Sukeban (1973)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Norifumi Suzuki

Writers:

Takayuki Minagawa (screenplay)
Kiyohide Ohara (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 January 1973 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Miki Sugimoto	...	Komasa
Reiko Ike	...	Maya
Misuzu Oota
Hiromi Sairaiji
Rena Ichinose
Jun Midorikawa
Rika Sudô
Midori Hiro
Emi Jo		(as Emi Jô)
Shinobu
Micchi
Yuuko
Hiroshi Miyauchi
Tadashi Naruse		(as Masataka Naruse)
Satoru Nabe

Also Known As:

Girl Boss Revenge: Sukeban (USA)

Runtime:

Japan:86 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Toei Company

Cool, extreme and fun exploitation winner!

So what do's that title means anyway? Well, the word 'Sukeban' could be translated from Japanese to 'Teenage Female Delinquent'. And yes, we are indeed treated with small gangs of tattooed chicks who get into catfights, directed by the under-appreciated Norifumi Suzuki, this is a funky Asian delight that any trash fan with the heart at the right place should enjoy regardless! Norifumi Suzuki was one of the greatest masters of 70's exploitation. I can imagine that most people who have seen his ultra-sleazy art-house feature 'Beautifull Girl Hunter' intend to agree that his talent is seriously underrated! 'Sukeban' opens with Komasa(the sexy Miki Sugimoto, whom I guess also have sung the title-song), an orphan street girl of Osaka with plenty of attitude, who breaks loose from the wagon on the way to reformatory school, along with some other girls all colorfully dressed in tight skin pants, fur jackets, etc. More and less willing do Komasa accept to be the girl boss for some grateful girls and the Kanto Gypsies are formed! They must start from the bottom with pickpocketing and small-time hustling, but barely 10 minutes into the movie they have their first clash with the yakuza organization Hokuryukai, which deals in kidnapping of runaway girls to sell to a whorehouse! These gangsters treatment of the girls are pretty ugly to behold. The Gypsies lust for pay-back and to gain a turf, but it is probably needless to tell who the strongest is in this young vs. old game. Fortunately do the vanished Maya(pinky violence starlet Reiko Ike) and her gang, all dressed in school uniforms, also have something stuck with the gangster scums! But the two gangs are already on the throat of each other! How are chances that they will get along and compete, when a useless boyfriend is between the leaders to make things worse?! The story can be a little hard to swallow, but Norifumi Suzuki pace it very quickly and keep the action moving from the get go to the climactic finale. This is pinky violence cinema per excellence, and the director provides non-stop nudity, violence, extreme torture and wicked humor. The film is very stylish executed with cool music, beautiful photographing, neatly done sets and costumes and good acting. The female leads easily rivals American though girls as seen in 'Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!', 'Coffy', 'Switchblade Sisters' or 'Rape Squad'. Cool, extreme and fun exploitation winner! What are you waiting for?