"Director: Yasuharu Hasebe"

• Female Prisoner Scorpion Collection | Blu Ray | (28/10/2019) from £44.15   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  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 Original Theatrical Trailer

• Retaliation | Blu Ray | (11/05/2015) from £35.74   |  Saving you £-15.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In 1969 future sexploitation specialist Yasuharu Hasebe (Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) teamed up with the inimitable Jô Shishido (Tokyo Drifter Branded to Kill) for a follow up to their yakuza hit Massacre Gun. A tale of gang warfare that features a raft of the period’s most iconic stars Akira Kobayashi (Battles Without Honor and Humanity The Flowers and the Angry Waves) is a yakuza lieutenant who emerges from jail to find his gang dispersed and his aging boss in his sickbed. Shishido is the rival waiting to kill him and a young Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) is the girl caught in the crossfire. Gritty and cynical Retaliation is a hardboiled precursor to Kinji Fukasaku’s revisionist yakuza pictures of the 1970s. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: Limited Edition Blu-ray (3000 copies only) Restored High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation on Blu-ray for the first time in the world! Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Newly translated English subtitles Brand new interview with star Jô Shishido Interview with renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns Original theatrical trailer Gallery featuring rare promotional images Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp newly illustrated by Ian MacEwan and featuring original archive stills

• Massacre Gun | Blu Ray | (14/08/2017) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Genre icon Jô Shishido stars in this tense and violent yakuza yarn from genre stalwart and Seijun Suzuki s former assistant, Yasuharu Hasebe (Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701 s Grudge Song). Shishido stars as Kuroda, a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers, hot-headed Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji, In the Realm of the Senses) and aspiring boxer Saburô (Jirô Okazaki, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter), the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war where no one will stop until one faction emerges victorious. Strikingly violent for the period and gorgeously photographed in monochrome like genre siblings Branded to Kill and A Colt is My Passport (Shishido s other films from 1967), Massacre Gun is a bold iteration on the genre featuring some stunning compositions and the assured direction of Hasebe.

• Female Prisoner Scorpion: The Complete Collection | Blu Ray | (08/08/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  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, #701²s 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. LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS Limited Edition Blu-ray collection (3000 copies) Brand new 2K restorations of all four films in the series presented on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD Original mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) for all films Optional English subtitles for all films Double-sided fold out poster of two original artworks Reversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan Booklet featuring an extract from Unchained Melody: The Films of Meiko Kaji, an upcoming book on the starby critic and author Tom Mes, an archive interview with Meiko Kaji, and a brand new interview with Toru Shinohara, creator of the original Female Prisoner Scorpion manga FEMALE PRISONER #701: SCORPION Newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid) 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 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 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 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

• Massacre Gun | Blu Ray | (28/06/2017) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Genre icon Jô Shishido stars in this tense and violent yakuza yarn from genre stalwart and Seijun Suzuki’s former assistant Yasuharu Hasebe (Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701’s Grudge Song). Shishido stars as Kuroda a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers hot-headed Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji In the Realm of the Senses) and aspiring boxer Saburô (Jirô Okazaki Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war where no one will stop until one faction emerges victorious. Strikingly violent for the period and gorgeously photographed in monochrome like genre siblings Branded to Kill and A Colt is My Passport (Shishido’s other films from 1967) Massacre Gun is a bold iteration on the genre featuring some stunning compositions and the assured direction of Hasebe. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: Limited Edition Blu-ray (3000 copies only) Restored High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation on Blu-ray for the first time in the world! Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Newly translated English subtitles Brand new interview with star Jô Shishido Interview with renowned critic and historian Tony Rayns Original theatrical trailer Gallery featuring rare promotional images Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan booklet featuring new writing on the film by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp newly illustrated by Ian MacEwan and featuring original archive stills

• Stray Cat Rock: The Collection | Blu Ray | (03/11/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The Stray Cat Rock series stars Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood Blind Woman's Curse) who with these five films began her reign as the badass action queen of the era. In these five tales of rebellious youth she stars alongside the gorgeous Bunjaku Han (Love Letter) and Tatsuya Fuji (In the Realm of the Senses). In Delinquent Girl Boss the girl gang go up against criminal organisation the Seiyu Group following a fixed boxing match blood is shed and friendships are tested. In Wild Jumbo Kaji and the gang get involved in a kidnapping and the robbery of a religious organisation. InSex Hunter Kaji's girl gang go up against The Eagles a group led by Fuji where sex and violence erupt over the treatment of 'half-breeds'. In Machine Animal gang rivalry is once again the focus with two gangs pursuing some LSD pushers looking to move a big score. The series swansong Beat'71 sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend's father and with the help of some hippies she strives to be re-united. Directed by genre veterans Yasuharu Hasebe (Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song) and Toshiya Fujita (Lady Snowblood) the films feature a psychedelic mix of girl gangs bikers sex drugs and rock and roll with plenty of ass-kicking to boot all captured in a delirious mash up of pop aesthetics including split screens freeze frames injections of colour frenetic editing and dizzying angles making these films a riotous joy from beginning to end. Special Features: Limited Edition Blu-ray (2000 copies only) High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of all 5 films in the Stray Cat Rock series available in the English speaking world for the first time Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) New English subtitle translation of all five films Interview with Yasuharu Hasebe director of Delinquent Girl Boss Sex Hunter and Machine Animal Interview with actor Tatsuya Fuji star of all five films Original Trailers for all five films Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp

• Massacre Gun | DVD | (14/08/2017) from £7.87   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Genre icon Jô Shishido stars in this tense and violent yakuza yarn from genre stalwart and Seijun Suzuki s former assistant, Yasuharu Hasebe (Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701 s Grudge Song). Shishido stars as Kuroda, a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers, hot-headed Eiji (Tatsuya Fuji, In the Realm of the Senses) and aspiring boxer Saburô (Jirô Okazaki, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter), the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war where no one will stop until one faction emerges victorious. Strikingly violent for the period and gorgeously photographed in monochrome like genre siblings Branded to Kill and A Colt is My Passport (Shishido s other films from 1967), Massacre Gun is a bold iteration on the genre featuring some stunning compositions and the assured direction of Hasebe.