NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Firstly, the 6 films are divided on the 4 Blu-ray discs as follows:

Disc 1) Delinquent Girl Boss (1971), Wild Jumbo (1970) and Sex Hunter (1970)

Disc 2) Machine Animal (1970)  and Beat '71 (1971)

Firstly, this is a limited edition (to only 2,000 copies.) This is the five-film 'Stray Cat Rock' (aka 'Alleycat Rock') Collection - all in 1080P.

I will make a few general comments.

Video: There are two dual-layered Blu-ray disc sharing 3 films and 2 films respectively. I've included all the technical stats for each film below. The quality is subject to the sources - which generally is not pristine. The visuals are consistent and look solid enough in 1080P. We only had 'Sex Hunter' on DVD and we've compared some captures below. The HD is quite a notable upgrade. The image quality is, as per the genre and time period, thick with little damage - a very few vertical scratches. This is probably the best way to present these 1.5 hour features - as I doubt a significant increase in bitrate would improve the appearance drastically. There is a shade of depth and colors are bright and rich - Beat '71 tends to look the sharpest although not by a lot. 

Audio: is all liner PCM mono and most of the imperfections remain minimal. These seem to be accurate-to-original audio transfers - flat and the occasional funky music exports some depth and a crisp high-end. There are optional subtitles for each film. I always remark how awkward the dialogue is - not a function of the translation but more part of the genre and cultural differences. The two Blu-ray discs are region FREE.

Supplements: The first disc, with three features, has only trailers for Wild Jumbo Trailer and Sex Hunter. The second disc offers three interviews, each about 1/2 an hour with English subtitles. They are with Yasuharu Hasebe director of Delinquent Girl Boss, Sex Hunter and Machine Animal, Tatsuya Fuji, the star of all five films, and Yoshio Harada, an actor best known for playing 'rebels' in a career that spanned six decades. These are informative interviews reminiscing on the productions with an occasional anecdote. The 2nd disc also has trailers for Machine Animal and Beat '71. The package has an extensive collector's booklet featuring new writing on the films by Japanese cinema expert Jasper Sharp.

The Stray Cat Rock films have their own addictive appeal, Like many of the Japanese 'Pinky' films they lean to adult content, occasionally exploitive with a dash of softcore sexuality sequences. It also has themes of youth rebellion, crime with femme-fatales, conflict and discontent. They are quite entertaining, in their own obvious way. It's actually hard not to get-into these films to some degree when watching this set. They retain a fun side and the Asian gals are usually very cute with unexpected characterizations. I think those familiar and keen should probably order sooner as I don't know how long the 2,000 limited copies will last. A commentary or two would have been cool but this is still a solid package. Recommended!    

Gary W. Tooze