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Sonny Chiba Mega Review Thread

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  • Originally posted by Takuma View Post
    the imagery looks totally amazing, gotta check this one out!

    Comment


    • Originally posted by ropo1 View Post
      the imagery looks totally amazing, gotta check this one out!
      That was an amazing shot to witness in cinema. The 35mm print looked absolutely spectacular.

      Not the entire film look quite that amazing though.

      I forgot to mention about the rather theatrical acting is some of the early scenes. Some may be put off by, but I felt it fit the context perfectly.

      Comment


      • Legend of the Eight Samurai (Japan, 1983) [DVD] - 4/5
        An extremely entertaining samurai fantasy based on the Satomi hakkenden story, which Kinji Fukasaku had already adapted into a disappointing sci-fi film Message from Space a few years before. It's unmistakably a Kadokawa production, with fine production values and superstar cast starring Hiroko Yakushimaru and JAC sweetheart Hiroyuki Sanada at the height of their idolhood. Sanada in terrific physical shape at the time and Yakushimaru, one of the cutest girls ever to grace Japanese cinema, had the kind of freshness about her performances that other idols couldn't even dream of. Sonny Chiba and Etsuko Shihomi are an added bonus. The sets are wonderfully over the top, the film is colourful and there is a genuine feel of a fantasy adventure. Special effects vary between great and amusingly cheesy. The soundtrack, with songs by Dan O'Banion, contains more greatness than is humanly possible to express in words. An utterly enjoyable (and enduringly popular in Japan) piece of pop samurai cinema for boys; only a notch behind Fukasaku's finest films.

        This was the top grossing Japanese film of 1984 (released December 1983).

        * Original title: Satomi hakkenden (里見八犬伝)
        * Director: Kinji Fukasaku
        * Chiba's role: Major Supporting Role
        * Film availability: Adness DVD (USA), Kadokawa BD (Japan) (no subs)

        Chiba




        Hiroko and Sanada






        Hiroko taking bath


        Hiroko looking cute


        Evil woman bathing




        Takuma
        Senior Member
        Last edited by Takuma; 02-11-2017, 10:53 AM.

        Comment


        • Kabamaru the Ninja Boy (Japan, 1983) [TV] - 2/5

          Exploitation film favourite Norifumi Suzuki delivers one of his most family friendly films with this silly action comedy based on a manga. It follows a teenage ninja boy (Hikaru Kurosaki) from the mountains entering a Japanese high school, trying to charm a pretty girl (super-cute Kumiko Takeda) and competing against another school's sports team. It was a Japan Action Club production with their rising stars (Kurosaki, Junya Takagi, Hiroyuki Sanada) in the lead roles. Unfortunately most of the action is strictly comedic and rather underwhelming except for a few nice stunts. Sonny Chiba appears in a small supporting role as a ninja master, while Hiroyuki Sanada is a woman-like, long haired club leader. Another similar, slightly better Suzuki / JAC ninja comedy, Leave it to Kotaro, followed in 1984. Trivia: Kabamaru opened as a double feature with Jackie Chan's Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, and was the year's 10th most popular Japanese film.

          * Original title: Kotaro makari tooru (伊賀野カバ丸)
          * Director: Norifumi Suzuki
          * Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
          * Film availability: VHS (Japan). [Review format: TV]

          Believe or not, that's Sonny Chiba on the left






          And that's Hiroyki Sanada








          Chiba again

          Comment


          • Leave it to Kotaro (Japan, 1984) [35mm] - 2.5/5
            Another typical mid-80s Japan Action Club film, again based on a manga, directed by Norifumi Suzuki, starring Hikaru Kurosaki, and favouring comedy over action. It's about a mischievous modern teenage ninja (Kurosaki) who spends his days hanging upside down in front of girls' dressing room window. There are more panty shots than you can keep track of. Other students finally get sick of him and put a reward up for his beloved long hair. Then a blonde Caucasian girl arrives the school and falls in love with the pervert ninja, which leads to the film's best, and dumbest, laughs. It's a silly, mostly entertaining but a bit overlong comedy with some action and stunts. Hiroyuki Sanada and Etsuko Shihomi play supporting roles, and Sonny Chiba makes a quest visit in a fully English language role. Suzuki did much better with the more action oriented Roaring Fire a few years earlier.

            * Original title: Kotaro makari tooru (コータローまかりとおる!)
            * Director: Norifumi Suzuki
            * Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
            * Film availability: VHS (Japan) [Review format: 35mm]



            Comment


            • The Last True Yakuza (Japan, 1985) [DVD] - 2/5
              Kosaku Yamashita was one of the best ninkyo yakuza directors back in the 1960s, but he never seemed quite that comfortable with contemporary films. This yakuza epic suffers from a typical 80s approach to the subject matter. It leans more towards human drama than yakuza mayhem. The production values are fine, but the film suffers from a lame delivery, bloated 125 minute running time, and an intended female audience appeal that never worked well with yakuza films - all symptoms of the decade. Sonny Chiba has small but decent supporting role as a simple minded, expendable gangster who is ordered to carry out a hit. Hiroki Matsukata is the real star, with other big names such as Koji Tsuruta (in his last role) and Tetsuro Tamba making brief appearances along the way.

              * Original title: Saigo no bakuto (最後の博徒)
              * Director: Kosaku Yamashita
              * Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
              * Film availability: Toei DVD (Japan) (No Subs)

              Matsukata






              Chiba


              Chiba


              Chiba






              Tamba and Tsurura

              Comment


              • Yakuza Warfare (Japan, 1991) [DVD] - 2/5

                A typical early 90s yakuza drama, made long after the genre's demise. Toei had ruled the yakuza cinema first with the chivalrous ninkyo films in the 60s, then with the documentary style jitsuroku films in the 70s. As genre cinema become something of a dirty word at Toei in the 80s, the yakuza films also transformed - to the worse. They became over-long, all-star character dramas which lacked the kind of explosive energy of the jitsuroku films or the unrealistic but charming tall tales of the ninkyo films. Instead they emphasized 80s greyness - some sort of everyday realism that forbid excitement - and melodramatic storylines that weren't all that interesting or original.

                Yakuza Warfare starts well enough: two gangster buddies conduct an attack in enemy headquarters in favour of their clan. One manages to escape, the other is arrested and thrown in prison. Years later the when the latter is released from prison, the former has become a successful yakuza, but the game has changed. The yakuza are now suit wearing businessmen who don't want too much trouble with the authorities. Lots of slow-moving, un-engaging drama ensues before the predictable climax. The small amount of action featured in the film only reminds of what it lacks: balls and attitude. Sonny Chiba has a small and rather forgettable supporting role as one of the yakuza bosses.

                * Original title: Gokudí´ sensí´: Butí´ha (極道戦争 武闘派)
                * Director: Sadao Nakajima
                * Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
                * Film availability: Toei DVD (Japan) (No Subs)





                Chiba




                Chiba and Tamba




                Comment


                • Triple Cross (Japan, 1992) [DVD] - 3/5
                  Kinji Fukasaku returned to the streets after a long hiatus from gangster movies. A group of veteran criminals (including Chiba in a supporting role) receive tip about a money truck from a young hothead (Kazuya Kimura). Things go badly wrong. Unusual to Fukasaku, the film portrays the older generation in a positive light while the youngsters have gone completely crazy. Especially Chiba's young, attention hungry girlfriend (Keiko Oginome) becomes an endurance test for the audience. There's also a rock band/ rock music theme that feels out of place. Fukasaku fares much better with the veteran actors and in creating suspense and action. There is a long, brilliantly edited car chase near the end that is probably the second finest chase scene in Japanese cinema, only second to Fukasaku's own Violent Panic: The Big Crash (1976).

                  * Original title: Itsuka giragira suru hi (いつかギラギラする日)
                  * Director: Kinji Fukasaku
                  * Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
                  * Film availability: Mia DVD (UK), Shochiku DVD (Japan) (No subs)



                  Chiba on the left


                  Chiba


                  Keiko Oginome








                  The car chases alone make the film worth seeing




                  Takuma
                  Senior Member
                  Last edited by Takuma; 02-13-2017, 04:55 AM.

                  Comment


                  • Iron Eagle III: Aces (USA, 1992) [DVD] - 3.5/5

                    The first of the three American films Sonny Chiba made in the early/mid 90s, following the box office disaster of Yellow Fangs that had bankrupted Chiba. He was no doubt looking for a new career path abroad. Hollywood did not discover Chiba, sadly, but his adventures in the States did produce three under-rated b-films, of which Iron Eagle III: Aces was the best. The underrated action adventure was helmed by Bond director John Glen in much the same a fashion as his Roger Moore films.

                    Louis Gossett Jr. makes a likeable hero as an air force pilot who discovers a drug smuggling plot by the Raiders of the Lost Ark villain Paul Freeman. He gathers a team of 4 pilots, including Japanese kamikaze Chiba, to take down the bad guys. Since it's a personal rescue/revenge mission, they have to rely on whatever equipment they can get their hands into, in this case WWII era planes.

                    It's a remarkably dumb, but very enjoyable film with some bravura action, stunt and comedy moments. Chiba is often left with nothing to do in the early scenes, but he becomes a major character towards the end. There are times when his English is a bit difficult to understand, though. Busty bodybuilding champion Rachel McLish is there as well to please the eye, and kick some ass as female Rambo.

                    * Japanese title: エイセス/大空の誓い
                    * Director: John Glen
                    * Chiba's role: Major Supporting Role
                    * Film availability: Optimum DVD (UK), New Line DVD (USA), Maxam BD (Japan)

                    Louis Gossett Jr


                    Chiba






                    Rachel McLish










                    Comment


                    • Immortal Combat (USA, 1994) - 3/5
                      Roddy Piper and Sonny Chiba are two cops follow a seemingly supernatural serial killer to a small island, where some sort of crazy villains are developing immortal fighters. This is a B-movie in and out, with plenty of below the par acting and nonsensical writing. At the same time it's lots of fun with Chiba being great in the fight scenes, which are better than the film's straight-to-video roots would have you expect. Not only does get to do hand-to-hand fighting and swordplay, he also goes full on ninja mode towards the end. Sadly, he's absent most of the film's middle third. Roddy Piper, who is the main star, is less impressive. Limited production values don't stick out too much as the film uses its locations quite well. Interestingly enough, the film resembles Mortal Kombat (1995) quite a bit.

                      * Japanese title: リゾート・トゥ・キル (Resort to Kill)
                      * Director: Dan Neira
                      * Chiba's role: Major Supporting Role
                      * Film availability: Simitar DVD (US) (OOP), Youtube (uploaded by the director)

                      Chiba and Roddy Piper










                      The dude getting his ass kicked in Tommy 'Tiny' Lister






                      Comment


                      • Roddy and Sonny in the same picture? Woah!

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Killer Meteor View Post
                          Roddy and Sonny in the same picture? Woah!
                          Yep. And in the next review we're going to have Sonny and Brigitte Nielsen together

                          Comment


                          • I found the Immortal Combat DVD for $3 years back. It was worth $3. It's dumb, but it's fun.

                            Interested to read your take on Body Count when you get to it. It's pretty goofy stuff.
                            Rock! Shock! Pop!

                            Comment


                            • Codename: Silencer (USA, 1995) [DVD] - 2.5/5
                              A pair of American cops (Robert Davi & Steve Bauer) are targeted by a crazy Asian assassin (Sonny Chiba) who managed to escape prison thanks to a big breasted fan (Brigitte Nielsen) helping him for God only knows why. Very much a product of the 90s, when a premise such as this could still pass for a movie plot. It's sloppily directed and features a piss poor score, but always remains moderately entertaining in a trashy way. Action ranges from slightly impressive (car stunts) to laughable ("high speed" tram chase), and technical execution is on the level "boom mics visible". Co-produced by Toei Video (who were quite active in the American b-action market), Chiba is given a good role and frequently steals the show. He almost becomes the main character in some parts of the film. The female cast is as follow: the bust (Brigitte Nielsen), the ass (Cindy Ambuehl), the nudity (random strippers). While no one would make the mistake of calling this a good film, it's got enough things of interesting to warrant a viewing if you're a fan of one of the stars. Otherwise, probably not.

                              * Japanese title: ザ・サイレンサー(The Silencer). English aka: Body Count
                              * Director: Talun Hsu
                              * Chiba's role: Major Supporting Role
                              * Film availability: Ardustry Home Entertainment DVD (USA) (OOP), Allumination / Source One Entertainment DVD (4 Movie Pack) (USA)

                              Chiba




                              Robert Davi & Steve Bauer




                              The bust


                              The ass (I really wish we had widescreen presentation)


                              The random strippers


                              Chiba and Nielsen






                              I have no idea why Robert Davi('s stuntman) is hanging on to a tram when he could easily run faster


                              Takuma
                              Senior Member
                              Last edited by Takuma; 02-18-2017, 06:39 AM.

                              Comment


                              • The Storm Riders (Hong Kong, 1998) [DVD] - 1.5/5
                                Sonny Chiba has a surprisingly good and large role in this otherwise terrible big budget Hong Kong fantasy. Chiba is an evil lord who raises the sons of his dead enemies as his own. The kids grow up to be swordsmen who look just like boy band members. The film looks very much like a mixture of a 90s video game (with excessive use of primitive CGI) and television drama. Fights are mostly computer and wire assisted. If there is something good about it except for Chiba, it would be the way the film treats bad guys as central characters and makes them quite sympathetic. Chiba has plenty of screen time, as well as many fight scenes, but the Cantonese dub robs him of his charismatic voice. Frustrated with his, I was switching back and forth between Cantonese and Japanese audio tracks until I realized that while Chiba sounds better in Japanese, everyone else sucks in both languages, and it's better to watch the whole thing in Japanese.

                                * Japanese title: 風雲 ストームライダーズ
                                * Director: Andrew Lau
                                * Chiba's role: Major Supporting Role
                                * Film availability: loads of dvd releases





                                The special effects look a bit dated...




                                Chiba steals your ladies






                                This scene isn't quite as terrible as the rest of the film


                                This is how Chiba does the X-ray punch

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