Osamu Yamashita's third softcore torturefest of 1968, this is a better-looking film than Joji Zankokushi and miles ahead of Onna Zeme Taraimawashi. An anthology tale depicting three supposedly true stories from the Edo Period, late in the Tokugawa Bakufu, the film presents the trials of three young widows accused of murdering their husbands. Despite some justification in each case, they are all found guilty and tortured to death in sequences which comprise the bulk of the clearly exploitation-minded drama. Nami Katsura stars with Risa Minakami, Midori Enoki, and -- as the stern judge -- Kohei Tsuzaki. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
