BLIND WOMAN'S CURSE

(A.k.a. THE TATTOOED SWORDSWOMAN; KAIDAN NOBORI RYU)

Akemi (Meiko Kaji) has become the leader of the notorious Tachibana gang following her father's death. In the first territorial conflict that we witness her gang engage in, she moves in to slay the rival mob's leader but accidentally blinds his sister, Gouda (Bumon Kahara) when she intervenes.

This kafuffle lands Akemi in prison, where two things happen: she suffers continual nightmares about a black cat which convince her she's been cursed by her actions; the women she shares an overcrowded cell with all fall for her charms and want to join her gang upon leaving jail. Heck, they even get tattoos of a segments of a dragon's tail on their backs (as the gang leader, Akemi has a tattoo of the dragon's head across her back).

Upon leaving prison herself, Akemi realises she may need this additional support as her gang have been getting bother from an opposing firm who want to take over their territory. In fact, they only survived the last altercation with Dobashi's (Toru Abe) gangsters because a mysterious loner called Mr Tani (Makoto Sato) appeared to help. Akemi offers to pay him for his services: he declines and disappears, leaving a hole in her newly smitten heart.

Akemi is soon distracted, however, by an attack on two of her men by Dobashi's guys. The message is clear: they mean war. But Akemi is reticent to engage straight away - she prefers a more considered approach. Or, is she just freaked out by the regular appearances made by black cats and, bizarrely, random human characters who behave like felines seemingly for her benefit? Could she truly be cursed, as she suspects?

As her relationship with Tani blossoms, she must focus on keeping her gang primed to engage in combat with Dobashi's men when the time is ready ... but are his troupe really responsible for killing off Akemi's dragon-tattooed cohorts one-by-one and skinning the inked flesh from their backs?

BLIND WOMAN'S CURSE is one strange film. Coming from Teruo Ishii (HORRORS OF MALFORMED MEN; BLIND BEAST VS DWARF), that's probably not surprising. But it's still fucked up.

This is an asset, insofar as the film is fast-paced and consistently inventive. It's fair to say there's nary a dull moment in it. But it's a tough film to gage emotionally. Tonally, it's all over the shop: it flits between gangster drama, gory samurai action flick, spooky horror and slapstick comedy with epileptic energy.

Beautifully shot from beginning to end and boasting some wonderfully choreographed fight sequences, it's fair to say the film is extremely well made. And it benefits from having Kaji in its lead role - an asset in any film, for certain. She has a warmer demeanour here than in the famed Lady Snowblood or Female Scorpion films, but still electrifies the screen when she starts to kick arse. The rest of the cast are largely happy to play second fiddle to her, while Hideo Sunazuka is almost embarrassing as the primary comic relief.

Grisly but in an old-school Grand Guignol way; theatrical to the point that I thought folk were going to burst into song on a couple of occasions ... BLIND WOMAN'S CURSE is weird, odd, strange - but breathlessly and beautifully staged, nevertheless. The nightmarish horror sequences, however, suggest what a bona fide gem this could've been had Ishii had the courage to drop the lighter touches. But then, it wouldn't be what it is. And what it is, without doubt, is fucking mental (did I mention the killer street theatre section midway through? It's killer - surreal and barmy, but totally fucking killer!).

Lensed in glorious 2.35:1, Arrow Films Video's transfer employs the correct aspect ratio and enhances it for 16x9 televisions. Unlike a lot of Japanese films shot at the time using Fujicolor prints, the colours are nicely vivid and there's a brightness to images that appears to naturally reflect how scenes were shot. Mild softness seems to be inherent to the film stock used, as detail is still impressive - especially in close-ups - and mild grain can be evidenced throughout. Strong blacks in the main (some night scenes are faded, unsurprisingly), stable motion and a keen sense of depth further add to what is one of the best HD transfers of a classic Asian film that I've yet seen. The film is presented in uncut 1080p HD, as an MPEG4-AVC file.

Japanese audio comes in LPCM stereo and is a very good mix indeed; healthy, clean, evenly balanced. Optional English subtitles are superbly written and always easy to read.

An animated main menu page contains a pop-up scene selection menu allowing access to the film via 12 chapters.

Extras begin with a fantastic, comprehensive audio commentary track from the ever-reliable Jasper Sharp. He provides a wealth of information relating to the cast and their infamous director, as well as discussing some of the cultural themes behind those crazy ideas exploding on the screen.

The film's original trailer is in just as good as shape as the main feature, and fits plenty of gory psychedelia into its 3-minute running time.

We also get trailers for the Stray Cat Rock films that, excitingly, Arrow plan to release in the UK later this year: WILD JUMBO, SEX HUNTER, MACHINE ANIMAL and BEAT '71. Nice.

This release also comes with double-sided reversible cover art and a collectors' booklet. Neither were made available for review purposes.

BLIND WOMAN'S CURSE is as uneven as it is spectacular. I've watched the blu-ray screener twice now, and it made more sense - just - second time around. I'm already looking forward to my third sitting though.

Recommended. And, who knows, if this sells well - along with the aforementioned Stray Cat Rock series to follow - Arrow may even move mountains and release the Female Scorpion films in HD. Well, I can dream...

By Stuart Willis