"Actor: Meiko Kaji"

• 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

• Lady Snowblood / Lady Snowblood 2 | Blu Ray | (24/09/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  From the original manga by Kasuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub) and the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Lady Snowblood is a blood spattered Samurai masterpiece from the golden age of Japanese cult cinema!Kidnapped and abused by samurai a woman who finds herself in jail plots revenge by getting pregnant to raise an instrument of death! The child, Yuki, is raised with the single purpose of cutting down the four beasts that brutalised her mother, dismembering every down, dirty lowlife that stands in her way.

• Stray Cat Rock Collection | Blu Ray | (20/04/2020) from £24.69   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Yasuharu Hasebe, 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, where 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 organization. In Sex 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 EDITION CONTENTS High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentations of all five films in the Stray Cat Rock series Original uncompressed PCM Mono audio Optional English subtitles Interview with Yasuharu Hasebe director of Delinquent Girl Boss, Sex Hunter and Machine Animal Interview with actor Tatsuya Fuji, star of all five films Interview with actor Yoshio Harada, star of Beat '71 Original Trailers Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork choices

• Yakuza Graveyard | Blu Ray | (20/11/2023) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When he falls for the beautiful wife of the jailed boss of the Nishida gang, things start to spiral out of control for detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari, Graveyard of Honour). In a world where the line between police and organised crime is vague, he finds himself on the wrong side of a yakuza war when his superiors favour Nishida's rivals, the Yamashiro gang. Co-starring the iconic Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) and featuring Nagisa Oshima as chief of police, Yakuza Graveyard sees director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honour and Humanity) at the peak of his powers. Product Features High-Definition digital transfer Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi The Rage and the Passion - A visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku's collaborations Gallery of promotional imagery Easter Egg Trailer Newly translated English subtitles

• 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

• New Battles Without Honour & Humanity | Blu Ray | (21/08/2017) from £21.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  NEW BATTLES WITHOUT HOUNOUR AND HUMANITY: THE COMPLETE TRILOGY New Battles Without Honour and Humanity New Battles Without Honour and Humanity: The Boss's Head New Battles Without Honour and Humanity: Last Days of the Boss In the early 1970s Kinji Fukasaku's five-film Battles Without Honour and Humanity series was a massive hit in Japan and kicked off a boom in realistic modern yakuza films based on true stories. Although Fukasaku had intended to end the series Toei Studio convinced him to return to the director's chair for this unconnected follow-up trilogy of films each starring Battles leading man Bunta Sugawara and telling separate but fictional stories about the yakuza in different locations in Japan. In the first film Bunta Sugawara is Miyoshi a low-level assassin of the Yamamori gang who is sent to jail after a bungled hit. While in stir family member Aoki (Lone Wolf and Cub's Tomisaburo Wakayama) attempts to seize power from the boss and Miyoshi finds himself stuck between the two factions with no honourable way out. In the second entry The Boss's Head Sugawara is Kuroda an itinerant gambler who steps in when a hit by drug-addicted assassin Kusunoki (Tampopo's Tsutomu Yamazaki) goes wrong and takes the fall on behalf of the Owada family but when the gang fails to make good on financial promises to him Kuroda targets the family bosses with a ruthless vengeance. And in Last Days of the Boss Sugawara plays Nozaki a labourer who swears allegiance to a sympathetic crime boss only to find himself elected his successor after the boss is murdered. Restrained by a gang alliance that forbids retributions against high-level members Nozaki forms a plot to exact revenge on his rivals but a suspicious relationship with his own sister (Chieko Matsubara from Outlaw: Gangster VIP) taints his relationship with his fellow gang members. Making their English-language home video debut in this limited edition set the New Battles Without Honour and Humanity films are important links between the first half of Fukasaku's career and his later exploration of other genres. Each one is also a top-notch crime action thriller: hard-boiled entertaining and distinguished by Fukasaku's directorial genius funky musical scores by composer Toshiaki Tsushima and the onscreen power of Toei's greatest yakuza movie stars. LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfers of all three films High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations Original uncompressed mono audio New optional English subtitle translation for all three films Beyond the Films: New Battles Without Honour and Humanity a new video appreciation by Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane New Stories New Battles and Closing Stories two new interviews with screenwriter Koji Takada about his work on the second and third films in the trilogy Original theatrical trailers for all three films Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist Illustrated collector's book featuring new writing on the films the yakuza genre and Fukasaku's career by Stephen Sarrazin Tom Mes Hayley Scanlon Chris D. and Marc Walkow

• Blind Woman's Curse | Blu Ray | (31/03/2014) from £17.25   |  Saving you £2.74 (15.88%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From Teruo Ishii 'The King of Cult' Blind Woman's Curse (also known as Black Cat's Revenge) is a thrilling Yakuza film featuring eye-popping visuals sensational fight sequences and the gorgeous Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood Stray Cat Rock) in her first major role. Akemi (Kaji) is a dragon tattooed leader of the Tachibana Yakuza clan. In a duel with a rival gang Akemi slashes the eyes of an opponent and a black cat appears to lap the blood from the gushing wound. The cat along with the eye-victim go on to pursue Akemi's gang in revenge leaving a trail of dead Yakuza girls their dragon tattoos skinned from their bodies. A bizarre blend of the female Yakuza film and traditional Japanese ghost story with a strong dash of grotesque-erotica (the same movement was a sensibility of Edogawa Rampo whose works were adapted by Ishii in Horrors of Malformed Men) Blind Woman's Curse is a delirious mash-up of classic genre tropes of which Ishii was no stranger having directed everything from Super Giant films to Biker movies! Special Features: New High Definition digital transfer Newly commissioned artwork Collector's booklet More to be announced!

• Yakuza Graveyard | DVD | (19/08/2002) from £8.47   |  Saving you £7.52 (88.78%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Yakuza Graveyard was one of the stylish, morally ambivalent movies with which director Kinji Fukasaki revolutionised the Japanese gangster genre in the 1970s. These days more famous for his brilliant teen exploitation film Battle Royale, Fukasaki has a proven flair for unsettlingly violent scenes in which the camera dips and twirls as his characters throw each other down stairs and across rooms. An honest cop (Tetsuya Watari) is stationed in Osaka and finds himself caught up in a nightmare world where his superiors launder money and carry out hits for several rival gangs. His sense of honour--already supporting the drunken, promiscuous widow of a man he killed--ties him ever closer to the principal heavy of the gang his superiors are gradually destroying and to the man's half-sister, with whom he falls passionately in love. A torrid interlude as waves beat on the shore--waves that somehow manage to be something other than a cliché--is just a break in the gloomy spiral of degradation and death. This is in some ways as corny as anything, in other ways a minor classic. On the DVD: Yakuza Graveyard is presented in 16:9 widescreen and comes with a short text essay explaining the importance of the film in the development of Fukasaki's career and the yakuza genre. --Roz Kaveney

• Battles Without Honor and Humanity | Blu Ray | (07/12/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £99.99

  Kinji Fukasaku (Battle Royale) gave the world Japan’s answer to The Godfather with this violent yakuza saga, influencing filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) to Takashi Miike (Graveyard of Honor, Audition). Made within just two years, the five-film series brought a new kind of realism and ferocity to the crime genre in Japan, revitalizing the industry and leading to unprecedented commercial and critical success. Literally exploding onscreen with a mushroom cloud, and ending with Hiroshima’s A-bomb Dome, the epic story of Battles Without Honour and Humanity follows over 100 characters through twenty years of gang wars, alliances, betrayals, and assassinations, in an exciting exploration of criminal power and politics in Japan. In the opening episode, ex-soldier Shozo Hirono escapes from the post-war black markets to become a key member of the Yamamori gang, but soon finds himself disillusioned by the selfish duplicity of his bosses. Hiroshima Death Match focuses on a demobilized kamikaze pilot drifting through the early 1950’s, whose suicidal impulses find good use as a mob assassin. Proxy War and Police Tactics form a labyrinthine, two-part story of ambition and betrayal set against Japan’s rapid economic growth of the 1960’s, with Shozo caught between warring factions. Final Episode concludes the series in the 1970’s as the former Yamamori gang transforms itself into an economic conglomerate called the Tensei Group, in a bid for mainstream respectability. Fukasaku and his team broke with the longstanding studio tradition of casting marquee idols as honorable, kimono-clad heroes, defending their gang bosses against unscrupulous villains, and instead adapted true accounts torn from the headlines, shot in a documentary-like style, and with few clear-cut heroes or villains. The vibrancy and dynamism of the filmmaking, plus its shocking violence, Shakespearean plotlines, and wide tapestry of characters, launched a revolutionary new genre, establishing the series as one of the great masterpieces of world crime cinema. Limited Edition Contents: Limited Edition Blu-ray Collection High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation of all five original films Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-rays) Optional English subtitles for all five films Remembering Kinji – a new featurette about director Kinji Fukasaku and his work, featuring interviews with Kenta Fukasaku and film critic and Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane Secrets of the Piranha Army – a new documentary about the troupe of supporting actors who appeared throughout the series, featuring new interviews with original Piranha members Masaru Shiga and Takashi Noguchi, plus second-generation Piranha, Takashi Nishina and Akira Murota All the Bad Guys – a new, comprehensive video guide to the actors in the films Fukasaku Family – a new interview with Proxy War and Police Tactics assistant director Toru Dobashi Man of Action – a new interview with series fight choreographer Ryuzo Ueno Tales of a Bit Player – a new interview with supporting actor and stuntman Seizo Fukumoto Last Days of the Boss – a new interview with Final Episode screenwriter Koji Takada Yakuza Graveyard – a new interview with Takashi Miike about Kinji Fukasaku and the yakuza film genre Original trailers for the series Original poster gallery for the series Limited Edition packaging and reversible sleeves for all five films including original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist The Complete Saga - Limited Edition Exclusive English-subtitled premiere of the 224-minute compilation edition of the first four films, previously screened only as part of a limited Japanese theatrical release in 1980 and on the Toei cable channel Introduction by Complete Saga editorial supervisor Toru Dobashi The Yakuza Papers - Limited Edition Exclusive 150-page hardback book featuring writing on the history of the yakuza film genre, the background and continuing importance of the Battles series, and additional essays on the men who made them, including a newly-reprinted and fully annotated edition of Paul Schrader’s classic 1974 Film Comment essay Yakuza-Eiga: A Primer, a new, exclusive English translation of screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara’s 1974 Scenario magazine essay on his writing process for the first four films, as well as new essays and interviews from critics and authors Chris D., Grady Hendrix, Patrick Macias, Tom Mes, Mark Schilling, and Jasper Sharp.

• Female Convict Scorpion - Jailhouse 41 | DVD | (19/02/2007) from £22.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-43.70%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Shunya Ito's incredible Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 is amongst Japan's most famous ever cult films and the primary influence on Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. It remains one of the most sought after cult films in existence!. A truly visionary one of a kind experience Female Convict Scorpion is an astoundingly visceral art house-feminist-exploitation hybrid featuring gorgeous Japanese cult icon Meiko Kaji. Shunya Ito's movie unfolds in a state of perpetual delirium and is by turns shocking perverse and hilarious. Beautiful bold and outrageous entertainment this is one of the most essential exciting DVD releases of 2007...

• Female Prisoner No. 701 - Scorpion | DVD | (20/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Shunya Ito makes his directorial debut in this highly entertaining and stunning revenge and action thriller film that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is an amphetamine-fuelled descent into the humid cells of a women's lock-up. High-pulse nymphomania bone-shattering violence and a gruesomely gynaecological approach to torture rear their collective heads in the work yard in the cafeteria and in the showers. Stunning Japanese cult icon Meiko (Lady Snowblood) Kaji delivers a blistering performance of breathtaking intensity in one of the most stylish and sophisticated exploitation movies of all time. Get ready for a ferocious cult classic - visually beautiful brutal controversial entertainment straight from the wild side of Japanese cinema.

• Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable | DVD | (08/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  An avenging angel... or a seductive siren? Conceive of her as you like - either way she walks alone this woman wronged by the world... this Scorpion with a taste for vengeance! Meiko Kaji (femme fatale extraordinaire of the Stray Cat Rock and Lady Snowblood series) returns as Female Prisoner #701 - now escaped from the very authority that would grind her down. With one severed arm dangling from one handcuffed wrist Kaji takes refuge in the home of a kindred soul... a latchkey slut in want of all the world's sympathy... forced into a back-alley living for the sake of supporting her retarded brother... whose baby grows ever quick in her womb - oh life! No it's not long until old enemies rearrive new adversaries are inaugurated... and this waking nightmare gives way to a new dawn... soiled by indiscriminate abortion! This third instalment of the Female Prisoner series is perhaps also the finest and in its concise layout it represents both a fitting conclusion to the Scorpion story as directed by Shunya It and a stand-alone work requiring no familiarity with the preceding episodes. Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Beast Stable exemplifies the grindhouse ethos in its haunting depiction of beauty...

• 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

• Lady Snowblood | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Serving as a source of inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill' ('Shurayuki Hime' herself Meiko Kaji even appears on the Vol.1 soundtrack!) these seminal Japanese gender-bending samurai movies directed by Toshiya Fujita are at heart a thrilling hack n' slash social satire of the strictures of the Edo-period male preserve of the samurai class... Lady Snowblood - Blizzard From The Netherworld: A band of ruthless criminals kidnap and brutalise a lone woman. Incarcerated the women survives only on her desire for revenge and purposefully gets herself pregnant so that her child will become an instrument of vengeance. Unfortunately the woman dies in childbirth and it is her daughter Yuki who is raised as an assassin knowing no family but only killing and revenge... Lady Snowblood 2 - Love Song Of Vengeance: Lady Snowblood ('Shurayuki Hime') is caught by the authorities and sentenced to death for her crimes of bloodthirsty vengeance on the behalf of her long deceased mother. However on her way to certain death at the end of a hangman's rope she is rescued by officers of the secret police who offer her freedom if she agrees a deadly and perilous mission to assassinate a band of revolutionaries...

• Lady Snowblood 2 - Love Song Of Vengeance | DVD | (02/02/2003) from £14.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (33.44%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In Love Song of Vengeance, Shurayuki-hime--a.k.a. Lady Snowblood, "Yuki" for short (played by Meiko Kaji)--continues her advertures in the female samurai saga that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. In Lady Snowblood, Yuki avenged her family by slaying the four criminals that killed her father, raped her mother, and predestined her to the life of a justice-seeking assassin. Love Song of Vengeance picks up where Lady Snowblood let off, not so much as a sequel like Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy, but a continuation of the lone assassin's adventures (similar to Zaitochi). Sentenced to death for her crimes of murder, Yuki is given pardon by Kikui, a secret government police agent. In return for her freedom, Kikui wants Yuki to assassinate anarchist Ransui and obtain a secret document he is hiding. While carrying out her orders, Yuki discovers the document in question is actually a letter incriminating agent Kikui. Always one to be on the side of justice, Lady Snowblood switches sides, joining anarchist Rasui to face off, expose, and destroy the crooked agent. The blood may not flow like geysers and there may be a lot less samurai action than in the first installment. However, Love Song of Vengeance is well-paced, nicely shot, and a well thought-out continuation of the heroine's adventures. Sadly, they ended with this installment. --Rob Bracco

• Lady Snowblood / Lady Snowblood 2 Limited Edition SteelBook | Blu Ray | (24/09/2012) from £31.85   |  Saving you £3.14 (9.86%)   |  RRP £34.99

  From the original manga by Kasuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub) and the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Lady Snowblood is a blood spattered Samurai masterpiece from the golden age of Japanese cult cinema!Kidnapped and abused by samurai a woman who finds herself in jail plots revenge by getting pregnant to raise an instrument of death! The child, Yuki, is raised with the single purpose of cutting down the four beasts that brutalised her mother, dismembering every down, dirty lowlife that stands in her way.

• Lady Snowblood 1 - Blizzard From The Netherworld | DVD | (02/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A band of ruthless criminals kidnap and brutalise a lone woman. Incarcerated the women survives only on her desire for revenge and purposefully gets herself pregnant so that her child will become an instrument of vengeance. Unfortunately the woman dies in childbirth and it is her daughter Yuki who is raised as an assassin knowing no family but only killing and revenge... This seminal Japanese gender-bending samurai movie directed by Toshiya Fujita is at heart a hack n' slash

• Kill Bill Style - The Second Collection | DVD | (31/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Includes Babycart In The Land Of Demons Zatoichi's Pilgrimage and Lady Snowblood - Love Song Of Vengeance. Babycart In The Land Of Demons Hired to ensure that the succession of the clan passes to the legitimate heir the son of Lord Kuroda Lone Wolf becomes enmeshed in a web of intrigue that leads in turn to the Yagyu. Before he can break free he must turn against the very men who hired him the loyal retainers of the Kuroda clan... Zatoichi's Pilgrimage A girl is assaulted on the highway and Zatoichi is embarassed to find himself acting as midwife to a dying woman. Entrusted with the baby he embarks on a mission to the village of Dashu to deliver the baby to the father Satoro. When there he is waylaid and cheated by Seji a young stooge of the local gang whose ageing father is Dashu's law enforcement officer. To add to his miseries he is dogged by a boy who delights in stoning him and running away. Dashu's loan shark gamblers are on the point of seizing Satoro's sister Oyae to become a sex slave in forfeit for an unpaid debt and with the arrival of Satoro the town begins to heat up. In the process of resolving Oyae's financial difficulties Zatoichi reveals himself as master of a wide range of martial skills as well as finding time to teach certain hoodlums the intricacies of nude dancing. Lady Snowblood 2 - Love Song Of Vengeance Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime) is caught by the authorities and sentenced to death for her crimes of bloodthirsty vengeance on the behalf of her long deceased mother. However on her way to certain death at the end of a hangman's rope she is rescued by officers of the secret police who offer her freedom if she agrees a deadly and perilous mission to assassinate a band of revolutionaries...

• Yakuza Graveyard | Blu Ray | (15/05/2023) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When he falls for the beautiful wife of the jailed boss of the Nishida gang, things start to spiral out of control for detective Kuroiwa (Tetsuya Watari, Graveyard of Honour). In a world where the line between police and organised crime is vague, he finds himself on the wrong side of a yakuza war when his superiors favour Nishida's rivals, the Yamashiro gang. Co-starring the iconic Meiko Kaji (Lady Snowblood) and featuring Nagisa Oshima as chief of police, Yakuza Graveyard sees director Kinji Fukasaku (Battles without Honour and Humanity) at the peak of his powers. Limited Edition Special Features High-Definition digital transfer Original uncompressed mono PCM audio Appreciation by filmmaker Kazuya Shiraishi The Rage and the Passion - A visual essay by critic Tom Mes on Meiko Kaji and Kinji Fukasaku's collaborations Gallery of promotional imagery Easter Egg Trailer Newly translated English subtitles Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mika Ko on the representations of Koreans in the yakuza film, and newly translated re-prints of a contemporary review and writing by screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara