Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

gavin6942 After being set up and deceived by Sugimi (Natsuyagi Isao), a conniving and crooked detective she had fallen in love with, Matsushima Nami's desire for revenge knows no bounds. Her failed attempt at stabbing Sugimi on the steps of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters results in her doing hard time in a female prison run by sadistic male guards. To Sugimi's surprise, Matsushima refuses to testify against him, and now the sheer fact that she knows such secrets makes her a liability. So Sugimi and the Japanese mafia orchestrate a plan whereby Matsushima will succumb to an "accidental" death in prison. They enlist the help of Kagiri, another female inmate with ties to both Sugimi and the mafia, thus their formidable plan is quickly set in motion.Amazingly, amidst so much gritty, dirty stuff, the film still has an artistic flourish, such as the loss of the heroine's virginity symbolized with a Japanese flag. What the message is, I do not know, but it is visually striking. We also have color-coded uniforms, which make it easy to tell the "good" guys from the "bad" guys and add an interesting balance.For those less interested in the art and technique, and more interested in the exploitation aspect, they will be happy to know that there is plenty in the way of shower scenes... if you want to see a few dozen naked women scrubbing each other, you probably won't be disappointed.Arrow Video has released this film and its first three sequels in a box set. I commend them for this and love the effort that went into the special features. Unfortunately, the picture looks really washed-out. Knowing Arrow, they were working with the best materials possible, so this may mean that a good-looking negative ceases to exist (or perhaps never did).

Uriah43 After being setup by her supposed boyfriend named "Tsugio Sugimi" (Isao Natsuyagi) to infiltrate the Yakuza, "Nami Matsushima" (Meiko Kaji) is double-crossed which results in her being gang-raped. When she realizes that Tsugio betrayed her she attempts to kill him only to be over-powered and sent to prison. Once there she becomes the target of the warden and finds herself being beaten, humiliated and repeatedly tortured but she endures all of it in the hope of one day getting her revenge. Now although this is a Japanese version of a "Women-in-Prison" movie what separates this from a number of other similar films out there is the manner in which the director (Shunya Ito) manages to present this movie in an artistic yet sadistic fashion. Possibly a bit too sadistic and unrealistic at times but effective all the same. Additionally, while there are several cute women cast in this film, the lack of sufficient character development and screen time was a definite problem. In any case, this movie is probably worth a watch for fans of this specific genre and I rate it as slightly above average.

BA_Harrison Not quite as hallucinogenic and surreal as Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41, (the sequel, which I mistakenly watched first), but still more art-house than your average 'Women In Prison' flick, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is a cool exploitation classic that is a must for anyone who digs cult Japanese cinema, violence, and busty nekkid oriental chicks.Meiko Kaji plays Nami Matsushima, a beautiful woman who is viciously gang-raped after her lover, Sugimi, a corrupt cop, convinces her to go undercover to help him bust a gang of drug dealers. When it becomes clear to Nami that she was merely a pawn in Sugumi's plan to help the Yakuza (by ridding them of their competition), she seeks revenge and unsuccessfully attacks her loathsome lover—an act that ends her up in prison, where she becomes the target of both a sadistic warden and a female prisoner turned assassin.Just like any self-respecting Western W.I.P. flick, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion contains plenty of nudity, sadistic guards, equally sadistic inmates, and the obligatory lesbian sex scene (when Matsushima seduces a policewoman posing as a fellow prisoner). This being a Japanese movie from the 70s, however, the result is far more pleasing aesthetically, catering not only for drooling sleaze-hounds, but also for those with an eye for a well framed image. The film's cinematography is superb, with several moments being quite beautiful to behold—in particular, a post-riot sunset which turns the whole screen blood red (quite apt, seeing as the scene immediately prior to this features the film's bloodiest moment: a guard gets his head split open with a spade resulting in a geyser of blood spraying into the air).Towards the end, when an escaped Matsushima eventually hunts down the men who raped her and once again tries to kill Sugimi, the film does tend to drag a little (I wanted revenge to come a little swifter than it actually did), but this is a minor quibble with what is a very well crafted piece of exploitation.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

EVOL666 I'm really starting to love this era in Japanese exploit film-making. As of this writing I've only seen slightly more than a handful of these films, but they all tend to be top-notch. I end up saying the same things about all of them, and FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION is not much different - excellent sets, interesting and deep story lines, good acting, beautiful camera-work - all the sorts of things that you wouldn't expect to see in an exploitation film, but the Japanese did it consistently in those days spawning plenty of truly excellent trash films...The FEMALE PRISONER in question is a nice girl who just had a run of bad luck. Her scumbag boyfriend is an overly ambitious cop who uses her as bait in trying to bust a crime ring. When the bust goes to hell, the criminals and the ever chivalrous boyfriend/cop make a deal to hang homegirl out to dry. She ends up in jail and after a failed jailbreak, is abused in all kinds of fun and sleazy ways. A riot eventually ensues in the jail and this time our heroine makes it out to seek revenge on the man who scorned her...I have to honestly say that FEMALE PRISONER is not quite as compelling and "beautiful" as say, LADY SNOWBLOOD (who is also played by our leading lady in this film...), or maybe SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST, but it is still a very enjoyable, artfully sleazy film that definitely holds up on it's own. Recommended to fans of any Japanese exploit/pinky film - this one won't disappoint. 8.5/10