My review was written in January 1982 after a Times Square screening:
Originally titled "13 Nuns" in 1977, "Revenge of the Shogun Women" is a first-time U. S. release of this 3-D kung fu pic, aimed at action audiences and fans curious about the current revival of depth films. Incredibly bad English-language dubbing and exaggerated "poke 'em in the eye" 3-D photography mark this item as suitable only for the most diehard fans.
Nominal plot, made incoherent by the dubbing and loose structuring of individual action episodes, deals with young women in China in 1794 who are raped by bandits in a sexploitation featuring nudity and simulated sex in 3-D. Main action picks up in 1797 in Chang-Chow village, where the 13 heroines, looking exotic with nearly shaved-head butch haircuts, are training as nuns in a convent, with martial arts high on their curriculum. Shogun of film's current title is meaningless, lifted from Japanese history to spruce up this picture's superimposed narrative crawl.
Very similar, though not as exciting, to the same production team's "Dynasty" picture, "Women" features attractive sets and costumes amidst its too-frequent thrusting of spears and poles out towards the viewer's nose. Violent content is adequate for chopsocky fans, but the insistence on pointing objects at the audience causes eye-strain as one resists becoming cross-eyed. Enthusiasts of filming-in-depth will have to wait for the next batch of 35mm 3-D efforts, or perhaps the promised twin-70mm super-productions, for satisfaction.
