Sukeban gerira

Good Japanese cult film with everything a cult movie needs: girls on motorcycles, cat fights with exposed breasts, nuns (also on motorcycles and with exposed breasts), groovy 70's music, and plenty of BDSM. The girls are really hot, especially the lead, Miki Sugimoto. My cult arch-nemesis, Reiko Ike, is also in it, but she's not too bad here. She doesn't get naked and her hairstyle hides her chubbiness. The film is exciting and fun, though it does lack drive. The plot takes a long time to emerge. My favorite part is when a folk singer puts his fingers to his guitar strings and it emits piano music. I'm still kind of glad that I haven't purchased the Pinky Violence set (I'm getting the discs through Netflix), but this film almost would have made it worth it.

All out sexy, bloody, violent action plus girls on bikes fighting girls on bikes as well as sorting out the yakuza. This may not be the most subtle of movies, although there is a fair amount of character development, but what this excels at is in the thrill quotient. Almost non stop, just one little comedy/slapstick moment of dubious taste and then it's back on the road. Not always easy to follow who is the baddie and who the even badder but our girls do have those wonderful breast tattoos so you can't go too far wrong. Missing a big fight out at the end and instead we get an explosion preceded by some of the most brutal beating of bound women you are likely to see. Not family viewing then but certainly a wow for everyone else.

... because of the moments that are supposed to be funny, but just come off as juvenile instead. If those parts were taken out, this could be a great film. Stick with "Criminal Woman: Killing Melody" instead.

The idea of a Japanese biker gang comprised of females is a good one, but they don't do enough "criminal" activity to be believable, though their attempts at blackmailing are pretty fun to watch. The soundtrack is good (except for that song by that awful hippie singer), and the fashions are top notch, but that humor kills it. I'd expect that in some bland Hollywood comedy, but not from this genre.

If you do like this, you'll love "Criminal Woman: Killing Melody." That's almost a guarantee.

This movie begins with four young women who belong to a gang known as "the Red Helmets" riding motorcycles from Tokyo to Kyoto with the idea of making a few bucks by pulling a few con jobs here and there. However, once they finally get to Kyoto they encounter an assembly of the female gang members living there who tell them to get out of town. This prompts the leader of the Red Helmets, "Sachiko Kiyami" (Miki Sugimoto) to challenge the leader of the Kyogoku Group named "Rika" (Ryoko Ema) to a fight--with the winner taking over everything. Although Sachiko wins the fight, she soon finds out that being a girl boss in Kyoto is much more difficult than than anything she expected. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie was pretty much a standard "Pinku Eiga" film made during this particular time in Japan but with the added benefit of having several attractive actresses like Emi Jo (as "Yuki"), Miwako Onaya ("Tatsumi"), Kyoko Tsukasa ("Kazuko") and the aforementioned Miki Sugimoto thrown in for good measure. In any case, all things considered I found it to be somewhat entertaining and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Admittedly the Japanese exploitation cinema of 70's, and then particularly the so-called "Pinky Violence" movie trend, wasn't my personal biggest area of cinematic expertise but I've learned a lot in one week through watching a handful of classics. I even learned some Japanese, like I know that the term "Sukeban" means 'delinquent boss girl' and refers to a series of films revolving on untamed all-girl biker gangs and their fierce adventures. Less impressive than the contemporary WIP efforts (like the "Female Prisoner: Scorpion" series) and less virulent than the Yakuza flicks (like "Sex and Fury"), but definitely great entertainment and quintessential cult cinema!

"Girl Boss Guerrilla" introduces the bad-ass Red Helmet gang, led by the self-assured and insanely luscious Sachiko. The girls proudly expose their sexily tattooed left boobs and fill their days by making illegal money, like through blackmailing religious monks and stealing charity money meant for the victims of the Hiroshima bomb. See, it's little details like that what make films like "Girl Boss Guerrilla" so provocative, scandalous and shocking for the time & spirit in which they came out. The girls head from Tokyo to Kyoto, where Sachiko promptly takes over the leadership of a local girl biker gang. This is naturally settled through a cat-fight where shirts are torn to shreds and eyes are nearly scratched out. Halfway through the film, Sachiko falls in love with an amateur boxer and the gang runs continuously in conflict with the male Yakuza criminals until war and deadly vengeance become inevitable.

This is another terrific Pinky Violence "classic" that has it all. There's plenty of kinky sex and turbulent violence, but particularly the demented sub plots and bizarre flashes of (unintentional??) slapstick make "Girl Boss Guerrilla" such a fascinating and compelling experience. There's the priest with an STD, sentimental guitar singing by a long- haired Japanese hippie and the random kidnapping of a boxing instructor's daughter. Excellent acting performances from the stunning Miki Sugimoto, the even more stunning Reiko Ike – who strangely enough keeps her clothes on throughout the whole film – and a whole lot of other unscrupulous Japanese beauties.