Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (1973)

Boring

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This time Miki Sugimoto is the star and Reiko Ike takes the secondary lead female role. Sugimoto stars as Massayo, the daughter of a murdered alcholic/addict by powerful Yakuza boss, Obi(ôji Hayama), sent to prison when she attempts to kill him in a club. Ike is Maki, Obi's squeeze, in prison she meets Massayo and they become respected "adversaries." Massayo befriends other inmates and they partner up after serving their time, vowing to take down Obi's organization by causing a Yakuza war between him and another inferior gang, the Hamayasu clan who operate the docking port of the city. Massayo prostitutes herself to Americans exchanging sexual favors for artillery, concocting a weapons trade with old man boss Hamayasu's volatile son, Tetsu(Takeo Chii). Maki is back around Obi's arm and warns Massayo of clearing out of town, or else. The rest of the film shows how Massayo and her clever female clan rip apart the two Yakuza gangs by pitting them against each other, while also shedding some blood themselves in the process. And, you can better believe Maki and Massayo will have one more confrontational showdown when so much money and dope are at stake.Fans of pinku revenge crime flicks get their moneys's worth with CRIMINAL WOMAN:KILLING MELODY. As expected nudity and ultra-violence are in abundance with lots of gunfire and Yakuza gangsters blown to smithereens. It's always entertaining seeing a motley group of gorgeous females waging war with the Yakuza, using their brains and looks to gain an advantage. You get a rather mild torture sequence this time around as Massayo is rescued from a rather grim fate by Maki. Chii's bonkers Tetsu(..always with a large bottle of liquor, downing it before shooting at somebody or raising hell against Obi)is hilarious as are the instances where animated Yakuza gangsters are either lifted in the air by dynamite/grenades or shot to pieces by bullet-fire. We get not one but TWO hand-to-hand combats between Sugimoto and Ike(..the first in prison, testing each other's endurance, is a dandy)which it in itself is added incentive for pinku fans to check this flick out. Plenty of bare flesh between Ike and Sugimoto as well. It was nice seeing Sugimoto this time getting to star as the lady of vengeance and when she stares you down with death in her eyes..LOOK OUT! Nothing more dangerous than Sugimoto scorned! Ike may not have the lucrative role here, but she's still looking mighty fine. As expected, the pace is excellent(..the editing and camera work are first-rate)and action set pieces thrilling. And, as you'd expect, nearly everyone is dead by the end of the film.

This Cormanesque exploitation flick from Atsushi Mihori is fast paced, stylishly directed, and never dull. Reiko Ike plays a woman who recruits her ex-cell mates to to take revenge on the yakuza thug, Oba (Ryoji Hayama), who killed her father. The women, a feisty, sexy bunch, go to great lengths to destabilize Hayama's organization before annihilating each member one by one. As was common in Toei programmers of the time, there is some torture and graphic nastiness, although this pic doesn't come close to the glorious excesses of "Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs". The gorgeous Miki Sugimoto, who plays the yakuza boss's main squeeze, acts in an unofficial capacity here to assist the angry women. A scene in which she pretends to torture Ike by stubbing cigarettes out on her breasts is a stand-out. Although disjointed in parts and contrived, it is a solid piece of female-centric entertainment.

They don't make them like this anymore. Shot in 1970's Japanese pulp action style but very well photographed for this type of, ahem, "trash". Could be a TV show from the era if it wasn't for the nudity and gore.The "heroine" is on a quest to revenge her "good-for-nothing" father, killed by a local yakuza. After a failed attempt she ends up in prison and meets her future gang of tough women. After she is released, the gang meets and starts their process of destroying the yakuza with strategy and tricks.Very much in the 1970's exploitation style, the film would feel at home on a double bill with a Pam Grier flick, a spaghetti western, a kung fu film or a Roger Corman women in prison movie. Unfortunately the story is just a little thread-bare with the yakuza too stupid and the coincidences too convenient. The film is quite enjoyable until the notorious chainsaw and nipple burning scene. That scene is actually not so bad since it was filmed in the 70's and psychopaths like Miike weren't making films yet. I shudder at what he would have done. The film just sort of looses it's moorings and gets silly. Fortunately the pacing stays brisk so it's still mostly fun to watch. One warning, there are some eye-searing 70's fashions. Yikes.

CRIMINAL WOMAN: KILLING MELODY isn't my favorite of the PINKY VIOLENCE box-set...but it's still a great film. I honestly haven't seen a pinky film yet that wasn't entertaining and full of what I like to see, namely - tits-and-ass, violence, and a decent storyline. This entry is a lot more straight-forward than some of the others (which will be a plus to some - I personally dig the more "intricate" story lines...) and will definitely be of interest to any pinky fans out there.Maki's dad was killed by the local Oba yakuza clan. Maki took revenge by trying to kill the leader but only ended up stabbing a henchman. She's sent to jail, and on her release still has plans for vengeance against the Oba leader. Hooking up with some of her old "girl-gang" pals, she hatches a plan to pit Oba's crew with another local yakuza clan for her own ends...KILLING MELODY has all the requisite things that pinky fans crave. Tons of hot nekkid Asian women and a good bit of violence. Again, the storyline was a little to simple for my taste, but the film is still enjoyable as a whole. If you've dug the other entries in the box-set or are a pinky fan in general, you'll wanna peep this one too...7.5/10