BLIND WOMAN'S CURSE (1970) 怪談昇り竜 directed by Teruo Ishii Production: Nikkatsu Distribution = Dainichi Utsuhai June 20, 1970 85 minutes Fujicolor Cinemascope Meiko Kaji as Akemi Tachibana Hoki Tokuda as Aiko Gouda Makoto Sato as Tani Shouichi Toru Abe as Dobashi Shiro Otsuji as Senba-tatsu Before Lady Snowblood and before Female Prisoner Scorpion movies - in fact, around the time she was first getting noticed in the Stray Cat Rock series, SOMEONE had already figured out that the soft spoken, demure Meiko Kaji had an onscreen intensity about her that was suited for the oncoming stylistic shift in Japanese cinema. (Meiko Kaji) Blind Woman's Curse is the story of Akemi (Meiko Kaji) who has assumed the role of her father's crime organization in pre-modern Japan. While fighting a rival clan, she accidently blind's the leader's sister. She notices a stray black cat lapping up the blood from it - cursing her... (Meiko Kaji ) After getting out of prison, she tries to tak...
BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY: PROXY WAR (1973)
仁義なき戦い 代理戦争
directed by Kinji Fukasaku
Production: Toei (Kyoto Studio)
September 25, 1973
102 minutes Fujicolor Cinemascope
September 25, 1973
102 minutes Fujicolor Cinemascope
Bunta Sugawara as Hirono Shozo
Akira Kobayashi as Takeda Akira
Tsunehiko Watase as Kuramoto Takeshi
Shingo Yamashiro as Eda Shoichi
Reiko Ike as Tomie
Nobuo Kaneko as Yamamori Yoshio
Better than the first, but not quite as good as the second, it's still an enjoyable movie for what it is... the inner workings of a specific group of yakuza gangs as they all battle for position and power. And that is somewhat the good and the bad with these movies... all we see is the inner workings.
(Akira Kobayashi on one end and Bunta Sugawara on the other)
What they actually DO, I couldn't even tell you, because they never show the drugs, or gambling, or prostitution or how it is they make their money. It's ALL about the inner workings. That's what these movies are about and that's exactly what they give us.
Which isn't to say it's not entertaining... quite the opposite. The turmoil and the always under the surface tension is intoxicating to follow - and Bunta Sugawara as Shozo Hirono, in a role that solidified his career, is once again the focus they keeps you watching. Akira Kobayashi returns as Akira Takeda, to give Shozo some added conflict, but the real center (for me anyway), was how long Yamamori (memorably played with manipulative cunning by Nobuo Kaneko) would stay in power before Shozo would finally make a move.... and it doesn't go quite like I thought it might....
(Nobuo Kaneko)
What's amazing is how quickly they put these movies together, one right after another... geez it took us 3 years for two Godfather movies and 16 years to get a third... this is third movie in THIS series in the SAME year!
Reiko Ike has a small role as a henchman's wife, who gets offered up to a wrestler as a prize. Luckily for her, he doesn't last to take advantage of it, and it seems she finally has a role (albeit an incredibly small one) where she keeps her clothes on. But no, she's later offered up to another henchmen, doing an unasked favor for Shono, and he roughs her up during sex. How bad is it that I've seen so much nudity and torture from an actress that I actually would welcome seeing her in a non-exploitative role?
(Reiko Ike)
Original Japanesse Trailer
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