Sex & Fury (1973) User Reviews

Violent, sexy

[spacemonkey_fg · 8/10 · 14 August 2006]

Well, if blaxploitation films exploited the black culture and nunsploitation films exploit the nun image, then Sex and Fury falls under the sexploitation genre because it very decidedly exploits sex. And that ain't a bad thing in my book. Anyhows, Sex and Fury is a film that also falls under what is called Pinky Violence. Essentially what Pinky Violence is, is a bunch of Japanese films that came out in the 70s that dealt with hot lady killers who went out and distributed large amounts of vengeance on evil doers. It eventually died out, but boy what a legacy of films it left behind. Sex and Fury was one of the good ones.

The story is about this little girl called Ocho Inoshika. When Ocho sees her father get murdered right before her eyes by a bunch of Yakuza leaders she grows up to be a vengeful spirit. She does nothing else in this life but search for her fathers killers. And that she does, but not without helping a soul or two along the way.

At first when Sex and Fury started out, I thought it was going to be a rehash of the story I had seen before in the truly excellent Lady Snowblood. Its a very similar story dealing with a little girl who grows up to be a stone cold killer because she had an extremely traumatic childhood experience, but the only thing is that Sex and Fury amps up the sleaze and the tits and ass a whole lot more. Suddenly, without no apparent reason Ocho begins to fight and loose her clothes. Suddenly and without warning a bad guy slashes away the top part of her gown and Ocho begins to swordfight topless! Or in another sequence a bunch of hoodlums attack Ocho as she takes a bath and she proceeds to fight them buck naked! And not just a flash, I mean the fight sequence goes on for a long time and shes totally naked, gotta admit Id never seen that in a movie before, but it rocked! Of course it does add a level of sleaze to the movie because its obviously gratuitous nudity we are seeing here solely for the purpose of titillating the males in the audience. But so what, I gotta say it works.

So I'm like oooh, OK. So thats what this is all about! A movie that purposely shows a woman fighting and killing while naked. OK, I can go with that. But it wasn't only that. This movie has some sex scenes that scratch on being porn. Suddenly and without warning these two chicks start to make out on screen, necking each other. So I was thinking "thats probably as far as they are going to go with this cause this movie is old". Boy was I wrong, that sequence totally turned out to be an extended lesbo action sequence that was practically soft porn! I was like alright! This movie is pushing boundaries, its going all out and I dug that very very much. So be on the look out for certain kinky scenes.

And as for the violence, well its plentiful. Blood sprays body parts fall and the snow is sprinkled with red on more then one occasion. Its pretty freaking obvious this one was also a heavy influence on Tarantino. The whole ending sequence is extremely similar to Oren Ishii and Beatrix Kiddos showdown in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Both in terms of music and shots. It was crazy but I was having flashbacks. Anyhows that came as no surprise to me since I had heard about this movies and Lady Snowbloods influence on Tarantino.

The only thing that hinders this film a bit is the acting from Christina Lindberg an American actress that appears in this film playing an English spy. For those familiar with Grindhouse films, she appeared in another bad girl film called Thriller: A Cruel Picture. Anyhows Christina Lindberg does some pretty bad acting on this flick and it was really the only thing that kind of messed things up for me on this movie. But its a small imperfection on an otherwise cool flick.

So, if your into film with naked chicks going around on revenge killing sprees then this my friend is a film for you! I'm off to check out its sequel: Female Yakuza. Hope its every bit as good as this one.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Classic Entry In The "Pinky Violence" Genre

[EVOL666 · 8/10 · 22 December 2005]

SEX AND FURY is a classic of the Toei "pinky-violence" (Japanese films typically of the 70's containing heavy violence and lots of nudity and simulated sex...)genre. A strong plot, beautiful cinematography, and a decent amount of swordplay and tits-and-ass make this one a winner.

The story surrounds Ocho - a female gambler, thief, master swordswoman...basically an all-around badass. When a fellow gambler is killed, his dying wish is for Ocho to retrieve his sister from the brothel that she's been sold to. Ocho agrees and begins a journey that will ultimately lead her to her own father's murderers - and revenge is sweet...

SEX AND FURY is so well made that it is hard to view this one strictly as a pinky-violence or exploit film. The cinematography is amazing, the fight choreography is well done, the acting is very good, the sets are elaborate, and the plot is tight and well thought out. A MAJOR high point for this film is that it also co-stars the GORGEOUS Christina Lindberg, of THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE fame, as a sexy British (?) spy - and of course she's showing plenty of skin in this one, too.

My only real gripe with SEX AND FURY is that there could have been a lot more violence. I would have been happier if the violence was more on par with films like the LONE WOLF AND CUB series, for example. Even so, I would definitely recommend this to fans of the aforementioned LONE WOLF AND CUB films, the ZATOICHI series, LADY SNOWBLOOD, etc...and for fans of Lindberg - seeing her naked is always a treat...Recommended 8/10

I wanted to like this so much more than I did.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 22 August 2015]

As a little girl, Ochô Inoshika witnesses the bloody murder of her father, who dies clutching three gambling cards, clues to the identities of those responsible for his death. Two decades later, Ochô (Reiko Ike) is now a skilled card player and deadly swords-woman and uses her talents to try and track down her father's killers. Her search leads her into a world of political intrigue, her path crossing with an idealistic revolutionary Shunosuke (Tadashi Naruse) and his British ex-lover, undercover spy and gambler Christina (Swedish sex star Christina Lindberg).

Approximately twelve minutes into Sex and Fury and viewers are treated to an exquisitely exploitative scene in which beautiful star Reiko Ike is attacked by numerous sword wielding baddies while taking a relaxing soak in a tub. Leaping from the water to grab her sword, she proceeds to hack and slash her way through the enemy, her naked body becoming drenched with blood in the process. The action moves into a snowy courtyard, where the carnage continues in slow motion, until all the men are dead.

Director Noribumi Suzuki (Beautiful Girl Hunter, School of the Holy Beast) closes his film in a similar fashion, with Ike going topless to slice up countless henchmen in her pursuit of justice. Excessive arterial spray ensures that, once again, Ike winds up drenched in bright red gore. This time, she uses the snow outside to clean her bloody chest.

Sadly, these gloriously bloody bookends to the film's intricate revenge plot are easily the film's highlights, with not an awful lot of note going on between them. The rather dull political plot-line offers very little opportunity for more action, and although there is copious nudity and sex along the way, the soft-core shagging and light bondage soon becomes tiresome (even Lindberg's lesbian session with a Japanese woman outstays its welcome).

Sex and Fury is, as these kind of movies so often are, extremely stylish, with classy cinematography and a cool jazzy score, but the acting from some of the cast is decidedly ropey (Lindberg speaks both English and Japanese, mangling both languages). If you're new to Japanese cinema and are looking for a classic female swords-woman revenge tale, I suggest either of the Lady Snowblood movies over this film; and if you're after something really sleazy, then the aforementioned other films from Suzuki offer more in the way of general perversion. Sex and Fury is passable pinky violence, but there are better examples out there.

Stunning Japanese Exploitation

[Rapeman13 · 9 May 2007]

From Norifumi Suzuki, director of the equally brilliant films School of the Holy Beast and Beautiful Girl Hunter, comes this visually stunning Pinky Violence gem.

Set in Meiji era Tokyo, Sex and Fury features Pinky starlet Reiko Ike as Ochô Inoshika, a skilled gambler, pickpocket and swordswoman whose father was murdered when she was a young child by some Yakuza. After making a promise to a dying fellow gambler to save his sister from being forced to work in a brothel, she finds herself in Asakusa having to compete against European spy & gambler Christina (Christina Lindberg, star of Thriller: A Cruel Picture) in a card game for the safety of the gamblers virginal young sister.

While in Asakusa she meets back up with her old gang of thieves and subsequently crosses paths with the ex-Yakuza now turned corrupt government officials who murdered her father and does away with them in a series of blood-soaked sword battles. There's also a subplot concerning Christina's planned espionage to start an opium war with Japan and her search for an old lover who is now the leader of a revolutionary group.

This really is high class exploitation. The cinematography is simply superb, the colorful set-pieces are at times psychedelic; audacious juxtaposition is used when various scenes of rape & brutality are underscored with joyful melodies and not to mention the generous amounts of sex and violence - what more can you ask for?

There are so many incredible scenes here, whether it be Reiko Ike's naked blood-splattered body lopping off limbs in the snow, the mindblowing ''torture disco'', the blasphemic S&M session in a church or even the switchblade-wielding nuns that witness it, this is must-see Japanese genre cinema. Highly recommended for fans of the Lady Snowblood, Female Convict Scorpion or Girl Boss films. 9/10

the role Reiko Ike was born to play

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 9 April 2007]

Ocho (Reiko Ike), decades after witnessing her father's merciless death, sets out on a quest to find the three responsible for the travesty and exact revenge. In her travels she befriends a handsome your anarchist who's involved with a European spy (the beautiful Christina Lindberg, perhaps best known for her "Thriller" film). This sexy spy along with co-horts wants to dismantle the country from within. All this comes together in a cinematic experience that has to be seen to be believed. Probably very controversial when it was released in Japan of the early '70's, the films more 'outragious' scenes (the battle in which Ocho is completely nude amongst others) seem almost quaint now, yet the film retains it's beautiful, almost poetic feel and is definitely one to actively search out. Followed by a sequel that couldn't really reach the same level as this had.

My Grade: B+

Female Yakuza Rule #1: Always fight with at least one breast exposed.

[Coventry · 7/10 · 14 March 2010]

Thanks to the good people in my country that annually organize a sort of Grindhouse-styled cinema festival; I was finally able to catch up with my personal arrear in the so-called Japanese "Pinky Violence" films. The festival programmed no less than eight classics in this peculiar sub genre, and the list naturally included the infamous highlight "Sex & Fury", directed by Norifumi Suzuki ("School of the Holy Beast") and starring the unearthly gorgeous Reiko Ike. Needless to say these Pinky Violence movies only appeal to a small group of fans of cinematic smut, as they generally compensate their lack of substance with copious amounts of violent sword-wielding action, gratuitous sex and perverted insinuations. It'll quickly become evident why exactly "Sex & Fury" is considered to be a classic in the Pinky Violence series, as it features plenty of all the aforementioned elements, and then some… Barely ten minutes into the film, for example, Reiko Ike's character Ochô is in the middle of taking a bath when she's suddenly assaulted by a dozen of masked Yakuzas. Always prepared and unscrupulous as she is, she defeats all of them whilst her naked tattooed boobs lusciously swing loose outside in a snowy landscape. Does this qualify as poetic art or shameless exploitation? You decide… In fact, numerous posterior times in the film, it becomes assumable that our girl Ochô can only fight in case at least one of her mammary glands is hanging out.

The plot of "Sex & Fury" is a rudimentary simple and derivative tale of vengeance, but depth and substantial innovation aren't qualities you should be looking for in a Pinky Violence flick. As a young girl, Ochô Inoshika witnesses the murder of her father by three disguised killers. With his last strengths, he shows Ochô the drawn illustrations of a deer, a boar and a butterfly, like he's trying to give her an indication of where to look for his killers. Twenty years later, Ochô makes her living as a professional gambler and pickpocket artist. As a favor to a fellow dying gambler, she returns to Tokyo to bail a young girl out of prostitution. Coincidentally, this favor brings her straight into the dangerously territory of her father's murderers. There's also a second, and actually downright hilarious sub plot of a sexy female British spy with a double agenda: infiltrate in the Japanese crime circuit AND meet up with her long lost anarchistic Japanese lover boy!

Norifumi Suzuki maintains a fast pacing throughout the film and the ravishing ladies Reiko Ike and Christina Lindberg provide plentiful of memorable nudity and sleaze highlights. The latter, among cult fanatics also famous for her role in the Swedish revenge film "Thriller – A Grim Picture", is a terrible actress but her looks are stupendous. She's not exactly prudish, neither, as she stages a threesome and a virulent rape sequence. There's a fair amount of gore in "Sex & Fury" but the sword battle sequences are surprisingly not as grotesquely blood-spurting as I expected. Together with female Yakuza action sequences in "Lady Snowblood", the footage of this film was the main inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's epic masterpiece "Kill Bill". There's a lot of comedy in "Sex & Fury", of which some is intentional but most isn't. The absurdly flamboyant British stereotype of Guinness the master spy, for example, was probably not meant to come across as hilarious. The extended death sequences (of the gambler, for instance, and of the young lovers at the end) are undoubtedly aimed at drama and a sense of the theatrical, but instead of that they made the whole audience laugh.

A masterpiece of Japanese 70s sexploitation...

[samski1977 · 9/10 · 12 September 2005]

A masterpiece of Japanese 70s sexploitation and a pinnacle film of the Japanese Pink Violence era and no doubt influential on a host of films which came after it. This film is unique in so many ways. Reiko Ike is just gorgeous as Ocho, the Female Yakuza who not only kicks ass.. but kicks it while she's totally nude as we see in the highlight fight scene of the film shot in and outside of a Haiku House in the snow. Sound familiar? Think Kill Bill. The characters are all slick and seedy, some seem to be taken right out of a comic book. The photography is well mastered. The fighting choreography is great, the scenes are ultra violent with blood spraying action and a bevy of erotic sex. Recommended for any fan of Asian sexploitation and martial arts violence. The follow up film to this is Female Yakuza Tale.. which I also recommend for even more over the top sex and sword sport.

Fantastic Pinky Violence

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 14 May 2008]

"Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô" aka. "Sex And Fury" of 1973 is a great example for "Pinky Violence", the Japanese exploitation sub-genre often featuring hot female assassins, and always featuring lots of sleaze and violence. One of Japan's greatest exploitation goddesses, the ravishing Reiko Ike, stars in the role of Ochô, a sexy gambling-lady, thief and swords-woman who is out for bloody revenge. I don't want to give too much of the storyline away, but I can assure that "Sex And Fury" is an absolute priority for lovers of Japanese cult-cinema. The film has several resemblances to Toshiya Fujita's exploitation-masterpiece "Shurayukihime" (aka. "Lady Snowblood", 1973) starring the great Meiko Kaji, and while both films are blood-soaked and immensely stylish, this one is incomparably sleazier. As it is the case with "Lady Snowblood" this is often cited as an inspiration for Tarantino's (great) "Kill Bill". And it is indeed true that "Sex And Fury" clearly inspired the film. While I enjoyed "Kill Bill" immensely, however, I don't think that films like "Lady Snowblood" (the main inspiration) and "Sex And Fury" need this attribute. If I was considered, every "Kill Bill"-DVD-cover would say "Inspired by Japanese Exploitation Classics such as 'Lady Snowblood' and 'Sex And Fury'" instead (I am well aware that this is not how things work out, however).

As mentioned above, the stunningly beautiful Reiko Ike is both incredibly sexy and super-cool in the leading role of the seductive and lethal lady Ochô, who often fights bare-breasted (or completely nude), exposing her very presentable tattoos. European sex-star Christina Lindberg stars as a young Western agent. Many might disagree with me here, but Lindberg and the cheesy love story her character is involved in, were pretty much the only elements I didn't like about this film. Lindberg is a beauty, but her voice is annoying as hell and made me understand why her character in "Thriller: En Grym Film" was mute. The supporting cast includes several regulars of Japanese exploitation cinema, such as Yôko Mihara, who often played female bully characters in films such as "Joshuu 701-gô: Sasori" (aka. "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion", the first of the brilliant Sasori films starring Meiko Kaji), and "Zero Woman Red Handcuffs" (1974). Without spoiling anything of the plot, it is secure to say that "Sex And Fury" combines all the elements admirers of 70s exploitation made in Nippon should appreciate: merciless revenge, tons of stylish and ultra-bloody carnage, lots of sleaze and female nudity, constant action and great camera work, a funky soundtrack, fantastic style in all aspects and a vengeful and ravishing heroine played by none other than the great Reiko Ike! In short: Pure Japanese exploitation greatness, and an absolute must-see for all my fellow Cult-cinema-enthusiasts!

a total treat from beginning to end

[christopher-underwood · 10/10 · 7 October 2005]

High art, this is not, even if the cinematography is immaculate and the film looks stunning throughout, but for sheer sensational sex and violence cinema, this is surely unbeatable. A little melodramatic at times, perhaps, for Western tastes and possibly the occasional farcical humour seems out of place but oh, how can one resist the gorgeous Reiko Ike, breast bared and ready to kill. There is Christina Lindberg (Thriller - A Cruel Picture) as an added bonus, even if she is playing a Brit! The final swordfight where Reiko races about the mansion getting her men is a grand finale of immense proportions but surely the fight at the start where she beats a dozen or so…totally naked, tops even this. Far, far more flesh on display than I expected and more spurtings of blood, this is just a total treat from beginning to end…in a snowstorm. Sound familiar? This is better. Must rush to order the follow up!

Sexy and furious Japanese exploitation

[The_Void · 7/10 · 20 May 2009]

Pinky violence films are often a real mixed bag and you can never be really sure what you're going to get when going into one. For me, Sex and Fury is not one of the major highlights of the genre; but it's an extremely well made, interesting and inventive effort that I'm sure will be appreciated by fans of this sort of film. The film brings together a number of common genre elements; we've got swordfights, gambling houses and plenty of nudity; which is good, but the script could have done with a little more focus, as the film has a tendency to descend into a mess. The plot focuses on Ocho; a Japanese pickpocket and gambler. After a fight in a gambling house, Ocho ends up with a fellow gambler dying in her arms. His last wish is for her to track down his sister and pay some money to prevent her being sold to a brothel. She sets off to fulfil this wish, but during her journey happens on information pertaining to the whereabouts of her fathers killers, and so sets about getting revenge.

The film starts with a bang as not long after it starts, we are treated to a swordfight in which the lead characters battles her foes naked. This fight is really well done; but unfortunately the film never reaches this dizzy high for the rest of the runtime. The film is not particularly violent compared to the rest of the genre, although there are a few good and well choreographed fight scenes. Aside from the main plot, we have another little story involving a "British" spy, played by Swedish actress Christina Lindberg. She's nice looking, but an awful actress and this plot really only serves in making the whole thing more complicated. It's not really believable either, and feels a bit ridiculous. Anyway, this is made up for somewhat by a fantastic score that features often throughout the film. There's plenty of nudity and as always, most of the actresses are very nice to look at. The film all boils down to a decent conclusion that gives closure to most of the plots featured. Overall; this is not among the best of the genre, but it's a good film and worth seeing.

Shame on Tarantino

[hadlerleco · 5/10 · 15 August 2007]

This movie can be indeed boring, even for B movie standards,if you're looking for the American kind of story telling. But what calls the attention the most is that it serves as proof that Tarentino is no genius at all. He copied A LOT, I mean, A LOT of what came to be Kill Bill 1, from this movie. The story of Lucy Liu Character's witnessing her father being killed, the fight scenes where Uma Turman battles against dozens of guys with the falling limbs and all the blood and even the set of stairs she has to climb in order to get to Lucy Liu were copied. Even the snow at the last scene. Improved, that's is true, but copied. All and all it is a movie worth watching because it can be funny, especially if you are a B movie aficionado (the horrible fake blood is just excellent). At the end when she tries to wash off the blood from her chest with snow she ends up removing a little bit o the ink from her tattoos! Really excellent. I recommend it as a major B movie.

Ocho heard my prayers.

[ElijahCSkuggs · 8/10 · 30 March 2010]

Sex? Fury? Holy! Moly! This is just another flick in the long line of awesome titles that I've just now gotten to check out. Why do I keep doing this to myself? Of course this movie would be entertaining. It's from Japan. It's from the 70s. It has Lindberg…it has the words, Sex and Fury in the title. Really, what else do you need to know about this movie? Nothing? Great! Go watch it already!

You do want to know more? Yeah? Alright. We got a tatted up babe named Ocho, who's grown to be an ass-whooping, belly-stabbing and high-roller gambling beauty of epic proportions that is also the epitome of a blood-thirsty babe who resides on Revenge Boulevard in the town of Boobsnbloodville. Teaming up with anarchist tough guy who came in dead last place in the Sneak Attack World Championships, they're both out for bloody, vengeful satisfaction. Toss in some other entertaining sub-plots and ya got Sex and Fury.

Like I said above, this flick is a must see if you like stuff like blood, swords, babes, boobs, Lindberg, tattoos, and revenge. If you don't like any of that stuff you just suck. You do. You've sucked at life before, and most likely, you'll suck at life when you're an old sucking fart.

Sex and Fury, with its impressive production values and eye-popping visuals, easily trumps any of today's attempts at sensual toughness. Besides Lindberg's pretty weak acting skills that had me smirking, this flick delivers on basically all cylinders. What a treat this flick is. Remember when you were praying for Kate Beckinsale or some other female action star's top to come off when she was kicking those bad guy's butts? Well, this flick answered your prayers.

Of Boar, Deer, and Butterfly

[Meganeguard · 7/10 · 21 January 2006]

Walking underneath a series of torii gates with her father, a young Kyoko witnesses the death of her father when unknown culprits stab him to death. However, before he dies he picks up three cards depicting the images of a boar, a deer, and a butterfly. With only this scant information to aid her in identifying her father's killers, Kyoko changes her name to Inoshika Ocho and lives the next 20 years of her life honing skills in gambling and pick pocketing.

One day at a gambling house owned by a seedy man named Imamura, a dealer is accused of cheating and is killed by its patrons. However, before he dies he tells Ocho that Imamura was the one who told him to cheat and he asks her to take 500 yen, this movie takes place in 1905, to purchase his sister back from a prostitution house in Asakusa. That night, while bathing, Ocho is attacked by Imamura and his goons, so the viewer is treated with the image of a totally nude Ocho, the actress Ike Reiko was 19 or 20 at the time this film was made and was quite nubile and bouncy at the time, slicing apart Imamura and his men in a montage of blood, naked flesh, severed limbs, and snow with early 1970s psychedelic rock playing in the background.

Ocho eventually arrives in Asakusa and, along with communicating with her foster mom and her "sisters", eventually finds Yuki, the dead man's sister, but her purchaser, a business man named Iwakura is unwilling to let go of his new virgin, deflowering virgins is his hobby after all. However, he is willing to give up Yuki if Ocho can defeat a foreign gambler, Swedish model Christina Lindberg, but if she loses Iwakura will get both Yuki and Ocho. Christina does well at first, but after the party is attacked by her former lover Shunosuke, who bears a grudge against Iwakura and the politician Kurokawa, her mind is filled with images of their love-making and she loses the match. However, during this time Iwakura has intercourse with Yuki and later the heartbroken girl informs Ocho that the old pervert has a tattoo of a deer on his back. Finding one of her father's murderers, Ocho embarks on a quest for revenge during which she will have to face all sorts of adversaries, including switchblade-wielding nuns and gangsters.

During the 1950s cinema was king in Japan. Millions of film viewers flocked to thousands upon thousands of theaters. However, during the 1960s television and its all encompassing grasp took hold of the country and film studios began to close and many film directors such as Kobayashi Masaaki and Kurosawa Akira had difficulty funding their films. Instead films filled with sex and violence, Roman Porn or Pink Films, became the standard. Once respected film studios such as Nikkatsu started to churn out one skin flick after the other. With limited budgets and limited filming schedules, these films were quickly produced, consumed by the audience, and completely forgotten. However, some of these films, such as this film, Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs, the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, have made more of a lasting impact that can be seen in the films in such directors as Miike Takashi.

Sex and Fury is of course filled with violence. Severed limbs fly about and blood sprays all over the walls. Ocho must endure being chained up and whipped by Christina, bondage and S&M scenes are quite common in these films, while her tormentors look on. There is of course a lot of sex also, including a lesbian sex scene between Christina and a servant of Kurokawa's named Shinobu. Add to this mixture of sex and violence a soundtrack of rock music that would please The Lemon Pipers and Strawberry Alarm Clock, Sex and Fury is an enjoyable, quick watch. I mean with switchblade-wielding nuns how could you go wrong?

This is exploitation?Oh , come on !

[sevdah · 2/10 · 1 July 2007]

To sum it up right away : as far as I'm concerned , the script is very lame , plot is full of highly unbelievable events , dialog is clumsy and doesn't sound convincing at all , acting is mostly bad , story is plagued with one stereotype after another , there is not enough gore , violence and perversion to justify this pathetic , unimaginative exercise in bad cinematography ... I'm not saying that everything in this movie sucks , but it's mostly garbage . That's just what I think , I hope the fans of this completely irrelevant and inferior visual wanking will not be offended because this is nothing personal . I just hated watching this pointless little snot of a movie .

I love Japanese movies and cherish every opportunity to get my hands on them , especially if they're twisted . I hoped this was twisted , or at least watchable . What I got is something almost on the same level as the early Bruce Lee movies . I liked them when I was in primary school , but that passed almost 20 years ago .

" School of the holy beast " is good Japanese exploitation , and same goes for " Shogun's sadism " . " Sex and fury " is so pale , unimaginative , restrained and melodramatic compared to them that it makes me sick to my stomach . It would make me sick even if I hadn't watched those movies .

If you like watching naked chicks kill people so much that you can tolerate completely silly and childish story with no originality or depth whatsoever - than watch this . You'll see the main actress butt - naked , sword in hand , splattered with blood of her enemies - and not just once , but twice . Wow , what a treat . Too bad the movie doesn't consist only of these two scenes , because it would be much better that way .

2 out of 10 .

Stilted

[jfgibson73 · 6/10 · 21 July 2023]

Sex & Fury was an unusual viewing experience. I was expecting a grindhouse classic that would transcend cultural boundaries, but this movie felt very much like a foreign film. The way that situations unfolded often had me confused, even though it's a fairly simple revenge story. There is a subplot about a character played by Christina Lindberg that seemed entirely unnecessary, and I never quite knew if that character was working with or against the main character, Ocho. Ocho should have been an iconic role, but I think because this movie falters in a few places--such as the storytelling--Sex and Fury hasn't really become the touchstone it might have been. Another example of where they dropped the ball is the fight scenes. They really needed to be better staged. Again, Ocho could have been a badass for the ages, but she needed to mow people down with ease, not labor to pick dudes off one at a time. I did enjoy watching it and I would recommend it to fans of violent exploitation films, but not to the average viewer.

You can go to heaven with this.

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 4 March 2009]

Attacked as she was bathing, Ochô was forced to defend herself against a group intent on her death - outside in the snow! Her magnificent swordplay was enhanced by her nakedness, and soon her creamy white breasts were stained in blood. Creamy white breasts appear in this film more often than swords.

There are familiar faces for viewers of pinky violence films like Girl Boss Guerilla and the nunsploitation film School of the Holy Beast (Yuki - Rie Saotome). The director of this film wrote and directed both.

Christina gets more action than anyone; even girl-on-girl with Jun Midorikawa.

Yuki manages to get herself into a situation where she is raped by Iwakura and made into a nympho by some magic cream. He is soon to get his in a most clever way, when Ochô finds out he was one of the three men responsible for her father's murder.

There is even some nunsploitation in this film as Ochô goes after the second murderer. Ochô is captured by the nun bodyguards, taken to a convent and severely whipped. It is here that she learns the identity of the third murderer - a shocking surprise.

Toshiro Mifune never looked so dashing as Ochô in her final battle. Weakened by the torture and with two bullets in her, she managed to spill buckets of blood in pursuit of her objective.

Brilliant cinematography in this pinky violence classic.

An extraordinary work of high genre art

[fertilecelluloid · 9/10 · 13 November 2005]

Norifumi Suzuki is one of the world's most underrated directors and one of the best genre directors. His "Beautiful Girl Hunter" is perhaps the most accomplished, shocking pink film ever made; his "School of the Holy Beast" is an incredible work of incendiary cinema; and his "Sex and Fury", starring both the extraordinary Reiko Ike and Christina Lindberg, is a work of, yes!, high genre art.

Suzuki's films are not only technically accomplished, they are aesthetically rich and beautiful to behold. He stages action scenes like blood-soaked, shimmering frescoes and imbues every dramatic confrontation with rich detail and relentlessly creative camera-work.

Most of his films have a strong sexual undercurrent and the eroticism is quietly volcanic (if such a contradiction is possible). Beauty is never far from brutality and drama rides shotgun with glorious melodrama. Suzuki pulls it all off like a supreme juggler and awards the raw material great respect.

The score, by Ichirô Araki, is particularly amazing for its ability to not only enhance the visuals, but to provide a striking psychological counterpoint to the rousing displays of bloody kinetics.

Great genre pics achieve their greatness by embracing their genre elements with absolute, flesh-tearing conviction. They're not pompous and they're not ashamed of their ingredients.

It is difficult to compile a highlight list from this movie for the entire production is one big highlight. It never falters and is never less than fascinating and achingly gorgeous from first frame to curtain's close.

Bravo, Toei! Recommended? Vital viewing, of course.

Classic Reiko Ike

[ebiros2 · 6/10 · 31 October 2012]

Reiko Ike who was discovered by the director of this movie Norifumi Suzuki, and Kanji Amao was a popular star in Toei's Poruno (porn) movies of the '70s. She was only 16 when she was discovered while she was part timing as a nude model, and must say that she's was an early bloomer. Poruno movies were invention of the afore mentioned producer Kanji Amao, and was named to differentiate it from the Pinku (pink) movies that only featured nudity of the time. Ike and her colleague Miki Sugimoto were the two top stars for Toei Movie Studio in the '70s,

19 year old (if you could believe that) Ike plays the lead role of Ocho who's out to revenge the death of her father. Her father was a detective, and had three hanafuda (Japanese equivalent of deck of cards) in his hands when he was killed, indicating who the three culprits are. Ocho goes to find the three culprits to avenge her father's death.

Swedish centerfold, and entrepreneur Christina Lindberg (Who was also a Penthouse pet for June 1970 issue under the name of Britt Lindberg) also appears in this movie.

Director Norifumi Suzuki made some of the most entertaining and creative movies of the '70s (Like the School of Holy Beast). He's one of my most favorite Japanese movie director.

This has interesting story by director Suzuko, and excellent performance by Ike. But for a movie that's made by them, this is about average in quality. I'm still in awe of Ike's presence in this movie.

More exploitation weirdness

[mevmijaumau · 14 November 2014]

Perfectly titled Sex and Fury, directed by cult director Norifumi Suzuki, and later gifted with a sequel by Teruo Ishii, is the epitome of '70s sexploitation Japanese cinema known as pinky violence, a sub-genre created by the studios to cash in on surefire ways to attract the audience now that TV has replaced cinema as the number one source of entertainment. These ways of attracting the audience often include gratuitous nudity, stylish violence and bizarre fetishism.

Sex and Fury is like a less refined version of Lady Snowblood (today best known for inspiring Tarantino for Kill Bill); both films take place during the Meiji era, feature bloody sword-fights, and follow a young heroine in her vengeful quest of avenging her murdered parent(s) by eliminating the responsible killers one by one. The two films even end similarly, with the main character ending up wounded on a snowy terrain. I don't think I even need to mention that Sex and Fury's final scene is a sleazier counterpart to Lady Snowblood's - Reiko Ike's character Ocho cleans her blood-splattered boobs with a handful of snow while Lady Snowblood just collapses onto the snow.

If we're going to mention Kill Bill, then I guess Tarantino owes some homage to Sex and Fury as well, because of the iconic scene where Ocho, fresh out of the bathhouse, slices up some villains with her sword while butt-naked in slo-mo. Now, Ocho is quite a character - not only is she a tattooed pickpocket, a gambler and a master sword-fighter, but also gets involved in some kind of a political scheme involving British spies, one of whom is played by Christina Lindberg, quite awfully, I must say. Yes, the acting is severely cringe-inducing for the most part, which only makes the already lazy dialogues worse.

So, what are some attractions? Well, aside from awkward dialogue, slaughtered politicians and all-around nudity, there's an annoying comic relief guy, lesbian sex which borders on being soft porn, nuns bearing flick-knives in an attempt to border on nunsploitation, a playing-card leitmotif repeated in many creative shots, a disturbing rape scene, a carefree jazzy soundtrack met with psychedelic rock, crappy bondage scenes (one of which occurs in a flashy disco-like setting), a dramatic family-tied reveal, a guy dying by licking poisonous German perfume off of Ocho's tits (I'm not kidding), only after that same guy oils a girl's vagina with a nymphomania-inducing cream (???), not to mention there are condom jokes, a mustachioed British bad guy in an attempt to bring Downton Abbey-like level of class to this mess, and, surprisingly, the film offers some really splendid production values and cinematography, color work and framing to nicely wrap this chaos up.

It's actually really well done on a technical scale. That doesn't change that it's senseless to the core, less in the realm of entertainment and more in the realm of awkward weirdness. Did I mention there's an anti- colonialism message?

6,5/10

Sex & Fury

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 9 June 2009]

As Lady Snowblood was for Meiko Kaji, Sex & Fury provided Reiko Ike with her iconic role as a scorned master gambler and pickpocket extraordinaire(..old habits die hard, she even picks from those that befriend her) who wields a mean sword. Ike is Ochô Inoshika, a vengeful young woman, orphaned after her detective father was slain due to a cover up because of how his investigation threatened the political futures of Kurokawa(Seizaburô Kawazu)and his partner Iwakura, two Yakuza gangsters about to benefit during a tumultuous time in their country, Japan becoming a global power. Ochô is searching for those who carry the tattoos of the cards held in her dead father's bloody hands, joining forces with revolutionary Shonusuke(Tadashi Naruse)whose father was also set up and ruined by the two corrupt scoundrels. Other sub-plots emerge, such as Ochô's mother actual involvement in her father's murder and a British agent(Christina Lindberg)willing to endure a great deal in order to see lost love, Shonusuke once again.

As you'd come to expect, Sex & Fury delivers a great deal to those who seek out films about revenge and the price one pays to get it. Ike has two major swordfight showdowns against an army of men. One occurs early on as she wipes out a host of goons under a lecherous gambling house businessman who uses underhanded tactics to steal from his customers, attempting to besiege her while taking a bath, Ochô actually upends them while naked! The finale, of course, has Ochô moving through Kurokawa's endless supply of men, suffering major harm, in order to exact her rage. You have Lindberg in two major sex scenes, one where her leader ravages her for not shooting Shonusuki, another with Kurokawa's geisha as he watches in exasperation, soon joining them. Her doomed tragic love affair with Shonusuke is given melodramatic weight as is Ochô's dedicated pursuit to vanquish those who took her father. Her method of executing Iwakura(..what she lotions her body with isn't exactly perfume)is one of the most erotic I've ever witnessed. Limited hacked limbs which is a minor disappointment, but a great deal of blood all over the place as Ochô slices and dices a large number of disposable hired thugs. Lindberg has never been lensed as beautifully and her character is put through a great deal..her abuse towards Ochô during the torture sequence in a church may hearken many back to Norifumi Suzuki's nunsploitation classic, School of the Holy Beast in the use of Christian iconography during a depraved act of violence towards a naked female. Those familiar with pink films featuring Ike are familiar with heroines such as hers often chained or roped into a bound position as their bodies are whipped and throttled. The outfit Lindberg is costumed for her torture of Ike is quite stunning..where Suzuki came up with that shows just how his perverted mind worked, but boy it sure is effective! Not as much sword-fighting as you'd expect, but enough graphic violence to satisfy those who search for films like Sex & Fury.

Stylish, impressive and unashamed

[sarastro7 · 7/10 · 29 December 2005]

Sex & Fury is exactly what you hope for in a movie of this type. To call it "high genre art" may be a bit of a stretch; rather, I'd call it a movie typical of its time, i.e. the 1970s, which is still probably the most progressive and radical decade the world has seen yet - and certainly in terms of movie making. And that resulted in a lot of more "daring" movies, which in my opinion are justified in almost every way, and should therefore not properly be labeled "exploitation" movies. "Sexploitation", then? Well, maybe, and maybe not. Was it gratuitous? Was it porn? Not quite. It was done with a certain aesthetic sensibility, and is highly watchable, even if it is mostly intended for a male audience to enjoy the sight of naked women. If it is done fairly tastefully, I don't see that there's anything to apologize for. The characters and events in this movie actually ring fairly true, and appear fairly realistic. The story is not high art, and some scenes are dull and dragged-out, but the big fight scenes, charismatic characters and generally tasteful sex scenes redeem it as a good movie.

Sex & Fury reminds more than a little of Lady Snowblood, but is far superior. Lady Snowblood is dull and completely unrealistic in comparison.

7 out of 10.

Another ultraforgettable exploitation movie with no story, no characters, nothing of interest

[TooKakkoiiforYou_321 · 5/10 · 4 April 2021]

Except for the usual sex scenes involving rapes, lesbians, a touch of BDSM and gratuitious nudity you expect from this kind of movies. Sex scenes that fall more under the category of softcore porn than hardcore one. Oh, did I mention the tentative crossover with nunexploitation? Because there's also that in this one. I will not give a lower score just because the director shows some talent and there is no pretension whatsoever behind this (School of The Holy Beast I'm looking at you), but it's a one-and-done thing.

Stunning

[helltopo · 8/10 · 26 November 2005]

This tale of revenge is simply breathtaking from start to finish. Rieko Ike plays Ocho, a pickpocket, gambler and swordswoman who after a chance encounter with a dying gangster sets out on the trail of the three people responsible for the death of her father, who we see murdered in the opening scene.

Director Norifumi Suzuki creates a visually stunning movie which utilises wild colour and expressive movement, nowhere more than early on where Ocho is attacked in her bath and proceeds to fight her assailants naked in the snow. Ike is amazing in this scene as she dances between the falling bodies of her foes, a particularly strong visual is where we can see only her blood splattered legs and shadow as she deals with her now obviously terrified adversaries.

Perhaps my only gripe about this movie is that there was not more swordplay by Ocho, as we have to wait until the end of the movie to see her fighting again. Multiple men fall to her sword as Suzuki creates amazing tension with his exciting use of colour and composition. Though Ocho is badly wounded, she lurches towards her goal with grim determination.

The final shot of the bloody Ocho staggering through the falling snow which turns into a shower of playing cards is one of the most memorable and beautiful in any movie and totally outstanding in a film of such a lowly & neglected genre.

Though scenes of sex and torture are present in the film, Suzuki handles these with great flair and style which makes this movie far more entertaining than the sequel 'Female Yakuza Boss'.

'Sex & Fury' is a 'must see' for any fan of exploitation cinema!

Highly entertaining

[jhanks-45230 · 7/10 · 30 May 2017]

Perhaps not the high point of the cinematic arts, but a fun movie and a treat for the eyes (not just because of the women's bodies). The pace is good, it never gets boring or annoying. If you're in the mood for action + softcore porn, this will fit the bill. Oh yeah, and the naked slow motion fight scene is a sight I won't soon forget. Also, the setting in Meiji Japan adds another layer of interest to what would still be a fun movie if it were set in Victorian England.

Fell short of entertaining me...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 18 July 2023]

I had never heard about this 1973 Japanese movie titled "Furyô Anego Den: Inoshika Ochô" (aka "Sex & Fury") prior to stumbling upon it here in 2023. And with it being an Asian movie that I wasn't already familiar with, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

However, I have to say that this movie was sort of a swing and a miss from director Norifumi Suzuki, in terms of entertaining me. In fact, I even dozed off once along the 88 minutes that the movie ran for. Writers Masahiro Kakefuda, Ikuo Sekimoto, Teruo Ishii, Tarô Bonten and Norifumi Suzuki just didn't manage to compile a script and storyline that had much appeal for my preference in entertainment, though I am sure that there is an audience out there for a movie such as this.

The acting performances in "Furyô Anego Den: Inoshika Ochô" were fair enough, though I have to say that given the lack of interesting contents to the storyline, then I wasn't really paying all that much attention to the happenings on the screen. I wasn't familiar with the cast, given the fact that this movie was made 2 years prior to me being born.

It was the excessive amount of pointless nudity and sex scenes that sort of killed the movie for me, as it is not something I am overly interested in watching when I sit down to watch a movie.

Visually then "Furyô Anego Den: Inoshika Ochô" was okay. The movie does show signs of being 50 years old, keep that in mind.

My rating of "Furyô Anego Den: Inoshika Ochô" lands on a three out of ten stars.