The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

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HungFist
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by HungFist »

New addition to my wall: Yakuza Deka: Poison Gas Affair (やくざ刑事 恐怖の毒ガス) (1971) B0 poster (approx. 100 x 141cm)
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Takeuchi_Yoko
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by Takeuchi_Yoko »

Oh, nice one :clap:
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HungFist
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by HungFist »

Hard Core Chocolate released three new Chiba t-shirts on Saturday.
https://core-choco.shop-pro.jp/

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Deadly Battle in Hiroshima actually sold out online in 10 hours (ALL sizes), but I managed to grab one a few minutes before they were gone, albeit in L-size (M suits me better). They announced they'll be getting more stock next month so I might order the M alongside Karate Inferno later, or I might just settle for the L which might be more future proof, haha.

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HungFist
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by HungFist »

More Chiba coming to DVD via Best Field (who do most of the Toei catalogue releases these days as Toei seem too lazy to bother with physical media). They will be releasing the two Narcotics Prostitution G-Men films (1972) and the short lived but good detective TV show Emergency Line (1976) in September. Here’s hoping someone will pick them for a BD release in the UK or US, particularly the first Narcotics Prostitution G-Men aka A Narcotic’s Agent’s Ballad which I think is one of Chiba’s best movies.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0C6K5QL92
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0C6K7J3HM

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HungFist
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by HungFist »

Viva early Chiba! HD stills.

1 警視庁物語 不在証明 Police Department Story: Alibi (1961)
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2 警視庁物語 十五才の女 Police Department Story: 15 Year Old Woman (1961)
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3 警視庁物語 十二人の刑事 Police Department Story: 12 Detectives (1961)
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4 石松社員は男でござる Tale of A Company Boss: Part 3 (Ishimatsu shain wa otoko degozaru) (1961)
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5 恋愛学校 Love School (1962)
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6 浅草の侠客 Gambler's Love (Asakusa no kyoukaku) (1963
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7 君たちがいて僕がいた Here Because of You (1964)
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8 浪曲子守唄 Game of Chance (1966)
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9 続浪曲子守唄 Game of Chance 2 (1967)
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10 出世子守唄 Game of Chance 3 (1967)
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HungFist
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by HungFist »

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November 14, 2023

SEVEN SPECTACULAR FILMS FROM THE MARTIAL ARTS ICON!

Brace yourself for seven more high-octane films from the legendary career of Sonny Chiba! This second box set offers thrilling highlights from Chiba's highly influential legacy, and some of these films are making their North America Blu-ray debut. Greatly missed by his legion of fans, Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba – The "Street Fighter" – remains an icon for all time!

DISC ONE:
THE DEFENSIVE POWER OF AIKIDO (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 82 min.)
Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido.

13 STEPS OF MAKI (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 78 min.)
Based on a comic book, 13 Steps Of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges.

DISC TWO:
KARATE WARRIORS (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 89 min.)
A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai ...

THE GREAT OKINAWA YAKUZA WAR (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 95 min.)
Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland.

DISC THREE:
KARATE FOR LIFE (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 90 min.)
The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate For Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job ... but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies.

GOLGO 13: ASSIGNMENT KOWLOON (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 92 min.)
International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn ... and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself!

DISC FOUR:
THE OKINAWA WAR OF TEN YEARS (1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1), DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, 101 min.)
It's brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan ... and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa.

https://shoutfactory.com/products/the-s ... 5853079686
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HungFist
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

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This is an absolutely fantastic set!

The Defensive Power of Aikido (1975) is one of the very best and most neglected Japanese martial arts movies. The screenplay by Koji Takada is basically a martial arts version of a ninkyo yakuza film, pitting two fundamentally honourable men (Jiro Chiba as young and reckless Morihei Ushiba, and Sonny Chiba as a gun for hire bodyguard working for villains) against each other. Great scrip dealing with honour and duty conflicts, and fantastic action especially between the two Chiba’s. Etsuko Shihomi appears as well.

13 Steps of Maki (1975) is another absolute gem! If The Defensive Power of Aikido was a martial arts version of a ninkyo film, then this movie is a martial arts version of a Pinky Violence film with Etsuko Shihomi starring as a girl gang leader, and basically the only female in the entire film who doesn’t lose her robe. Lots of entertaining action and it even turns into a women in prison film for a while. I’ve been praying for a home video release for decades, and travelled to Tokyo twice to see this in 35mm. Chiba only does a cameo, though.

Some readers here may be aware of this, but in Japan Karate Warriors (1976) is often considered a loosely related 4th film in the Street Fighter series despite Chiba playing a different character. The film’s Japanese title Kozure satsujin ken is literally a crossover between Love Wolf and Cub (Kozure ookami) and Street Fighter (Satsujin ken), though there’s also a heavy dose of Yojimbo thrown in. It’s karate meets katana, and you get to see Chiba fight with both swords and empty hands. And sometimes both at the same time! And let’s not forget about the incredible slow motion trick that was later used in Shogun’s Ninja and Soul of Chiba, where you see a slow motion move that reverts back to normal speed for a second just at the moment of impact and then back to slow motion. It’s ridiculously cool and fun to watch!

The Great Okinawa Yakuza War (1976) is a legendary, insanely violent true account yakuza film set in Okinawa briefly after the island was returned to Japan from USA, which opened the floodgates to mainland yakuza invading the island. It even got banned in Okinawa in fear that it would initiate another gangster war. Someone once summarized the film as being what would happen if Sonny Chiba’s character from The Street Fighter had decided to join the yakuza. Hiroki Matsukata stars, but Sonny Chiba steals the show as a homicidal, karate obsessed yakuza psycho. Also listen carefully and you can hear the music tune that would later be used in Tomoyasu Hotei’s Battle Without Honor or Humanity which plays in Kill Bill.

Karate for Life (1977) is the last film in the Oyama trilogy and also Chiba’s last karate movie as a leading man. It was the end of an era. It’s not one of Chiba’s best efforts, but it has some of his very best fight scenes such as the Chiba vs. 100 karate student opening and a fantastic final duel against Masashi Ishibashi, not to mention the Enter the Dragon rip-off mirror hall fight.

Golgo 13 (1977) is another film that doesn't need big introductions. Chiba plays the world’s most badass assassin, and even John Woo seems to have copied one scene from this to The Killer. It’s frankly not the greatest movie ever made with some clunky stuff in it, including a non-charismatic Chinese co-lead, but it’s a very entertaining trashy action picture full of sex, violence, martial arts and some delightfully nonsensical bits, filmed on location in Hong Kong. Etsuko Shihomi is in it too. A saw this a few years ago in 35mm on a huge screen and kind of had a blast with it. Just approach it without expecting great art.

The Okinawa War of 10 Years (1978) is another true account yakuza film based on the Okinawa conflicts. This was made in the late 70s when yakuza films were starting to tone down sex and violence in favour of plot and characterization, and isn’t as outrageous as Okinawa Yakuza War. It however features one of Chiba’s most charismatic turns as a yakuza boss trying protect his family in the middle of a gang war. And Chiba’s bearded look alone is enough to make straight man question their sexual orientation! Great machine gun climax as well. A small if flawed gem that is long overdue on home video!
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Re: The Official Sonny Chiba Thread!

Post by Killer Meteor »

Can't wait for 13 Steps of Maki!
bradavon wrote:
but I guess you're more intelligence than me.
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