater good escapes them, even if that means abandoning grudges and helping a former foe.
Speaking of the girls, Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto do an excellent job in this picture. Their fights are on par with their work in Criminal Woman Killing Melody (though sans knives), and Reiko actually sneaks in some decent dramatic performing. The film does, unfortunately, feature some of her Shin-chan singing in the opening sequence, but thankfully it doesn’t last that long. And while I’ve never really been a fan of Miki Sugimoto, her character Komasa, although stereotypical, is one of the coolest I’ve seen her take on. Also worth mentioning is the film’s utterly awesome trumpet-funk soundtrack, which pounds the speakers from the opening scene.
In closing, Girl Boss Revenge is an awesome little exploitation film. If you’ve never seen one of the Girl Boss movies, this is as good a place as any to start. If you’re a fan of pinky violence, or even Norifumi Suzuki himself, you’ll definitely want to pick this up.
The DVD.
Man….that cover is terrible. It makes Reiko Ike look like a slutty mechanic at a brothel/garage, and fails to convey any hint of the tongue-in-cheek fun of the film. But the disc inside the case is not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, near every criticism I had with Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams has been met and rectified here. The video is awesome, with no color bleed or disparity in quality throughout the movie’s runtime. The sound is a little scratchy, but given the film, it’s somewhat charming.
This time around Exploitation Digital actually went so far as to include an extra for their pinky violence release, and what a whopper it is: The first (stateside) interview with Norifumi Suzuki. Other bits include a collection of trailers for Exploitation Digital releases, and a teaser trailer for Girl Boss Revenge (not the theatrical trailer).
All in all, I quite liked this disc….. What, do I need to say more? Buy this disc already!
About the Author
i really do hope this disc is an improvement over ‘blossoming night dreams’… and, although i already had my doubts creaping in over the longevity potential in pinky violence films, i have to say that i found the ‘blossoming…’ to be incredibly flat. it’s fine, as far as i can tell, if you’re in that “didn’t people used to dress oddly back then…. and aren’t these foreigners kind kooky” state of mind, because, if you strip back the obvious differences of time and place, it’s a huge steaming heap of unimaginative cliches.
logboy posted on March 9th, 2008
Well, that’s kinda what Blossoming Night Dreams was…an excuse to watch a cute girl in series of standard action film setups. The DGB films are fairly formulaic, though I do think they got better in subsequent installments. And, arguably Reiko Oshida is easier on the eyes than any of the characters in Sukeban. However, I think Sukeban is a case where its cult status is deserved. It’s a lot faster paced, a lot more fun, and given Norifumi Suzuki’s direction, a whole lot more stylish. Plus, there’s the whole anti-authoritarian bent I liked so much. Check it out though. I’d like to see what you think of it.
Chris Nelson posted on March 10th, 2008
this is what i find confusing… discussion of pinky violence quickly gets to the aspect of the sexy chicks, and yet pink films - despite the s&m you can find regularly - don’t attract the same attention. bizarre. have you heard the phrase “porn for cowards”?
…hide it away enough, or at least create something that isn’t so obviously led by the sex but which you know people will soon spot the strong sexual element of, and it’s not only acceptable but entirely desirable. stick it upfront, albeit within the body of a film / story which has a lot more depth, creativity, artistic vision, individuality - but, like i said, some fairly odd and difficult sexual practices often - and it’s dismissed. don’t get it. it’s like sex unashamedly celebrated by those who don’t actually quite accept it’s part in life yet (the charm is how it allows people to feel free to talk about sex when they wouldn’t otherwise get the chance to express those feelings?), and by many who can’t see the art in something unless someone (or a group, range of people) else is brave enough to stand up and recognise it first.
i would like to know what happened to these people’s desire for creative experiences and understanding of how opinions vary, their confidence in their personal knowledge and the resulting decisions that they make from it… odd. very very odd.
anyway, i will watch it, soon. norifumi suzuki’s fine, but it’s not the finest kind of stuff… too old to be stuck in a rut thinking foreigners should be enjoyed for their oddly-different behaviour or whacky old-fashioned clothes, and i certainly don’t have trouble accepting sexuality as part of life, so i’m looking for sex combined with something a little more insightful and less situated in the charms of bright colours, fast-cut editing and the occasional flash of nipple.
logboy posted on March 12th, 2008
Well, you see, the sexual element in these films is the one that I have the least interest in. I like pinky violence for their badass girls, awesome sword/knife/fist fights, subversive messages, and visual flair. If the sexual element were tossed aside I don’t think I would miss it all that much. I’ve got no problem with sexual situations and escapades being depicted on screen. Sometimes they can actually be somewhat enticing. However, when they drag the sequences out for too long it becomes something akin to being stuck looking at a friend’s trip photos. It’s a lot of fun for the actual participants, but not so interesting for the guests.
Chris Nelson posted on March 12th, 2008
suppose that depends on how much of the overall picture you can take in. holiday photos dont work for those that took them, more often than not, either… they’re a strange habit.
anyway, if you’re not in it for the titties, the stuff that’s also on display is a lighter version of the madcap stuff you see in yakuza movies - i’d rather see more pink and more yakuza movies for the the USA market than more pinky violence.
logboy posted on March 13th, 2008
okay, watched sukeban last night (just - for - you!) and thought it was much smarter, though still incredibly light, absurd, and somewhat lacking even by comparison to other norifumi suzuki films that i’ve seen on DVD… disc is nicer than ‘blossoming night dreams’, though showed some odd failings at times. it was okay, nothing dramatically rare or special, just fun enough to make it work for it’s duration…
logboy posted on March 16th, 2008
Awesome, logboy. Well, at least you liked it better than Rica, right? Good enough not to bin?
I’m actually a fan of yakuza films as well, but I think these are released more frequently due to their tongue in cheek nature. I’ve been meaning to pick up some of the old HVE Kinji Fukasaku releases, but they’ve been a bit too expensive for a blind purchase. I did pick up the Yakuza Papers collection a while back. Just haven’t had time to actually sit down and watch them. For modern gangster films, Rokuro Mochizuki is pretty cool too. Do you have any other recommendations there?
Chris Nelson posted on March 17th, 2008
i actually think these pinky violence films are picked up to appeal to what seems to be a largely teen fanbase for japanese films - at least in terms of DVD purchases - in america. partly companies are responsible to preening the teen market for their perceived disposable income, but teens must also take responsibility for not demanding more from themselves or from those that serve them, not often enough, anyway. basically, these are films that are vaguely sex-based, softish porn, without it being possible to blatantly give them an overall label of porn.
as for yakuza movies, the ‘yakuza papers’ set is very hard to watch, very rich in detail. the best of the best out there are fukasaku’s films as released by HVE - ’sympathy for the underdog’, ’street mobster’, ‘graveyard of honour’, as well as the two issued by kino, ‘yakuza graveyard’ and ‘cops versus thugs’. don’t forget fukasaku’s non-yakuza gem from HVE, ‘under the flag of the rising sun’. all essential.
as for other directors : suzuki seijun’s ‘youth of the beast’ (criterion) stands out, but all suzuki and fukasaku are worth it - especially the 60s and 70s stuff - and you could also find yourself enjoying yasuharu hasebe’s film ‘bloody territories’ (issued in 2004) and reading mark schilling’s book ‘the yakuza movie guide’ too.
logboy posted on March 18th, 2008
Actualy, I have bloody territories on my shelf. For the Criterion Suzuki titles, I currently have Gate of Flesh, Story of a Prostitute, Branded to Kill, and Tokyo Drifter. I’ve been meaning to check out Youth of the Beast and Fighting Elegy, but just haven’t had the time.
I actually quite liked Cops Vs. Thugs and Yakuza Graveyard. I was kinda bummed that Kino didn’t release a few more of those. I usually set a $20 threshold on single, non special edition dvd’s, so I’ve been waiting to pick up those other HVE Fukasaku titles used…just haven’t come across any in the local stores.
Chris Nelson posted on March 23rd, 2008