Bullets 'n' Babes

Karate Bearfighter (Japan, 1975) [DVD] – 4/5
A very enjoyable sequel packs loads of action but almost no plot. Chiba is his usual badly behaving self as Oyama, who seems not have learned anything from the previous film's events, and all the better for it. When he isn't working as yakuza bodyguard, he's picking up fights at local dojos. He finally gets a grip of himself and travels to Hokkaido, where he befriends a little boy, but enemies won't leave him alone. He also agrees to fight a bear for money. Unlike in the previous film where he battled a real bull, this time we're treated a remarkably unconvincing man in a bear suit. Action is fast, fierce and plentiful, but once again slightly hurt by shaky camerawork. The biggest issue in the otherwise entertaining film is the lack of plot, which leaves the film without a clear aim and sometimes makes the storyline a bit uninteresting.

* Original Title: Kenka karate gokushin burai ken (けんか空手 極真無頼拳)
* Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: Adness DVD (USA), Toei DVD (JP) (no subs)

Screencaps from the Adness DVD:





















Original Teaser Trailer from the Toei DVD:






Footage taken from the previous film: Chiba fighting a bull


Masutatsu Oyama (middle) instructing a fight scene




R1 Adness vs. R2J Toei DVD comparison can be found here:
https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/ ... =19&t=6983

The Defensive Power of Aikido (Japan, 1975) [35mm] – 4/5
Sonny Chiba left the leading role to his brother Jiro in this excellent, though very loose martial arts biopic of Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. For entertainment's sake, the film focuses on Ueshiba's somewhat reckless early years. Chiba himself shows up in a slightly villainous supporting role as a bodyguard for a no-good gang. He eventually cuts his ties with the gang, but only after accidentally injuring an innocent woman and feeling he must take responsibility about it.

This is one of the best Japanese martial arts films of the 70s, not only for excellent fights, but especially for Koji Takada's screenplay, which uses themes of honour, brotherhood and conflict similar to old school yakuza films. Jiro Chiba pales in comparison to his brother, but he makes a decent lead and there is genuine spark in the fights between them. Etsuko Shihomi and Masafumi Suzuki appear in the film as well. Add a cool soundtrack by The Street Fighter composer Toshiaki Tsushima and you've got a highly recommended film. Interestingly enough, it's also one of the least exploitative films in the genre, with no sex or nudity at all.

* Original Title: Gekitotsu! Aikido (激突！合気道)
* Director: Shigero Ozawa
* Chiba's role: Major supporting role
* Film availability: VoD (Japan) (No subs). Review format: 35mm.

Masafumi Suzuki and Jiro Chiba




Sonny Chiba






Etsuko Shihomi








Sonny vs. Jiro


Two posters

Rugby Yaro (Japan, 1976) [35mm] - 3/5
The success of Truck Yaro (1975-1979) initiated a whole load of movies that put "Yaro" in their title, including this semi-bonkers sports comedy/drama. Sonny Chiba's brother Jiro Chiba stars as a Rugby player whose team must find a way to beat the opponent. It's a standard storyline without any major surprises, but works surprisingly well. Training scenes are relatively nuts; much better than the actual matches actually, which tend to go on forever. There is no sex, nudity or graphic violence, making this a family friendly affair. Sonny Chiba appears for about 7 minutes during the last third as a truck driver who comes to Jiro's rescue. It's not a classic film, but a pretty decent time waster.

* Original Title: Rugby yaro (ラクビー野郎)
* Director: Akira Shimizu
* Chiba's role: Small supporting role
* Film availability: None. Review format: 35mm

Poster


Stills

Jiro Chiba


Jiro Chiba


Jiro Chiba


Sonny Chiba


Sonny Chiba

Machine Gun Dragon (Japan, 1976) [VoD] - 1.5/5
An underwhelming comedic yakuza film with Bunta Sugawara and his gangster mom robbing a bagful of mafia money. Of course they get in trouble when the mafia sends their finest hitmen, including Toei's black actor Willy Dosey, after them. There are two great things about the film: Sonny Chiba as a high kicking passport forger and Bunta Sugawara's theme song. Both last for about two minutes. Nothing else is great about the movie. The whole thing is utterly ridiculous but rarely in an amusing way. One of the weakest films Chiba appeared in in the 70s.

* Original Title: Yokohama ankokugai mashingan no ryu (横浜暗黒街　マシンガンの竜)
* Director: Akihisa Okamoto
* Chiba's role: Small supporting role
* Film availability: Well... there is this piece of crap, but...

Stills, lobby cards, VHS, none featuring Chiba

Jail Breakers (Japan, 1976) [35mm] – 3/5

Sonny Chiba is a master prison breaker in an entertaining, but slightly underwhelming action comedy loaded with impressive stunt work. The film was a return to the "modern stunt action" that had initially made Chiba famous in Key Hunter (1968-1973). The film has a tremendous opening scene in which Chiba escapes a prison by grabbing to ladders from a helicopter, changes his clothes in the air, jumps down to a moving truck and then jumps to another moving vehicle to make the escape. Jackie Chan would do something similar a few decades later in Police Story 3.

The rest of the film is a bit less inspired mix of action, comedy, and criminals taking turns at cheating each other. Writing is sometimes downright lazy, e.g. the scene where a carefully planned escape operation fails and Chiba simply steals a fire engine and drives away (during prison riot) without anyone noticing! Director Kosaku Yamashita was a master of old school ninkyo yakuza films, but he never seemed quite as comfortable with modern day movies. All that being said, it's still a fun film, and also essentially a family friendly affair with no sex, and only minimal (though slightly bloody) violence.

* Original Title: Dasso yugi (脱走遊戯)
* Director: Kosaku Yamashita
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: VoD (Japan) (No subs) (review format: 35mm / screencaps: TV)

Opening escape. Over 3 minutes of it was shot in a single take just to show you it's really Chiba doing it all

Karate Warriors (Japan, 1976) [35mm] - 3.5/5
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi was widely considered one of Toei's least talented directors, yet he made some of the most enjoyable action films of the 70s. He compensated his lack of originality and message with an abundance of solid, occasionally exhilarating and technically well-enough made mayhem. Karate Warriors (Kozure Satsujin Ken) is literally a mix of Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami) and The Street Fighter (Satsujin Ken) as well as Yojimbo. Sonny Chiba is a wandering karate warrior who arrives a town ruled by two competing gangs. He tries to profit from the situation, while Isao Natsuyagi's samurai bodyguard with a cub is complicating things. Passable story and plenty of great action. The film is best remembered for the fantastic slow motion effect where a scene is otherwise played in slow motion but the action reverts back to normal speed for a fraction of a second just when Chiba's hit or kick is about to reach its target.

The US version of the film differs from the original Japanese print. The chronology has been changed, meaning scenes play in different order, the soundtrack differs and of course everyone has been dubbed in English. There may be other changes as well. Only the US version is available on DVD, but Toei has screened the Japanese cut in HD on Toei Channel.

* Original Title: Kozure satsujin ken (子連れ殺人拳)
* Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: BCI DVD (USA) (dubbed)

Screencaps from the US DVD

Spaghetti western style OP for the US version. JP version plays this scene later


Natsuyagi and his cub




Bad guys Eiji Go and Hideo Murota




Still image cannot do justice to the awesomeness of the slow mo used in this shot


When empty hand is not enough


Karate + sword!

Okinawa Yakuza War (Japan, 1976) [35mm] – 4/5
This excellent jitsuroku yakuza film is based on the 4th Okinawa conflict which saw the local yakuza battle the mainland gangs after Okinawa was handed back to Japan in 1972. The conflict was still going on at the time the film was released, and fearing the film might add fuel to the fire, the Okinawan government banned it immediately. Sonny Chiba plays the most frightening character of his career as a psychotic mad dog yakuza with karate skills. The character is basically a combination of two earlier Chiba characters: Otomo from Hiroshima Death Match, and Tsurugi from The Street Fighter. The film's real lead is Hiroki Matsukata, but Chiba steals every scene he’s in with his incredible over-the-top performance. The film does lose a bit of its energy when Chiba is not on screen, but it's still a very solid and extremely violent genre film, just a notch behind Kinji Fukasaku's films.

When the film played at the Sonny Chiba film festival in Tokyo in 2014, the print was in such poor shape that it could literally have fallen apart any moment. Bucket loads of frames were missing, including a long segment showing a central character's death. Film preservers had, however, heroically managed to restore a 2 second bit of female star Maya Hiromi's breasts to the middle of the missing segment.

* Original Title: Okinawa yakuza senso (沖縄やくざ戦争)
* Director: Sadao Nakajima
* Chiba's role: Major supporting role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (JP) (No subs)

Matsukata




Chiba


Chiba


Chiba (w Mikio Narita)


Chiba with an axe

Karate for Life (Japan, 1977) [35mm] – 3/5
The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy was also Chiba’s last karate film in which he played starring role. It was the end of an era; the 70s karate film boom had ran its course (new kind of action films with Chiba protégé Hiroyuki Sanada would emerge in the 80s, however). Having battled bears and bulls in the earlier instalments, Chiba now encounters the most frightening beast of them all: an American pro-wrester. It's not one of Chiba’s better films, but it's still quite entertaining if you can accept some clichéd drama featuring orphan children and rather silly fights against wrestlers. The film's best scenes are the cool opening, in which Chiba beats 101 karate fighters, and fantastic closing duel against nemesis Masashi Ishibashi. Okinawa locations are also somewhat well used, and Hideo Murota turns in a good supporting performance as a fight promoter.

* Original Title: Karate baka ichidai (空手バカ一代)
* Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: Adness DVD (USA)

Ishibashi


Karate demon Chiba












Chiba vs. Ishibashi. One of Chiba's most intense on screen fights

Doberman Cop (Japan, 1977) [DVD] - 3/5
Kinji Fukasaku's last crime film for the 70s. This is much different from his nihilist jitsuroku output; a loose adaptation of Fist of the North star author Bronson's manga. Sonny Chiba is a country bumpkin detective from Okinawa, sent to Tokyo to catch serial killer. The case turns out to be connected with music industry. Chiba enters Tokyo carrying a pig in his bag, begins his investigations by visiting a strip club where he basically gets raped by a dancer, and soon befriends a pot smoking motorcycle gang. He's also a trigger happy, karate trained badass who doesn't hesitate to take out bad guys in the film's effective action sequences. It all plays out like a live action comic book, which may take a while to get used to. Beneath the flamboyant surface, there is Fukasaku's usual gritty world view to be found, however. The storyline, which links the show biz and underworld, is more interesting than average.

The film was followed by a TV series called Bakuso! Doberman Deka in 1980. The series did not feature Chiba, but co-starred Etsuko Shihomi. In the series the main character was a motorcycle cop.

* Original Title: Doberman deka (ドーベルマン刑事)
* Director: Kinji Fukasaku
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (JP) (no subs) + this piece of crap, but...

Caps from the Toei DVD

Chiba and a pig






Chiba with some new friends


Flashback to Chiba's stunt action era


And a bit of karate

Yakuza War: The Japanese Godfather (Japan, 1977) [DVD] - 2.5/5

By 1977 the jitsuroku yakuza film genre was nearly dead. Kinji Fukasaku released his final yakuza films that year, while his colleague Sadao Nakajima still went on for a few more years, but the films weren't getting any better. Ultra violence and documentary style gangster films just weren't the big thing anymore, and the producers were telling filmmakers to try and appeal to female audiences. Violence was cut down, more drama was written into the storylines and running times were extended to make the films bigger. Novels were often used as source material. It was the beginning of the end.

The Japanese Godfather is a sort of transitional film. It runs way too long at 132 minutes, but at the same time it still retains some of the ruthless violence and graphic sex that characterized the mid-70s yakuza films, including director Nakajima's own Okinawa Yakuza War (1976). Highlights include manly man Bunta Sugawara pulling bullets out of his vest with his bare hands, and short tempered bodyguard Sonny Chiba yelling at a man and pulling him from the clothes AFTER unloading six bullets into his chest times.

Toei gathered basically every big name actor they could get for this film, and called it “30 years of Toei men” on the poster. Of course, there had been similar star gatherings before, but this time it felt more like an attempt to lure the audiences to the theatre one last time. The cast includes Sugawara, Chiba, Koji Tsuruta, Tsunehiko Watase, Mikio Narita, Hiroki Matsukata, Asao Koike, Tatsuo Umemiya, and many others. The sequel would add Toshiro Mifune to the cast. There was, of course, a certain charm to having all these guys in the same movie.

* Original title: Yakuza senso: Nihon no don (やくざ戦争　日本の首領)
* Director: Sadao Nakajima
* Chiba's role: Major supporting role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (Japan) (No subtitles)

Sonny China being a gentleman


Bunta Sugawara removing bullets from his west


Alan Delon, sorry, I mean Sonny Chiba, doing bodyguarding for Koji Tsuruta


Yakuza mobile


Hiroki Matsukata enjoying the view


Car on fire


Gangster meeting


Yakuza rests on the floor


Sonny Chiba grabbing a man by the chest AFTER shooting him six times!

Honor of Japan (Japan, 1977) [DVD] - 2/5
This was a sort of companion piece to the Godfather of Japan trilogy (1977-1978), which director Sadao Nakajima put out around the same time, to the extent that it shared some of the same advertising taglines. All of the films were talkative, story-heavy films about organized criminality, featuring a dozen central characters in each film and mostly lacking the hectic energy of the mid-70s yakuza films. They are, despite their ambition, a sad example of where the genre was heading: towards pretentious "serious crime cinema" that emphasized pseudo-epic storylines over mayhem despite not having especially interesting storylines in the first place. Honor of Japan works best during its few violent shoot outs, and when it pits yakuza stars Bunta Sugawara and Sonny Chiba against each other, but like the Godfather of Japan films it suffers from a slow-moving and not all that engaging storyline.

* Original title: Nihon no jingi (日本の仁義)
* Director: Sadao Nakajima
* Chiba's role: Major supporting role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (Japan) (No subtitles)

Chiba




Yakuza meetings


More yakuza meetings


Even more yakuza meetings


Koji Tsuruta


Chiba


Chiba and Sugawara

Two stills for Honor of Japan

Message From Space (Japan, 1978) [VoD] - 2.5/5
The Japanese were quick to take note of Star Wars' success, releasing a handful of copycats to Japanese screens before the film had even opened in Japan. Message From Space was the biggest budgeted (approx. $5 million) of them. Hiroyuki Sanada, Etsuko Shihomi, and Vic Morrow star; Sonny Chiba has a small and forgettable supporting role. In fact, more interesting than the cast is the fact that the film was based on an old samurai novel. Unfortunately the sci-fi adaptation turned out quite a mess with hardly any interesting characters. Special effects are sometimes good, sometimes not. Tokusatsu fans may still like it, and indeed the film has its fans, but for non-genre fans there are better movies to see. Fukasaku did much better with his second try, Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), which was a tremendously entertaining pop ballad period fantasy version of the same story.

* Original title: Uchu kara no messeji (宇宙からのメッセージ)
* Director: Kinji Fukasaku
* Chiba's role: Small supporting role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (Japan) (in Japanese, no subtitles), Shout! Factory DVD (US) (English dub), Discotek / Eastern Star DVD (US) (sub and dub) (the legal status of this release is questionable)

Okinawa 10 Year War (Japan, 1978) [35mm] – 3.5/5
Sonny Chiba is at his most charismatic in this yakuza film based on the same conflict as Okinawa Yakuza War (1976). This one, however, covers a 10 year period. It was produced after the primary jitsuroku era and one can see the effect: the violence has been toned down a little bit, drama is emphasized with larger (not better) female roles, and there is a comedian included in the cast in a serious role. None of these changes were for the better. Chiba, however, is terrific as a gangster who has a wife and child to take care of. His acting is solid and charisma, partly thanks to the bearded look, is through the roof. Hiroki Matsukata co-stars. Opening credits and advertising materials bill him as the lead, but I would say Chiba is the actual main character with more screen time. The action packed ending is also very satisfying.

* Original title: Okinawa 10 nen senso (沖縄10年戦争)
* Director: Akinori Matsuo
* Chiba's role: Starring role
* Film availability: VoD (Japan) (No subtitles)

Chiba and Matsukata

Bought something...


This thing is huge! It's sadly folded (I'm sure there is a special place in hell for people who fold movie poster) and very much looks 41 years old (as it is), but I'm happy to have it.

G.I. Samurai (Japan, 1979) [35mm] - 3.5/5

Sonny Chiba revived his modern action formula from the late 60s / early 70s in this major action film produced by Haruki Kadokawa. It was a new era, however. Gone were the days of Toei's modestly budgeted production line films, replaced by Kadokawa's highly commercial production strategy which involved major monetary investments and simultaneous multi format merchandise releases (film, pamphlet, theme songs, novel etc.). The film was budgeted at over one billion yen, which was almost as much as Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980) and twice as much as Samurai Reincarnation (1981).

The clever action fantasy mixes science fiction with historical characters. Chiba stars as self defence forces commander whose platoon somehow gets thrown back in time to the 17th century. Luckily for them, all their weapons, equipment, and vehicles (including a helicopter and tank) get transported with them. They find themselves in the middle of a clan war between Nagao Kagetora (Isao Natsuyagi) and Shingen Takeda.

The generous budget has allowed Chiba to design a truckload of great stunt and action sequences. The final encounter between modern soldiers and the samurai is pure war where a tank and a helicopter are destroyed and dead enemies are counted in hundreds. There are some great stunts like Chiba hanging from a helicopter at the speed of 100 kilometres per hour, and Hiroyuki Sanada later climbing into and jumping from the same helicopter. Some of the stunts were filmed using camera attached to a helmet worn by Chiba.

Being a late 70s big budget film, the movie tones down the exploitation imagery somewhat compared to mid 70s. However, there is still a fair amount of violence, sexuality/nudity, unintentionally silly male bonding, and surprisingly dark themes regarding masculine desire for power and domination. Many of these darker shades were actually removed from the film's butchered US theatrical release, which was cut by almost an hour. The original 139 min version is much preferable and doesn't really lag despite the running time, except in the closing scene where the filmmakers needed to get closing theme 'Endless Way' played in its entirety. In terms of execution the film may not have the punch of Chiba's best films, but as an action and stunt showcase it's an entertaining ride.

* Original title: Sengoku jieitai (戦国自衛隊)
* Director: Kosei Sato
* Chiba's role: Starring Role
* Film availability: Kadokawa SE DVD & BD (JP) (new master) (no subs), Kadokawa Standard DVD (JP) (old master) (no subs), BCI/Ronin Entertainment DVD (US) (new master), Adness DVD (US) (old master), Optimum DVD (UK) (new master) (cut for horse falls)
** DVD comparison can be found here



















Hiroyuki Sanada


Hiroko Yakushimaru

Dead Angle (Japan, 1979) [DVD] - 3/5
154 minute, novel based crime drama about a sociopath businessman (Isao Natsuyagi) and his associates who cheat small businesses out of their money with shady contracts in the early 50s. It's a pretty well acted and somewhat original film that nevertheless suffers from the late 70s / early 80s "mammoth disease" that came to plague Japanese cinema. Running time has been extended beyond the necessary point, and the emphasis has been shifted from action to character drama. Thankfully, here it works pretty well. Sonny Chiba has a small but decent supporting role as a small time mobster who becomes partners with the main character, doing some of his dirty work.

* Original title: Hakuchu no shikaku (白昼の死角)
* Director: Toru Murakawa
* Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
* Film availability: Toei DVD (JP) (no subs)







Chiba


Chiba






Chiba

Shogun's Ninja (Japan, 1980) [35mm] - 3.5/5
A relatively bizarre ninja film mixes period drama, idol appeal, and fantastic action, all set to a truly horrible porno jazz soundtrack. Hiroyuki Sanada is a young avenger returning from exile from China (a perfect excuse for Hong Kong style action choreography, often enhanced with the same awesome slow motion technique introduced in Karate Warriors). Evil Sonny Chiba and his two loyal ninja servants are after his life. The film is insanely uneven, with some beautifully atmospheric scenes followed by utterly ridiculous spider ninjas in very modern looking costumes. Tetsuro Tamba has the film's best supporting role as white beard ninja master, but villain Sonny Chiba also gets his share of great scenes. The opening assassination alone makes the film worth seeing. Etsuko Shihomi appears as well. Suzuki, Sanada, Shihomi and Chiba, however, did much better in the following year's action comedy classic Roaring Fire.

I keep changing my rating for the film every time I see it. It's got such evident strengths, and such evident weaknesses, that whichever dominates my memory, the other is bound to impress/disappoint me the next time I see it. But it is a fun film, no matter how you see it.

* Original title: Ninja bugeicho momochi sandayu (忍者武芸帖　百地三太夫)
* Director: Norifumi Suzuki
* Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
* Film availability: Adness (DVD) (USA)
** DVD comparison here

Superb opening with two ninja assistants on Chiba's shoulders. The opponent is Masashi Ishibashi, btw.


Sanada




Tetsuro Tamba




Sanada's love interest Yuki Ninagawa. If you want to see her without clothes, you need to watch Kichitaro Negishi's (superb) Crazed Fruit (1981)


Chiba

I forgot to mention about the Shogun's Ninja teaser trailer, which is pretty cool. It consists mainly of behind the scenes footage and training prior to the filming. It's on the Toei dvd; not on the R1 dvd unfortunately.

"Hiroyuki Sanada"




Japan Action Club stuntman tasting Sanada's foot




"Super Action"


"Action Director: Sonny Chiba"


"Directed by Norifumi Suzuki"

Tokyo Daijishin Magnitude 8.1 (Japan, 1980) [16mm] - 2/5

This generously budgeted TV film and effects extravaganza remains one of the rarest films in Sonny Chiba's filmography. The film premiered on Nippon TV in 1980, and completely disappeared until it was screened in a special event in Tokyo in 2013. That screening was reportedly so popular that only a fraction of the customers were able to obtain a ticket. in 2014 Cinema Vera screened the film at the Chiba festival, with plenty of screenings from a relatively worn out 16 mm print.

As suggested by the title (Tokyo Great Earthquake Magnitude 8.1), it’s a disaster movie based on the premise of a giant earthquake hitting in Tokyo. This fear stemmed from real life: Tokyo had been destroyed by earthquakes several times, most recently in 1923 when more than 140 000 people died and over 400 000 buildings were destroyed. Disaster movies were not an especially common genre in Japanese cinema, however, kaiju films were. It wasn't such a big step from giant monsters stamping Tokyo to a natural disasters creating similar cinematic destruction.

Indeed, a couple of shots in Tokyo Daijishin Magnitude 8.1 seem so familiar that they just might be old Godzilla sets put into new use. That wouldn’t be surprising since many of the filmmakers, including producer Tomoyuki Tanaka and special effects director Koichi Kawakita, and co-production company Toho, had their background in Godzilla films. The obviously fake looking but enjoyable miniature work is actually the best thing about the film. There are a couple of especially memorable scenes, like an aircraft flying over Tokyo that has turned into a giant inferno, and the dawn in the destroyed metropolis.

As character drama Tokyo Daijishin Magnitude 8.1 falls flat. All the usual clichés from helpless grandmother to dumb children and pets escaping on the wrong moment are included, not to mention characters discussing how terrible it would be if an earthquake hit Tokyo - just a few hours before it really happens. That is quite disappointing considering the film was directed by Kiyoshi Nishimura, who had helmed interesting thrillers and existential action films like The Creature Called Man (1970) and Hairpin Circus (1972) in the 1970s.

Sonny Chiba plays the starring role; however, he doesn’t have much else to do than run back and forth in the middle of special effects, and worry about supporting characters constantly getting in trouble. It’s not even an especially physical role since most of the effects are make-believe (e.g. miniatures and visual effects). His most memorable scene involves blowing up a door while taking cover inside a safe. Yutaka Nakajima, who appeared in some earlier Chiba films like The Executioner (1974), plays the female lead, but her role is very forgettable as well. There are a few other supporting actors as well, but amusingly a great lack of extras. It seems the entire budget was spent on special effects since there are only a handful of people in Tokyo and they miraculously run into each other throughout the film.

Because of its rarity Tokyo Daijishin Magnitude 8.1 will remain to be a sought after movie. It’s a decent special effects show that probably deserves to be seen by genre fans, especially for its nostalgia value, but it’s hardly a great movie. For fans of Chiba it’s passable viewing, but not among his more memorable roles.

As a side note; the film’s budget was 150 million yen, which was five times higher than the episode budget for the famous cop-action series Seibu Keisatsu (which is still fondly remembered for its insane action scenes full of car wrecking and explosions) that was screening on TV around the same time. By the 1980s many of the former actions stars, like Yujiro Ishihara, Tetsuya Watari, and Chiba himself were mostly working on TV. Chiba had already starred in various different shows since the 1960s, like Key Hunter (1967-1973) and The Bodyguard (1974). In the 1980s he begun to work primarily for television. It was a great era of epic small screen action entertainment that often rivalled, and sometimes surpassed, the theatrical films. Nothing like that exists on Japanese TV anymore.

* Original title: Tokyo Daijishin Magnitude 8.1 (東京大地震マグニチュード8.1)
* Director: Kiyoshi Nishimura
* Chiba's role: Starring Role
* Film availability: None (review format: 16mm)

The Bushido Blade (USA, 1981) - 1.5/5
This historical epic about Commodore Perry's men attempting to retrieve a stolen sword in Japan is one of the worst films Sonny Chiba ever appeared in. The film basically portrays most of the Japanese characters as sneaky backwards barbarians whose concept of honour is a laughing matter. Oddly enough, the film was actually helmed by Toho veteran Tsugunobu Kotani rather than an American filmmaker. Talk about orientalism. In all fairness it must be said the American characters also mostly come out as ignorant morons, but it is impossible to say whether this was intentional or not.

If there is something positive about the film, it's the big name cast featuring Toshiro Mifune, Bin Amatsu, Tetsuro Tamba, and Sonny Chiba. None of them make much of an impression, but at least Chiba is given a couple of passable action moments. Some might also be interested to hear Laura Gemser is in the film. Richard Boone makes his final film appearance in the film, and he looks like he hated every second of it. The film does get a little more to tolerable as it advances, mainly due to a romance between a young navy officer and a Japanese woman, but that's not saying much. It is really no wonder the film never hit the Japanese theatres, and even avoided video release until 1990.

* Original title: The Bushido Blade
* Director: Tsugunobu Kotani
* Chiba's role: Small Supporting Role
* Film availability: Wellspring DVD (US) (90 min TV version, fullscreen)
* Note: reviewed version: 90 min edit.

This poster is so much better than the film

Samurai Reincarnation (Japan, 1981) [35mm] - 4/5

Sonny Chiba plays legendary samurai Jubei Yagyu (for the 4th time) in this unique swordplay horror epic that seamlessly mixes historical characters with supernatural fantasy. Jubei has to encounter an army of evil made of defeated swordsmen brought back to life by fallen Christian Shiro Amakusa (Kenji Sawada).

The film was based on a novel by the frequently adapted ninja exploitation author Futaro Yamada (Kunoichi Ninpo, 1964; Ninja's Mark, 1968; Ninja Wars, 1982) and co-produced by Toei and Haruki Kadokawa, with a budget of 500 million yen (roughly 5 million USD in modern currency). Hideo Gosha was originally set to direct, but he was replaced by Kinji Fukasaku after Gosha was arrested for possession of illegal weapons.

Considering the large budget, it is amazing how dark and atypical the film is. From the "hell on earth" opening with thousands of decapitated bodies lying on ground to a storyline that spends its entire first hour following villains, and Jubei Yagyu fighting the beloved Musashi Miyamoto who has turned into a zombie, this truly goes against conventions.

Sonny Chiba designed the film's action scenes, including the stunning final duel against Wakayama in a burning castle that still makes audiences wonder how the hell did they do that? Reportedly, almost everyone suffered burns during the filming. Modern CGI spectacles look pathetic in comparison.

It's an atmospheric, unforgettable film that will not please all viewers. The slow pacing alone may turn out a challenge for some, but it also works to the film's benefit. When Jubei Yagyu , armed with a sword that would "cut even God were you to encounter him" finally encounters Musashi Miyamoto about 1.5 hours into the film, the tension has reached a level few swordplay films can match.

* Original title: Makai tensho (魔界転生)
* Director: Kinji Fukasaku
* Chiba's role: Starring Role
* Film availability: Media Blasters DVD (USA), IVL DVD (Hong Kong)

Kenji Sawada




Chiba


Jubei Yagyu vs Musashi Miyamoto


Ken Ogata is almost unrecognizable as Musashi Miyamoto


Tomisaburo Wakayama

Ninja Wars (Japan, 1982) [DVD] - 3.5/5
An enjoyable big budget ninja actioner with a relatively high exploitation factor for what is essentially an idol film. Hiroyuki Sanada stars, Kadokawa idol Noriko Watanabe is his ninja girlfriend who is captured and killed by evil monks who need a virgin's tears to produce a love potion that will help them rule the country. Sonny Chiba has a small but important supporting role as a mysterious ninja who is assisting Sanada. Violence and sex are prominent although not very graphic, but it's love that conquers all in a surprisingly romantic climax. As an 80s Kadokawa production it's a far more commercial film than the 70s genre flicks, and features far superior production values. The film was the year's 3rd most popular Japanese film at the box office (a double feature with Dirty Hero)

* Original title: Iga ninpôchô (伊賀忍法帖)
* Director: Kôsei Saitô
* Chiba's role: Major Supporting Role
* Film availability: Adness DVD (USA), Kadokawa BD (Japan) (no subs)

Sanada and Watanabe




Chiba




Yes, this is the film with monks throwing up acid!






Chiba

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

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