Sonny Chiba Mega Review Thread

[Takuma]

But I'm sure Takuma is used to it by now.

[47lab]

http://10kbullets.com/reviews/y/yaku...erform-murder/

Great film title! I'd buy it just for that.

yeah, that's a cool flick. It's available on bootleg with subs if you're interested but it goes by a different title. Sad thing is the bootlegger actually "borrowed" Takuma's mini-review for it and shamelessly uses it as a blurb on their website without any acknowledgment. But I'm sure Takuma is used to it by now.

[Keeth]

http://10kbullets.com/reviews/y/yaku...erform-murder/

Great film title! I'd buy it just for that.

[Takuma]

13 Steps of Maki (Japan, 1975) [35mm] - 4/5
This is perhaps Etsuko Shihomi's most enjoyable, and certainly sleaziest, film. Shihomi is a girl gang leader straight out of a comic book, spending half of her time saving her delinquent karate girls from trouble. It's basically a pinky violence movie with karate action instead of gun and knife fights. Although there is little plot, the film is well paced. Lots of solid action, no irritating supporting characters or comic reliefs, very little in terms boring side plots, and just when you might start getting a bit tired of it they throw Shihomi in prison and the film goes all WIP. Great theme song too! Sonny Chiba has cool cameo as Maki's brother, and Roman Porno actress Meika Seri appears as assassin in the prison segment. Someone really need to put this film out on DVD and BD immediately.

* Original title: Wakai kizokutachi: 13 kaidan no Maki (若い貴族たち　１３階段のマキ)
* Director: Makoto Naito
* Chiba's role: Cameo
* Film availability: None. Review format: 35mm.

[Takuma]

The Bodyguard screencaps part 2



This double-episode was shot in the US




Chiba being mean in Nevada


Jiro Chiba


Yuri Yamashina


Reiko Ike


Tadashi Sawamura






Shihomi!

[Takuma]

The Bodyguard (Japan, 1974) [TV] - 4/5

Not to be confused with the unrelated Bodyguard Kiba (aka The Bodyguard) films, this karate packed TV series is an undiscovered gem that features some of Sonny Chiba's best action. Chiba stars as a member of a private bodyguard company established by Ko Nishimura (the priest from Lady Snowblood), brought to Japan after hammering a roomful of Arab villains to death in Middle East. His colleagues are played by karate girl Etsuko Shihomi, Chiba's brother Jiro Chiba, young nice guy Yuuki Meguro, and dirty fellow lone wolf Yoji Takagi who occasionally joins the gang.

The series, produced briefly after the release of the first Street Fighter film, is basically combination of martial arts action and traditional Japanese detective series format where we often had a group of 4-5 detectives solving crimes. Although not strictly a martial arts series, for these guys karate is usually the solution to any problem, and the action only gets better and more frequent as the series advances. Most episodes feature at least one fight, but many feature two or three fights.

Chiba is fantastic in the series. The fights ar as good as in his films, and are always clearly filmed without shaky camera. They are little short, though. And while the series may lack the excessive bloodletting and sex of Chiba's mid 70's films, the action looks and sounds painful. It also says something about the series' grittiness that a lot of the time the bodyguards fail to keep their client alive till the end. Adding to the effect is a fantastic, badass score.

The 18 year old Shihomi makes perhaps an even bigger impression than Chiba. She has never looked as cute and energetic as she does here kicking guys in the face. She doesn't get any fights in the early episodes, but becomes a major attraction later on. It's pretty difficult to curb your enthusiasm when an episode title that roughly translates as "The Roaring Female Dragon of Hokkaido" appears on screen and a miscellaneous bunch of martial arts villains that look like the cast of Sister Street Fighter (released towards the end of the show's production) are introduced. Hell yeah!

Jiro Chiba gets his share of action as well, and while Yuuki Meguro is not a fighter he turns out to be a sympathetic young guy in suit. Yoji Takagi isn't too bad either although it takes a while to warm up to him. Guest stars include Pinky Violence actresses Reiko Ike, Ryoko Ema, Yukie Kagawa, and Yumi Takigawa, Roman Porno starlets Yuri Yamashina and Moeko Ezawa, kick boxing legend Tadashi Sawamura, and of course Chiba & Shihomi's eternal karate nemesis Masashi Ishibashi.

If there is something negative about the series it the uneven and mostly unremarkable writing. Most storylines are decidedly routine, save for a few stand outs. There are also episodes that try too much with drama at the expense of action (e.g. the closing episode), and one rather unbearable comedic episode. Generally speaking the series is relatively free of comedy, except for some funny dialogue between Nishimura and older lady Izumi Yukimura (the owner of a tiny fashion shop operating in the same premises with the bodyguard office). However, in episode 16 some idiot came up with the idea of switching Yukimura for a hyperactive comedic young woman (the actress is credited as "Beaver"). Thankfully she only causes damage to a couple of episodes.

Despite its flaws, The Bodyguard is one of the seminal karate products of the mid 70s. For a Chiba fan it's a truly exciting discovery that deserves far wider recognition than it has been getting.

* Original title: The Body-Guard / Za bodigaado (ザ・ボディガード)
* Director: Kazuyoshi Yoshikawa, Hideo Tanaka, Koichi Takemoto, Yasuo Furuhata etc.
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Availability: Toei DVD (to be released May 2017) (no subs). Review format: TV.

Screencaps part 1

Nishimura and Chiba




Chiba!


Etsuko Shihomi and Jiro Chiba


Shihomi and Yuuki Meguro


Shihomi kicking arse




Shihomi vs. Masashi Ishibashi






Chiba being his usual mean self

[Takuma]

Oh, and if you're looking for more information about Key Hunter (in Japanese) I highly recommend these two great sites:
http://gmen75.la.coocan.jp/k/khentry.htm
http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~tik20031...unter/key.html

Not only do they contain lots of basic information, there are also complete episode guides with synopsis, cast, and main stars listed for each episode. The second site also lets you know which episodes feature major actions scenes and by which actor.

I find the episode guides highly useful since at 262 episodes of varying quality, watching the entire show is not really an option for me. I'm watching the episodes where Chiba is a major player as well as selected other episodes that seem interesting (elements that might contribute to my interest include being written by Ikeda, starring Tamba, directed by Fukasaku etc.).

[Takuma]

Key Hunter screencaps part 2: colour episodes (105-262)

Tamba


Another one of my favourite episodes: a German boy is preparing the return of the Third Reich in Japan




Insane Chiba stunt


Another insane Chiba stunt. That is really him, not a doll.






Unfortunately the show also features this kind of silliness




Thankfully also this kind of coolness

[Takuma]

Key Hunter (Japan, 1968-1973) [DVD/TV] - 3/5
This was Sonny Chiba's most important, although not best, work in the 1960s. The detective TV series focusing on Japan's International Secret Police was created by Chiba and Kinji Fukasaku as a starring vehicle for Tetsuro Tamba. Hayato Tani, Eiko Okawa, Yoko Nogiwa and Chiba, who was in charge of creating the action scenes, co-starred. Although the whole cast appeared together in some episodes, most of the 262 episodes highlighted one or two characters with the rest either supporting or taking a rest. It's an uneven but enjoyable series that contained action, thriller and comedic storylines. Today it's best remembered for Tamba's cool charisma and Chiba's wild stunts, that include breathtaking moments like Chiba climbing out of a speeding car and grabbing on to a small aircraft that is about to take off.

The series made Chiba an action superstar in Japan and earned him fans in Hong Kong, including Jackie Chan who admired Chiba's stunt performances. Chiba himself later stated that the series was a goldmine for him to practice his skills as action performer. He also established Japan Action Club during the production of the series. That being said, most of the best action scenes are during the show's later episodes; the earlier ones feature some cool stunts but also plenty of standard action. In total, Chiba appeared in 177 episodes of which in more than one third he was the main star.

The storylines often leaned towards fantasy, the best ones usually written by Yuichi Ikeda. One of the best episodes features a criminal who has changes his face with a plastic surgery trying to escape. His girlfriend, the detectives, and a bunch of assassins all infiltrate the same flight with him but no one knows each others' identity. Other great stories include Chiba forced to double a race driver who is targeted by assassins, and a episode where a young German boy is trying to resurrect the Third Reich in Japan. Many of the comedic episodes with the female cast fare much worse. Also, it's a bit a shame that most of Chiba's episodes were written not by Ikeda, but Susumu Takaku, who mainly penned pretty standard storylines.

Note: the review is based on Toei's 20 episode DVD Collection as well as on a couple of dozen early episodes I caught on TV.

* Original title: Key Hunter / Kii hantaa (キイハンター)
* Directors: Kinji Fukasaku, Ryuichi Takamori, Hajime Sato, Yasuo Furuhata etc.
* Chiba's role: Co-starring role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (5 x 4 = 20 episodes) (no subs). Review Format: TV + DVD

Key Hunter screencaps part 1: black & white episodes (1-104)

Tamba with a blonde girl in the opening episode (directed by Kinji Fukasaku)


The whole team. Chiba on the left




Chiba and Tamba looking cool as hell


Chiba looking cool as hell


Although not a martial arts series, Chiba also threw in a few fights




One of my favourite episodes: Chiba has to attend a car race in disguise instead of a race driver who is being targeted by assassins.

[Takuma]

Game of Chance 3 (Japan, 1967) [TV] - 3/5
This must be only yakuza film series where each film focuses on a different breed of yakuza. This time Chiba's character, who was a gambler in the first movie and a street vendor in the second, becomes a forestry worker with a small honourable clan harassed by a villainous gang. The ninkyo tension rises from conflict between the hero's will to set things right and his promise to stay away from yakuza life. Another typical ninkyo element walks into the film in the shape of Tetsuro Tamba who is after Chiba to avenge his brother. "It was a fair duel and I hold no grudge, but I cannot let the man who killed my only brother live" he says. The film is well made, but it does feel very familiar after the previous two entries. The continuity seems a bit confusing at first until Chiba's dead wife walks into the frame and the viewer realizes the series has rebooted itself at some point. Hardly rare in yakuza films of the era, but usually the filmmakers remembered to inform the viewer of it.

* Original title: Shusse komori uta (出世子守唄)
* Director: Ryuichi Takamori
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: None. Review Format: TV







Chiba and Sanada


Tamba






Sanada


Posters




Here is the theme song for the Game of Chance films, performed by Taro Hitofushi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exGprMKGZ1I

[Takuma]

Game of Chance 2 (Japan, 1967) [TV] - 3.5/5
This is an odd series for each of the three films represent a slightly different breed of yakuza films. The first movie was an off-note ninkyo drama about a somewhat dishonourable yakuza gambler and single father (Chiba) looking after his 6 year old son (Hiroyuki Sanada). The sequel is a much more typical ninkyo film with all the usual genre elements and themes, but oddly enough Chiba has now gone from a gambler (bakuto) to a street vendor (tekiya), which is a different sub-genre of yakuza films. The father-son relationship between Chiba and Sanada works wonderfully again, and although Chiba may not have been a yakuza film star comparable to Takakura or Tsuruta, his youthful energy distinguished him from most other actors. Only Chiba could pull off such extremes as wild snow fight with his son only moments before a melancholic ninkyo walk to enemy headquarters and near certain death. The film's snowy winter setting also adds its own flavour to the film and helps it overcome some uninspired, occasionally incoherent screenwriting.

* Original title: Zoku rokyoku komori-uta (続浪曲子守唄)
* Director: Ryuichi Takamori
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: None. Review Format: TV

Taro Hitofushi. The films were inpired by his song, which was also used as the theme song


Chiba


Kunie Tanaka


Reiko Ohara


Chiba and Sanada

[Derrick King]

Yesterday, Marc Walkow tweeted

Also keep an eye open for details soon about WOLF GUY theatrical screenings in the US that'll make you howl with delight!

[Ian Jane]

Pretty jealous that you're getting to see all these rarities. Thanks for keeping up this thread.

[Takuma]

Bitches of the Night (Japan, 1966) [TV] - 3/5
A well made, atmospheric, although remarkably tame exploitation melodrama about a playboy bartender (Tatsuo Umemiya) who pretends to be gay in order to approach women. He is in cahoots with another opportunist, a young woman (Mako Midori) who trying to seduce a rich married man. Their attempts at making easy money can only end tragically. This is a rather aged morality tale about the sinful life in urban metropolis, but captures the era, the bars and the cityscapes very nicely. It's also becomes quite interesting and touching when Umemiya fools a naive country girl (heartbreakingly played by Reiko Ohara) into living with him. Sonny Chiba makes a very brief appearance as a policeman looking for his sister. He only has two scenes. The film was part of the "Night / Yoru" series, which consisted of very loosely linked movies where Umemiya plays pimps or other such characters.

* Original title: Yoru no mesuinu ( 夜の牝犬)
* Director: Shinji Murayama
* Chiba's role: Small supporting role
* Film availability: None. Review Format: TV

Umemiya on the right




Chiba as a policeman


Chiba




Ohara


Midori

[Takuma]

Tale of Japanese Burglars (Japan, 1965) [DVD] - 3/5
A bit slow, but eventually powerful tale of a professional burglar who witnesses a far bigger crime. Years later, after he has gone straight and started a family, he discovers innocent men have been sentenced for death for a crime they didn't commit - but he cannot testify in their favour without revealing his own crimes. Despite the thriller plot, the film is in equal parts a family drama and a critique on police and government corruption. Rentaro Mikuni is quite excellent in the lead role and keeps the film interesting even during the very long build-up. Sonny Chiba appears as assistant defence lawyer - his role, which comes during the last half an hour, is brief but very good.

* Original title: Nippon dorobô monogatari (にっぽん泥棒物語)
* Director: Satsuo Yamamoto
* Chiba's role: Small supporting role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (JP) (no subs)

Mikuni


Fantastic shot








Chiba




Chiba