by Dan Tabor
Arrow Heads
Arrow Video, a subsidiary of Arrow Films, humbly describe themselves as merely a “Distributor of classic, world, cult and horror cinema on DVD & Blu-ray”. But we film geeks know them as the Britain-based bastion of the brutal and bizarre, boasting gorgeous Blu-ray releases with high quality artwork and packaging and bursting with extras (often their own productions). Their collector-friendly releases had traditionally not been available in the U.S, but now Arrow has come across the pond and this column is devoted to discussing their weird and wonderful output.
Blind Woman’s Curse (1970) is another Nikkatsu classic available from Arrow that stars a fresh-faced Meiko Kaji in her second big screen role as Akemi Tachibana, the leader of the Tachibana yakuza clan. The film opens with an amazing slow motion battle as we see the Tachibana clan taking on a rival clan in a rainstorm. See, when the Tachibana attack, they disrobe to show their traditional yakuza back tattoos, which are only pieces of a dragon. When the clan stands together side-by-side the complete dragon takes form with Akemi as the head. It’s a lot like the Yakuza version of Voltron, and while not completely practical, it’s still a pretty badass sight to behold. During the battle that ensues Akemi accidentally blinds the younger sister of one of her opponents as a black cat seems to appear out of nowhere and licks the blood off the young girl’s wounded eyes. (Click on any image for screenshots taken from the Blu-ray.)
As we catch up with Akemi sometime later she is now in prison on a 3-year stint and suffering from constant nightmares from that night. She confesses to her cellmates that she believes she has been cursed and often feels as if the black cat is stalking her for her actions. We then jump ahead again with Akemi out of prison as a rival gang, the Dobashi-gumi, is trying desperately to get the Tachibana to go to war with a rival so they can take their turf when the dust settles. This situation only gets worse for Akemi as someone is killing off the members of her clan and cutting their back pieces off for grisly trophies. These killings also seem to coincide with a blind woman who has come to town and makes her living as an expert sword thrower in a freak show.
What elevates this film more than just your standard yakuza fare is the heavily ramped up violence paired with supernatural and grotesque elements. This definitely takes the film to a whole new level, especially in the third act as it culminates in a surreal battle with geysers of blood as two clans battle it out and Akemi is forced to atone for her sins against the blind woman in what appears to be an alternate reality. There are also some pretty great scenes in a Japanese haunted house where the blind swordswoman resides with a deformed hunchback as a sidekick. It was an interesting look at what was probably a very culturally- and era-specific spook house.
Blind Woman’s Curse was directed by Teruo Ishii, probably best known for the Super Giant series and his later foray into the Ero guro (“erotic-grotesque”) sub-genre. Blind Woman’s Curse was part of a very loose trilogy he directed for Nikkatsu films, and was one of the final films produced for the studio before they changed over exclusively to Roman Porno. Personally I think it’s this marriage of the crime films in the earlier part of Ishii’s career and the horror that came later that perfectly comes together for one of the strangest Yakuza films from the period. Of course this is only amplified by Meiko Kaji’s steely glare that would be the template for the badass women she would portray going forward. We get not only a glimpse of Yuki from Lady Snowblood, but Matsu from the Female Convict Scorpion Series in this performance that really captured what this young actor was capable of.
The Package
I was a big fan of Blind Woman’s Curse, before checking out the Arrow Blu-ray, and although this film has never looked better compared to previous DVD releases, the transfer on the disc seemed very uneven. It seems like it was possibly culled from a few different sources since some reels looked sharper than others and there was mild warping on the image in various scenes as well. The disc came with a commentary by Jasper Sharp who’s written a number of books on Japanese cinema and had some great insight into the film for both the casual fans and the more avid Japanese film enthusiasts. This was definitely a commentary where even the most seasoned fans will pick up a few new tidbits of info.
The Lowdown
The Blind Woman’s Curse is a fun flick that perfectly combines your standard Yakuza setup with supernatural elements that provide equal parts of surreal insanity and badass action. It’s a great film that thanks to a great cast only and solid direction manages to deliver on an insane premise that would have failed with a lesser director and cast. While I would have loved a bit more on the special feature front Arrow still gives us a solid disc that will please the fans looking for something a bit off the beaten path and those already familiar with this great film looking to know a bit more.