WANDERING GINZA BUTTERFLY • SHE-CAT GAMBLER

Japan | 1972 Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Starring Meiko Kaji, Tsunehiko Watase Akiko Koyama, Sonny Chiba Junzaburo Ban, Yukie Kagawa Color | 86 Min. (Both) | Not Rated Format: DVD (R1 - NTSC) Synapse Films

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WGB     7 She-Cat     6 Both DVDs     8     Guest Review by Ryan S.

Wandering Ginza Butterfly marks somewhat of a milestone in Meiko Kaji's career as her first Toei Production, a partnership that would ultimately make her a bona fide superstar with the Female Prisoner Scorpion series. It's always interesting to take a look back on an action star's back catalog and see where they started, where they went right and where they went wrong. It also gives you an idea of what fueled their stardom in the first place. This is what the Wandering Ginza Butterfly series does in spades: it makes perfectly clear why Meiko Kaji emerged as a prolific figure in Japanese Cinema.     Meet Nami (Kaji), a rehabilitated ex-con looking for a fresh start and a little redemption — something she thinks she has found when she lands a job as a hostess at a posh bar in the Ginza district. Of course, it doesn't take long before neighborhood thugs start putting the squeeze on the business and Nami has to show off her... billiard skills? Yeah, seriously, in lieu of sword fights and fisticuffs, a lot of scores are settled in pool halls or at poker tables.     That being the case, if you're looking for the bloodletting of the Lady Snowblood series don't look to the Butterfly films to scratch that itch. In fact, in this first installment, with the exception of the occasional slap-fest and one very brief drive-by shooting, Wandering Ginza Butterfly only has one real action sequence. While relatively short, the climactic sword fight is explosive. It really sticks with you, not only because it's the only action sequence but because it feels so very real. This is a major credit to Kaji's intensity as an actress and masterful use of the camera.     As is typical of so many of the better films of this era, aside from its lead, a key asset to the picture is the cinematography. The camera is one weapon the filmmakers were not afraid to use to the full. There are some truly mesmerizing shots to be seen; among the most memorable is Nami's slow, purposeful walk in the rain in a gorgeous white kimono on her way to the final showdown with the Yakuza.     The story moves along at a decent pace and is never boring, but what really weighs the film down are the wooden caricatures that make up 90% of the supporting cast. You get a sense of the stark contrast between a good and a bad actor when you see Kenji interact with her co-stars. While some are simply doing the best they can with the material given, others are just plain annoying. So, after the end credits roll, you can say Wandering Ginza Butterfly is a decent film that suffers from too little action but is saved by the top notch cinematography and Kaji's magnetic screen presence.     The sequel, Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler, picks up a few years after its predecessor with more than a few questions left unanswered about what exactly happened in between. Things start off with Nami rescuing a young girl from a group of unsavory characters. As it turns out, the damsel in distress was sold to the Yakuza to settle her father's gambling debt. Nami, the noble person she is, puts it all on the line to save her.     How will she save her you ask? Would you believe, she proposes a high stakes card game? But Nami isn't in town strictly to play Good Samaritan to the locals. This time she's looking for blood, tracking the man who killed her father when she was only a child. Gambling, double crosses and revenge ensue... Sound familiar?     One thing the sequel has over the original is added star power. Sonny Chiba (1974's The Street Fighter, Kill Bill, Vol. 1) joins the cast this go-round as a tongue tied, up and coming entrepreneur of the pimp variety. I figured the addition of Chiba to the cast may have indicated the filmmakers wanted to rectify some of the flaws that were so apparent in the first film. They either wanted to: (A) liven up the supporting cast; (B) plant the movie firmly in the action genre; or (C), were just thinking how cool — and lucrative — it would be to have Meiko Kaji and Sonny Chiba side by side on screen. Apparently, their intention was the latter. According to an interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi on the DVD, Chiba's choice to make his character stutter and stammer his way through the movie was the direct result of Yamaguchi insulting his acting. Prompting Sonny to joke that he might as well stutter, to which he replied, "Go ahead, no one will know the difference." Ouch! Whatever their intentions may have been in adding Sonny to the crew, what they got was strength in all the areas that needed work before. The supporting characters are three dimensional and much better realized, the humor is more hit than miss and the action has been amped up (albeit only a little).     In spite of these improvements, it seems director Yamaguchi may have forgotten what he'd initially done so right. The cinematography is nowhere near as impressive this time and this makes the very standard story less of a joy to watch. The finale is bigger and badder than that of the first film, in the sense that there are more villains to dispose of and the screen gets painted a heavier shade of red. Not to mention it has Sonny freakin' Chiba in it! However, choppy editing and clunky choreography (when compared to the original) diminish what could have been an incredible spectacle to just a smidge above average.     She-Cat Gambler is by no means a bad flick. It's simply a prime example of a movie that adds up to less than the sum of its parts and just winds up being very forgettable.     One of the major flaws with these films in general is that they don't seem quite certain of what they aspire to be. They don't contain enough mayhem to be classified as action pics and they aren't nearly dramatic enough to qualify as real dramas. This identity crisis keeps them shy of greatness. These films were a stepping stone for Ms. Kaji; we know where she's going from here and can clearly see why she gravitated towards stronger, sword-wielding, revenge-driven roles. Simply put, I would only go out of my way to recommend the Butterfly series to hardcore fans of Meiko Kaji since they may get a little more out of it than a casual viewer.

Both films are presented in fully restored high definition in 2:35:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. As far as the transfers are concerned, Synapse did a great job. The colors are crisp and vibrant with She-Cat Gambler being only slightly sharper. The original Japanese 2.0 Mono Sound Mix is clear throughout but it should be noted there's a hint of scratchiness (only really noticeable during the high notes of the theme music). The discs share the same two trailers for the Wandering Ginza Butterfly series, a video interview with director Kazuhika Yamaguchi, a career-spanning Meiko Kaji biography and poster art gallery. One other nifty feature the two have in common is the reversible cover art, allowing you to choose between the old school Japanese poster art and the new Synapse design.     Wandering Ginza Butterfly features an audio commentary by author/Japanese film expert "Chris D" (which doesn't amount to much more than the guy giving a detailed filmography of every actor that appears on screen). I only caught one minor hiccup in the newly translated subtitles... In the first Butterfly film, an oddly structured sentence just jumped out at me. One that probably suffered in translation but the folks at Synapse wanted to keep as close to the original meaning as possible. Otherwise, the subs are clear, easy to read and are well synched. The only new material She-Cat Gambler has to offer is a video interview with "Pinky Violence" expert J-Taro Sugisaku. He spends most of his time comparing the appeal of and differences between Meiko Kaji and Junko Fuji (of Red Peony Gambler fame). No stellar extras to speak of but excellent transfers for a series that would otherwise be lost; overall an above average DVD package . 6/08/09

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