Yoen dokufuden: Hitokiri okatsu (1969)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Nobuo Nakagawa

Writer:

Kôji Takada (writer)

Release Date:

22 April 2006 (Hong Kong)

Cast

Junko Miyazono	...	Okatsu, the female samurai
Reiko Ônobuta
Kô Nishimura	...	Makabe
Kenji Imai	...	Shiozaki
Yuriko Mishima
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yukie Kagawa	...	Saki
Masaomi Kondo	...	Rintaro
Reiko Oshida	...	Rui
Harumi Sone	...	Jinkuro
Junko Toda	...	Okiwa (as Toshiko Sawa)
Tomisaburo Wakayama	...	Bounty hunter

Directed by
Nobuo Nakagawa

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kôji Takada		writer

Original Music by
Koichi Kawabe

Cinematography by
Masahiko Iimura

Production Companies

• Toei Company

Distributors

• Synapse Films (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Toei Company

Also Known As:

Quick-draw Okatsu (USA)

Runtime:

Japan:89 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Toei Company

Movie Connections:

Followed by Yoen dokufuden: Okatsu kyojo tabi (1969)

Woman Swordfighter kills those who ruined her life.

"Quick Draw Okatsu" while listed by some as the sequel to "Female Demon Ohyaku" from a year before, it's really a reworking of the concept (hence a different name) and has little to do with the earlier film. Shot in color and with a moderately bigger budget, this one still manages to hit the exploitation buttons.

The film opens with the oppression and murder of poor farmers by the minions of the city commissioner. An old woman is saved by Rui, a young plucky swordswoman who wears a miniskirt of sorts. Rui hides the old woman in a dojo where we meet Okatsu. Okatsu is the adopted daughter of a well respected sword instructor. Okatsu is an excellent swordswoman and overshadows the clumsy real son of her adopted father. The son leaves in anger with his pregnant wife. Unfortunately the son, Rintaro, is a gambling addict and he loses all his money during a crooked dice game. Okatsu trades herself to the gambling den boss for her brother but the boss is in league with the local city commissioner who hates Okatsu's father for getting in the way of his evil ambition in the past. Okatsu's father exchanges himself so Okatsu can go free but the commissioner reneges and rapes Okatsu while her father is being beaten and stabbed to death. Later she escapes and slaughters the gambling house thugs aided by Rui, whose intentions are not very clear. Outside, Okatsu plans her revenge while the commissioner plans to have her caught by a bounty hunter played by Tomisaburo Wakayama.

While probably as cynical as the earlier film, almost nobody is trustworthy, the color photography and the inclusion of the plucky Rui make this an easier film to watch. The torture scene where Okatsu's father is eventually killed goes on for a while and the staging of her rape while we see the torture thru a window is rather perverse. Later we are treated to a lengthy preparation to a forced abortion, yeesh. Once again the revenging woman likes to torment her victims before finally killing them. The actors are all great, the dialog is better than the previous film and this time Wakayama uses a sword! This is one of the best single take sword fights I've ever seen! It's only about 2 minutes long but it makes the film. Unfortunately, while she obviously tries her best, Junko Miyazono is no match for the great Wakayama and her sword scenes seem tepid by comparison. They don't fight each other in this film. Mostly entertaining with a few wince inducing scenes.