Quick-draw Okatsu (1969) (original) (raw)
Synopsis
This film focuses on Okatsu; the adopted daughter of a master swordsman. She is a master with a sword herself and her talents far overshadow that of her brother, and real child of the man who adopted her. Her brother unfortunately has a gambling habit, and it plunges the family into trouble when he loses a lot of money in a crooked dice game. After releasing he is unable to pay the debt he owes; the blame is shouldered by the father, who is killed, leading Okatsu on a path of revenge.
Cast
Popular reviews
Quick-draw Okatsu is the second part of the (only thematically and by lead actress Junko Miyazono connected) “Legends of the Poisonous Seductress” trilogy. I love the first part which was shot in b/w which gave the film a more classic feeling. This this second film in full color is just as great in my opinion. Once again, lead actress Junko Miyazono is out for revenge but this time as a different character. The color is what makes this movie taste very different even if it comes from the same tradition of exploitation heavy female revenge movies or Pinky Violence.
Like I said, I love the b/w cinematography in the first movie. But color really brings an extra element to this…
What a film. This Okatsu entry is the highlight of the bunch - a near-perfect capitulation of the narrative beats from the first and last film. It contains all the visceral brutality that pushed the envelope of the first, while balancing the colorful photogenic with the carnal chaos. The resulting picture is the ideal synthesis of period drama, female revenge yarn, and blood chanbara goodness. Vibrant red blood gushing out of shogunate goons and unpleasant torture that sets the stakes for Okatsu's revenge. After her father is tortured and she's thrown into sexual slavery, all she has left to lose are her scruples - which are discarded quickly. Aided by a scrappy kunoichi - my favorite character in this trilogy…
When tragedy befalls the adoptive family of a preternaturally gifted swordswoman, she goes on a quest for revenge against the corrupt official who ruined her life. The second movie in the so-called "Poisonous Seductress" series, but has nothing to do with the previous movie (which was a terrific noir starring Junko Miyazono in a kind of femme fatale role). Here Junko Miyazono stars as a prim young woman who goes on a revenge spree, eventually. But first she has to suffer successive calamities, to herself and her family, before she leaves her old life behind and becomes a demon in search of vengeance.
This is a very well-regarded movie, but I had some real trouble with the main character, who…
This is the second film in what is called the Toei’s Legend of the Poisonous Seductress trilogy. It is a trilogy of unconnected period films other than the lead actress (Junko Miyazono) is in all three of them and a theme of unrelenting bloody vengeance is present. In the first film, Female Demon: Ohyaku (1968), the female character Ohyaku and her lover are betrayed and she goes through hell to bring justice at the edge of a sword. In this film and in the following one, her name is Okatsu but again they are not the same character. Other themes run through all three films as well - oppression of the peasants, incredible cruelty displayed by the rulers and a…
Inhaltlich routinierter, aber hochwertig inszenierter Rächerfilm mit solidem Cast, spannender Action und fiesen Brutalitäten.
The world takes a piss on a poor swords woman. She gets annoyed off and vows revenge. Pretty much everything bad that can happen to a woman occurs so it's not always a cheerful film but luckily cute Reiko Oshida shows up every once in a while and helps with the kicking of the asses. Some decent sword fights, but I was a little disappointed that our heroine never faced off against the bounty hunter. That would have been really cool.
I'm not at all sure how this trilogy is supposed to work. The Okatsu here does not appear to be the same Okatsu from the other films, other than that single minded lust for revenge, of course. It doesn't matter really, because this is a rip-snorting Avenging Angel flick of the first order. Junko Miyazano is all steely resolve despite the many indignities heaped upon her, and woe betides the arrogant assholes who think they can keep her down. There are many interesting and innovative scenes, like the Rear Window-ish brothel episode, and having a super cute Ninja Girl appear whenever there's a scrap is always going to light up my pleasure centers. Needless to say, when Tomisaburō Wakayama suddenly pops up as a single minded bounty hunter, it's enough to completely lose one's shit. Samurai Heaven, here I come...
Delves further down the Toei violence started by Ishii, and takes from the Hong Kong (female) martial arts by enhancing its action sequences, and fairy wuxia godmother (except young) to help save the day in times of plot convenience. The third in the series actually feels more of a sequel than this, repeating many of the scenes from the first and introducing Reiko Oshida's character.
Junko Miyazono does a great job at her stunts (better in the third) with convincing swordplay, and the characters transition from Delinquent Girl / irezumi / woman gambler type backstory in the first to a traumatic revenge story more akin to the vagabond (anti)hero, pushing a new type of archetype you'll see in films after…
Generally not that remarkable, and slow to get going, but I liked the shots outside the brothel where you can see people going about their business in each section, and the distant, theatre-like composition when she finally gets to the main guy in his courtyard with the white stones.
The current standard poster for this film on Letterboxd makes it look like a fun teen comedy, alternative title: Tokugawa Dance Party! The actual film is entertaining but mostly in a non-dance-battle kind of way.
Since I have trouble putting my finger on the film's downsides I'll start with its positive aspects first. I liked the camera work here. It is more fluid than in more serious, classic chanbara and there are a few bold choices. The most notable example for this is a really wide shot, held for a long time, that is so wide that it shows us the entire two-story facade of a brothel, with people moving around in the different rooms. I also liked another shot,…
Enjoyable yet this meanders before we get the Ohyaku the film sets up. We mostly get a helpless damsel with only sporadic moments of badass. Even with her brief appearances, Rui is more interesting to watch than Ohyaku. A lot of missed opportunities to take full advantage of the real story the film wants to tell. Liked it didn't love it.
