Amazon Jail / Amazon Jail II – Vinegar Syndrome (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Brazil, 1985 (Amazon Jail), Brazil, 1987 (Amazon Jail II)
Directors: Oswaldo de Oliveira (Amazon Jail), Conrado Sanchez (Amazon Jail II)
Cast: Elizabeth Hartmann, Maurício do Valle, Sandra Graffi, Lígia de Paula, Elys Cardoso, Shirley Benny (Amazon Jail), Vanessa Alves, Vera Mancini, Chumbinho, Mário Benvenutti, John Doo, Manuela Assunção (Amazon Jail II)

Release Date: August 29th, 2023
Approximate Running Times: 93 Minutes 22 Seconds (Amazon Jail), 74 Minutes 28 Seconds (Amazon Jail II)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Portuguese, DTS-HD Mono English (Both Films)
Subtitles: English, English SDH (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $42.98

Amazon Jail: "Deep in the Amazon, dozens of beautiful women are being held hostage in bamboo huts, waiting to be sold on the white slave market. The operation is run by Edgar, a perverted drunk, and Helena, a vicious lesbian. However, when Edgar’s young nephew attempts to help the women escape from their tropical prison, the group are quick to learn that the jungle is no less treacherous…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Amazon Jail II: "When a group of tribeswomen are kidnaped, to be sold to a Japanese white slave trader, they find unlikely aid in the men who have been hired to transport them to captivity. Fleeing with the girls, the unlikely traveling companions become lost in the jungle, having to contend with unexpected dangers - both human and animal. But their would-be slaver, and his dwarf assistant, are unwilling to give up on such a prize catch so easily…" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Amazon Jail), 4/5 (Amazon Jail)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative (Amazon Jail) and a 35mm answer print (Amazon Jail II)."

Amazon Jail comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.1 GB

Feature: 27.1 GB

The source looks excellent, fleshy tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, black levels are strong, image clarity and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Amazon Jail II comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 21.8 GB

Feature: 21.5 GB

Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Amazon Jail, DTS-HD Mono Portuguese - Amazon Jail II), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Portuguese - Amazon Jail, DTS-HD Mono English - Amazon Jail II)

Amazon Jail comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Portuguese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The Portuguese audio is video-sourced, while the English audio is film-sourced. That said, the English audio track is the noticeably stronger of these two audio tracks.

Amazon Jail II comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Portuguese and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. The English audio is video-sourced, while the Portuguese audio is film-sourced. That said, the Portuguese audio track is the noticeably stronger of these two audio tracks.

All audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include an interview with actress Elizabeth Hartmann (13 minutes 20 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Portuguese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Vanessa Alves (23 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Portuguese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with director Conrado Sanchez (39 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Portuguese with non-removable English subtitles), an interview with film historian Dr. Victoria Ruétalo titled Latin American Exploitation Cinema (18 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH), a video essay by film historian Annie Rose Malamet titled The Sadean Woman in Prison (59 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English SDH), and an audio commentary with film historian Fábio Vellozo for Amazon Jail.

Other extras include reversible cover art, and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 6,000 units).

Summary:

Amazon Jail: Human traffickers hold women captive and force them into sex slavery after promising them jobs.

Oswaldo de Oliveira, a filmmaker, whose films outside of Bare Behind Bars and Amazon Jail have not been released in English-friendly versions. Also, he’s not a filmmaker who has a distinct visual style that is instantly identifiable. He’s a workman-like filmmaker who benefited when given stronger material to work with; case in point: Bare Behind Bars.

It is hard to believe that the same director responsible for Bare Behind Bars also directed Amazon Jail. That said, despite sharing similar subject matter, the result is two films that are polar opposites.

When it comes to Women in Prison films, there are expected elements, and if a film wants to be successful, it should never stray away from this genre's staples. Amazon Jail is devoid of any real torture sequences, and there is very little nudity in this one compared to the copious amounts on display in Bare Behind Bars.

Though English dub tracks rarely match the native language track, Amazon Jail’s unintentionally humorous English language track is the source of anything that's remotely entertaining. Something that really brings down Amazon Jail is the lack of any real punishment for the girls who are defiant. Despite a lot of threatening and complaining about the prisoners' conduct, rarely is any brute force applied. Ultimately, Amazon Jail is nothing more than a series of escape attempts dragged out over 93 minutes.

Amazon Jail II: White slave traders abduct Brazilian native girls.

In Amazon Jail II, the lack of nudity and scenes of torture contrast with the film's categorization as a Women in Prison film. Content wise, Amazon Jail II is actually an action adventure film with some humor thrown in for good measure. The main bad guy's sidekick, a midget named Mr. Big, who wears a cowboy hat, supplies a lot of the humor. That said, everything that did not work in Amazon Jail is even more egregious this time around. Ultimately, despite only being 74 minutes in length, Amazon Jail II feels twice as long.

Amazon Jail and Amazon Jail II get a solid release from Vinegar Syndrome.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer