LADY SNOWBLOOD (1973, 97 mins, DCP)

Gory revenge is raised to the level of visual poetry in Toshiya Fujita’s stunning *Lady Snowblood.* A major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s *Kill Bill* saga, this endlessly inventive film, set in late nineteenth-century Japan, charts the single-minded path of vengeance taken by a young woman (Meiko Kaji) whose parents were the unfortunate victims of a gang of brutal criminals. Fujita creates a wildly entertaining action film of remarkable craft, an effortless balancing act between beauty and violence.

FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 (1972, 90 mins, 35mm)

The four-film Female Prisoner Scorpion cycle charts the vengeance of Nami Matsushima (Meiko Kaji, LADY SNOWBLOOD), who becomes an avatar of survival and an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Spiritually akin to MS. 45, COFFY, and THE BRIDE WORE BLACK, FEMALE PRISONER SCORPION: JAILHOUSE 41 (the second film in the series) finds Nami continuing her quest for dark vengeance and becomes an unlikely symbol of female resistance in a male-dominated world. Featuring stunning pop-art compositions and ultra-violent outbursts, it’s easy to see why these movies were a direct inspiration for Uma Thurman’s character of “The Bride” in Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL. \[Credit: AGFA\]