WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Ed-from-HI Strangely surreal & ethereal + even quite artistic Japanese Cinema starring the strikingly-beautiful & efficiently-Lethal Meiko Kaji who would later mold an indelible-presence as irresistible-assassin 'Lady Snowblood' (i.e. the Japanese cult-cinema icon that became major creative-inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's 'Kill Bill'). Meiko Kaji was not only the quintessential razor-sharp sword-wielding action-icon in the 1970's, she was a fantastically powerful (and poignant) vocalist in addition.  Her films usually showcase an emotionally-resonant theme song that helps create the appropriate atmosphere blending Kaji's inner-pain & passion + perseverance = common to most of the unforgettable protagonists she portrayed throughout the1970's like justifiably vengeful 'Lady Snowblood' along with prisoner 'Scorpion'"Blind Woman's Curse" (original Japanese Title: "Hîchirimen bâkuto - nôbarydu takahadâ") is one of Meiko Kaji's earliest films circa1970, atmospheric and colorfully-gruesome in parts & pieces but also genuinely artistic......... and Meiko Kaji is especially fantastic as 'Akemi Tachibana' leading a violent Yakuza Clan's long-standing feud against a competing rival group.  The eponymous 'Blind Woman' who focuses her violent 'curse' against Akemi complete with mystical black cat sidekick is named 'Aiko' who had been blinded by Akemi while attempting to defend her clan-leader father from Akemi's 'death-thrust' Blind 'Aiko' spent the previous five years honing her own Lethal-prowess wielding the razor-sharp katana....... ready for a Final 'slash' to the death with Akemi.I have to say that the sword-duel final-showdown between Meiko Kaji's 'Akemi' and Hoki Tokuda's 'Aiko' complete with mystical black-cat on tag-team, is certainly one of the most atmospheric and beautifully-photographed smack-down finales I have ever seen in Cinema...... not just in terms of the 'action' sequence itself, but even more so within the searingly-indelible expressions cast on the two actresses faces before they strike!   It's deeply-perplexing how Japanese filmmakers have always had a singularly-unique ability to transform cinematic-violence into a genuinely ethereal and even strikingly beautiful Artform.

mevmijaumau Teruo Ishii's film The Blind Woman's Curse (aka The Tattooed Swordswoman) is a strange mix of elements from yakuza films, bakeneko ghost films, ero-guro, fun Asiansploitation trashiness and it even has a visual style reminiscent of Dario Argento at turns. The gorgeous Meiko Kaji (this is the first film she acted in under that name) is obviously the main selling point here, although she doesn't have as much runtime as in her later films.The plot of this film is almost an inconsistent mess, mixing yakuza turf wars, a ghastly black cat able to fly at low altitudes, expressionistic set design, circus elements (with a performance by Butoh dancer Tatsumi Hijikata, who also appeared in Ishii's Horrors of Malformed Men), some boobage and copious amounts of blood (especially for a film from 1970). The villains' headquarters are pretty wild, with plenty of slide screens and mirrors, booby traps and so on.While this film is very entertaining, it suffers from bad editing and sometimes unconvincing special effects, especially if we're talking about the aforementioned cat. The dialogues could be better and there are some really lousy performances, not to mention the bad ending (even though it was cool how the two fighters just produce the swirling-cloud backdrop out of nowhere and decide to fight on that location as if it were a Mortal Kombat game). There are a few songs sung by Meiko Kaji, but they're not as memorable as the ones in Lady Snowblood. Overall it's a fun film, but there's not much to it besides that. Really cool poster, though.

mmushrm I found this movie to be a weird mix and to be totally honest, I am not sure if I like this movie. This movie seems to have a weird mix of visuals from gore, psychedelia,Jidai Geki and yakuza elements. I personally found it a little off putting and there were parts of the movie, the psychedelic gore parts with the visuals and colouring, that I did not enjoy. Meiko Kaji stars as tachibana doing her soon to be trademark stoic, unspeaking character. Like her later characters Scorpion and Lady Snowblood, she does not say much nor shows much emotion. While it worked (very successfully) with these characters it does not work in this movie. Instead of driven she looked uncertain. Not the best movie but an interesting movie and a look at the development of meiko kaji as an actress.

turvy It's been a long time since I've seen this movie but I remember the plot as follows;A woman in a cell in jail is being assaulted by other women inmates who draw back in fright when they rip her kimona off to reveal a tattoo of the head of a dragon, recognised by the inmates as having extraordinary significance.She is the "Head" of an infamous group of swordfighters.All the other inmates want to know how she ended up imprisoned. The remainder of the movie recounts the exploits of a band of brigands who fight together against overwelming odds always starting and regrouping by standing together shoulder to shoulder, kimonos down, wriggling shoulders to make the full dragon tattoo (of which they each have a portion thereof) wriggle. The story is interspersed with various sexual exploits and goofy slapstick comedy, yet maintains a tense action-packed roller coster ride right to the end. I only saw it the one time and yearn to see it again.