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

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

Disc 1) Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Disc 2) Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Disc 3) Beast Stable (1973)

Disc 4) #701's Grudge Song (1973)

This is a limited edition (to only 4,000 copies.) This is the four-film Collection - all in 1080P.

 

This is the another Arrow Blu-ray release that is being simultaneously released in both region 'A' (US) and 'B' (UK). It is the exact same package on both sides of the pond...

 

NOTE: As Michael Brooke informs us on Facebook in regards to Day of Anger: 'As the producer of Arrow's release, I can confirm first hand that the UK and US discs are absolutely identical: we only paid for one master, so there's no doubt about this at all! Which means that no matter which package you buy, the discs will play in any Region A or B setup (or Region 1 or 2 for DVD - and in the latter case the video standard is NTSC, to maximise compatibility). The booklets are also identical, but there are minor cosmetic differences on the disc labels and sleeve to do with differing copyright info and barcodes, and the US release doesn't have BBFC logos.' The Female Prisoner Scorpion Collection is the same situation - the discs are region FREE.

I will make a few general comments.

Video: This package consists of four dual-layered Blu-ray discs each with one feature film and extras. There are also 4 DVDs of the same content. The visuals are consistent and look solid enough in 1080P - all four have max'ed out bitrates and can look authentically thick, very rich, and saturated depending on the sequence style. Grain is visible and the visuals are heavy and very film-like via the 2K restorations. I saw no egregious damage and very few marks - there is some teal-leaning - notably in Beast Stable. Colors have some impressively bright and deep moments. In short I can't imagine these four films looking any better on digital - as, hopefully, evidenced by the screen captures below.  As Arrow state:

"A set of low-contrast 35mm prints struck from the original 35mm film elements were supplied by Toei Company, Ltd. These prints were scanned in 2K resolution on a pin-registered 4K Northlight Scanner. Picture grading was completed on a DaVinci Resolve and thousands of instances of dirt, debris and light scratches were removed using PFClean software. Overall image stability and instances of density fluctuation were was also improved. All restoration work was completed at Pinewood Studios.

The images on all four Female Prisoner Scorpion films favor a noticeably cyan/blue look throughout. This look was inherent in the film materials supplied and relates to how these lab materials were created, as well as how the original elements have faded over time. With these restorations, we have aimed to present the films as close to their intended original style and appearance as possible."

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 explosive music - usually in conjunction with a rapid close-up - and the audio exports some notable depth and a crisp high-end - both in the effects and scores. 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 - it can be so literal that it is funny. The four Blu-ray discs are Region FREE.

Supplements: I won't comment on every extra feature but there are some excellent, and in formative appreciations, visual essays and interviews. Included in this are appreciations by filmmaker Gareth Evans for Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, critic Kier-La Janisse for Jailhouse 41, critic Kat Ellinger for Beast Stable and filmmaker Kazuyoshi Kumakiri for #701's Grudge Song. There are archival interviews with directors Shunya Ito (on directing Meiko Kaji and 'Birth of an Outlaw') and Yasuharu Hasebe as well as production designer Tadayuki Kuwana. Tom Mes provides two fabulous visual essays - one on the career of Meiko Kaji and a lengthy one on the entire film series. Japanese cinema critic Jasper Sharp informatively looks over the career of Shunya Ito and the career of Yasuharu Hasebe. There are teasers, trailers (for all four films) and the package contains a double-sided fold out poster of two original artworks, reversible sleeves for all films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Ian MacEwan and a liner notes booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic Chuck Stephens, a brand new interview with Toru Shinohara, creator of the original Scorpion manga and an archive interview with Meiko Kaji by Chris D. illustrated with original stills. Magnificent.

The Female Prisoner Scorpion 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 female subjugation with violent rebellion, crime with unusually aggressive females, conflict, evil power figures (both men and women) and discontentment with a system that has not benefitted many characters. 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 usually range from very sexy or cute and other harder-edged, often evil, women. I think those familiar and keen should probably order sooner as I don't know how long the 4,000 limited copies will last. A commentary or two would have been cool but this is still an amazing package. One to go through and indulge for a lifetime. Very strongly recommended! One of the most appealing sets of the year.    

Gary W. Tooze