I was thinking that WOMEN IN FURY would be another run of the mill women-in-prison film, the type of which I'm not very fond. These films always seem plot less and uninspired, filling out their running time with lesbian sex scenes and silly cat fights. However, this film is something more. First off, it's supposedly based on a true story, and there's a sub plot which takes entirely outside the prison which shows a doctor's attempts to prove an inmate's innocence. Secondly, only the first half of the film takes place in the prison. During this section, we're subject to the usual cat fights, lesbian coupling, and copious nudity, this time from an attractive cast. Then, at around the halfway mark, there's a surprise decapitation followed by a jail break and then the film becomes a jungle adventure yarn, following the trials of a handful of women attempting to escape from the guards and dogs pursuing them.This film has action and excitement in spades and the surprise is that it's all rather good. Director Michele Massimo Tarantini, who also made the equally fun MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY, knows how to stage an effective fight or shoot-out and the use of lush Brazilian locations add a level of sweaty realism that would be otherwise missing. The cast is undistinguished, but they put in generally good performances for a B-movie. This film has it all: explosions, shoot-outs, gore, violent attacks, cat fights, snakes, wall scaling, beheadings, tough inmates, a despicable villain, and my favourite character, a hulking black woman prisoner who steals all her scenes. So far, this is the most entertaining women in prison flick I've watched thanks to Tarantini's willingness to think outside the box.

This could be another film in a potential "Latin America WIP Film Festival"--other entries might include two other Brazilian WIP films "Amazon Jail" and "Bare Behind Bars" and the Argentinean film "Correcional de Mujeres" (strange that a continent that threw so many REAL innocent people in brutal prisons in this era wouldn't have made a lot more of these films, but then maybe that was why).Although it's mostly Brazilian, this film was actually directed by an Italian director, Michele Massimo Tarantini (OK, so maybe not a GOOD Italian director). Tarantini is most famous for his laughable cannibal film "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley", but his best films were probably the sex comedies he made with actresses like Gloria Guida back in Italy, as he he had little grasp on the dramatic structure. Ironically though, this one of the better Latin America WIP films because it actually has a plot (well, kind of), and a clear protagonist played by the very sexy Brazilian actress Susan Carvahlo (also in "Dinosaur Valley"). Carvahlo here plays a frequently naked and abused "new fish" who is actually genuinely innocent. As a crusading reporter/prison reformer rushes to her rescue, she and her fellow inmates stage a daring break out. The end is pretty stupid and frankly not nearly as cinematically compelling as the lesbian rape or firehose scenes in the first fifteen minutes.Carvahlo to my knowledge only appeared in a couple international releases, but she was pretty appealing. She went on to become a successful race car diver! (And while some may she disagree, she probably looks a lot better naked than Jimmy Johnson). I actually don't know that anybody (besides me) would be stupid enough to put together a "Latin American WIP Film Festival", but, if so, this would be the top entry.

This English dubbed Italian / Brazilian co-production opens with a title screen claiming that we're about to be told a true story. Believing she'll receive a more lenient sentence, a young woman named Angela Duvall (Suzane Carvalho) takes the rap for her addicted brother after he murders a drug lord. We immediately realize Angela's exceptional beauty is going to cause her problems since even on the way to the slammer, a police officer in the prison transport truck lasciviously leers at her gorgeous thighs. She winds up in a Brazilian penitentiary hell hole where she's subjected to the obligatory strip search. The guards don't find any concealed weapons or narcotics on Angela's body, but they do learn from her obvious tan lines that she's apparently been spending a lot of time lately sunbathing in a very skimpy bikini. Naturally, she immediately attracts the unwanted attention of everybody from two feuding prison dykes to the lesbian head matron. During their first meeting, the prison official parts Angela's robe with her billy club to get an eyeful of her breasts, then purrs, `You're very different from the way the papers described you - much better.' The first half of the plot follows the usual women-in-prison movie formula, with long-suffering Angela enduring an endless series of indignities while a concerned prison doctor (Henri Pagnoncelli) campaigns to prove her innocence. He's up against a tough obstacle, though: his boss, the Warden Bonifacio (Leonardo Jose), is affiliated with the same drug ring as the murder victim and he'll stop at nothing to silence Angela permanently. At one point, three gang members sneak into her cell and nearly succeed in hanging her before the good doctor comes to her rescue. With the help of a big and tough but sympathetic and maternal black inmate, Angela eventually escapes with seven other prisoners during a prison riot. The rest of the film plays out like TEN LITTLE INDIANS: the escapees are picked off one by one as they're pursued through the jungle by the vindictive warden.Though the film doesn't offer much originality, the production values are a lot higher than you might expect from a foreign made B movie. The plot moves through a nice variety of locations from downtown city streets through tropical jungles to a seaside resort. Many scenes involve impressive numbers of extras, and during the prison break sequence, dozens of them are fully decked out in authentic looking police uniforms, helmets, and riot control shields. In the escape scene, a pair of tank-like vehicles equipped with water cannons show up, and later, the doctor searches for the escapees via helicopter.But the real reason to watch WOMEN IN FURY is the virtually unknown but ultra-sultry Suzane Carvalho, who provides most of the film's nudity, usually in humiliating scenarios. During Angela's first night in the over-crowded prison cell, she's stripped by a dozen bunkmates and whipped with wet towels to soften her up for the butch queen bee, who then rapes her. When she later refuses to identify her attackers, she gets hosed down with high pressure water, which conveniently tears her robe open and leaves her dripping wet. The steamiest scene is an erotic lesbian encounter when the horny head matron ravishes Angela in her office. The sequence runs for several minutes in length and includes full nudity from both actresses and lots of passionate close-ups.Fans impressed by Ms. Carvalho will also want to check out her only other known film appearance, STRANDED IN DINOSAUR VALLEY (another Italian / Brazilian co-production made the same year, 1985), which in spite of its title features no dinosaurs but more of Suzie's magnificent body.

I've seen this one in many video stores -- It looks like a million others, but it's actually one of the better ones. What is it?? Ok, simply put -- innocent girl in Brazilian prison... What makes it worth seeing? Two words: Suzie Carvalho. If you like dark featured women (think Christy Turlington), then Suzie will make your day. A beautiful face on a body to die for. She gets put through all the cliches, almost, in this typical makes-no-sense-but-who-cares women-in-prison flick. This film certainly rivals "Reform School Girls" for best w-i-p flick. Suzie, BTW, is also splendidly naked in "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley", also at most video outlets.