Madame O – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

madameo
Available at Amazon.com

It amazes me that with all the stuck-up uppity people there supposedly were back in the fifties and sixties that films like this ever got released at all.

Seiko is a doctor that is respected by the community and trusted by hundreds of people. She has many secrets as does most everyone in this world, but hers are secrets that run deep with emotion. As a young girl, Seiko was raped by three men. Besides emotionally and physically scarred, the incident left her with a severe case of syphilis and pregnant. Since then, Seiko has this complete and utter distaste for all men and it was only made worse by the fact that her father blamed the horrific moment in her life all on her. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and she would choose to hand it out in ways she knew would get her the most satisfaction.

During the day, Seiko served as the doctor so many knew and loved. At night she would put on a totally different hat and become a dominatrix picking up men left and right off the street. This was her true revenge as all she ended up being with would get the same disease she had been burdened with so many years ago. It’s not what you think though as her way of infecting them is simply rubbing a cotton swab infected with syphilis on their skin. But it was a way of getting back at men since she could not stand a single one of them. That would all change though the day he walked through the door. A handsome doctor started at her clinic and her hatred seemed to fly right out the window, but her fatal mistake was forgetting that everyone has secrets.

Madame O is a film that would have been considered quite controversial and possibly taboo when it was released in the late sixties, but today it just appears so very tame. The story is a decent enough one of revenge and hatred that takes a turn when the unexpected happens. It goes to show you that no matter what you may have gone through in your life, you can’t help what or who may eventually step in and force you to change your mind. Seen it before thank you, NEXT!

There isn’t much gore or really any interesting sex scenes even though it is implied that’s what the film is mostly about. Some nudity here and there along with a couple gross out moments will keep your attention, but it’s nothing that can’t be seen merely by flipping the cable channels for ten minutes. Madame O is one of those films that would have been so very over the top back in the day if it could have gotten a huge release and reached a wider audience. Today it won’t have the same affect on anyone that sees it because it’s all been done before. Sadly for the filmmakers, they did it first but no-one ever got the chance to really check it out.

The film is shown in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and it looks alright for the most part, but sometimes can get rather grainy or blurry making it difficult to see things. Not bad overall, but it could have been touched up more.

The film is heard in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound and it is also somewhat alright. The English dubbed voices get on my nerves because they don’t always seem synched up correctly.

Original Theatrical Trailer


Not anything really new and nothing that will make you want to see it again is all that Madame O is. I was kind of happy to see there was nothing more in the special features then just the trailer because I wasn’t looking forward to anything that would have made me sit through it longer. It pains me to talk about it like it’s an awful film because it really isn’t. There’s just nothing that screams “Look at me!” because it is way past its time of trying to shock and now just falls in line with everything else. Maybe try a rental some day if you have nothing else to watch, but don’t go out of your way at all.

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Synapse Films presents Madame O. Directed by: Seiichi Fukuda. Starring: Michiko Aoyama, Akihiko Kaminara, Yuichi Minato, Naomi Tani. Written by: Tomomi Tsukasa. Running time: 81 minutes. Rating: Not Rated. Released on DVD: July 29, 2008. Available at Amazon.com