Meiko Kaji

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Meiko Kaji, Still Grudge Singing after all these years — video

by Chris   ⋅   October 3, 2007   ⋅   Comment [1]

Check this out. Meiko Kaji, now in her sixties, performing Urami Bushi (Female Prisoner Scorpion’s Grudge Song). She actually looks pretty healthy for her age (she’s dropped the stick-skinny thing, but not the Stray Cat Rock clothes), and still sounds exactly the same as on her Zenkyokushu album. Check out the video below.

Super Sweet Cult DVD deals

by Chris   ⋅   May 10, 2007   ⋅   Comment now

Wow. Sometimes the DVD gods just smile upon you, you know? Kris and I were pondering checking out Spider-Man 3 this evening, but something told me to go check an infrequently visited Fry’s instead. And boy, am I glad we did. I snatched up the whole Jodorowski Films box set, featuring Fando Y Lis, Holy [...]

Blind Woman’s Curse dvd review early!

by Chris   ⋅   April 29, 2007   ⋅   Comments [2]

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 [...]

Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 movie review

by Chris   ⋅   April 15, 2007   ⋅   Comments [3]

Way back in high-school, Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 and Black Lizard served as my introduction to 1970’s Japanese exploitation cinema. I was a bit reluctant to review this film, lest my opinion be clouded by rosy glasses and nostalgia. But, having gone back to the film again, I believe I’m prepared, and my love [...]

Ten “Grindhouse” Films Worth Watching

by Chris and Kris   ⋅   April 6, 2007   ⋅   Comments [8]

With the arrival of Grindhouse in the theaters today, a lot of lists are coming out with “Grindhouse” films recommended by professional critics. Some of them are actually pretty good. But, for the majority of them, if you look closely at the lists, you’ll realize the recommenders never actually saw the films listed. Some of [...]

DVD REVIEW . Yakuza Graveyard

by Chris   ⋅   August 9, 2006   ⋅   Comment now

Rage, honor, betrayal, duty, racism, love. All are at the heart of Fukasaku’s magnum opus, Yakuza Graveyard, a stunning cops and Yakuza tale that stands with the best hard boilded cop films of all time, be it domestic or international.
Tetsuya Watari plays tough as rusty-nails cop, Kuroiwa. An outcast from his youth, Kuroiwa is [...]

Meiko Kaji — Zenkyokushu — music review

by Chris   ⋅   July 15, 2006   ⋅   Comments [11]

I was first introduced to Meiko Kaji’s music back in the late 1990’s with Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41. Though only my initial viewing, I found the theme song amazing, and it stuck with me long after the film. It wasn’t until later that I became a true Kaji fan. I had knowledge of her [...]

Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion: Grudge Song // movie review

by Chris   ⋅   June 1, 2006   ⋅   Comment [1]

The last Scorpion entry starring Meiko Kaji is certainly the least of the films. Moving forward sans director Shunya Ito, this installment finds Sasori on the run from yet another gung-ho police inspector, facing threat of execution, and falling in love. That’s right, Sasori in love. When the film starts the police are hot [...]

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable movie review

by Chris   ⋅   May 14, 2006   ⋅   Comment [1]

These days the term fierce has been so overused by hip-hop artists, Tyra Banks, and Inside Hollywood celebrity-trash mongers, it seems to have lost its meaning. But if one were forced to find a dictionary definition personification of the word fierce, that one person that would fit the bill would have to be Meiko Kaji [...]

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (aka Joshuu 701-go: Sasori) movie review

by Chris   ⋅   July 21, 2005   ⋅   Comments [4]

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is the first film in the Scorpion trilogy, as well as the first film by director Shunya Ito. Based on the manga of the same name, The story follows Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji), the fiercest inmate in the Japanese women’s prison system, and for that matter, all women in prison films. [...]

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