Audience Member
Working my way through the Sonny Chiba set I've been coming back to infrequently, I threw this one on expecting a Sonny Chiba film, but instead got a film about the woman playing his daughter, who is sent to seek revenge on the men who wronged her pop.
It's watchable, but I was hoping for more of the man himself.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The lead actor of this film is Sue Shiomi and not Sonny Chiba. Chiba is barely in the movie. Shiomi carrys this film fine and gives a good performance as a daughter out for vengence. However she is sadly the only thing good in this movie.
The video quality is terribly blurry and there is major cropping of the picture. Seeing the tops of peoples heads is often times a rarity in this film. In one scene a man lays down three photos of men except we can only see two of the photos because the right side of the frame is chopped.
Technical flaws like the above can be overlooked if the plot and/or fight sequences are good. Sadly that is not the case here. The plot is very simple with no twists to speak of. And the action sequences are so blurry and shakey that they just come off as annoying instead of exciting. The fight choreography wasn't bad at all, in fact it was often good. But the jerky style in which they were filmed really ruined them.
I hate to be so overally negative but when a movie has Sonny Chiba and Sue Shiomi name on the cover I expect a lot more than Dragon Princess delivered.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/16/23
Full Review
Audience Member
[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/42/235542_thumb.jpg[/img]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Etsuko Shiomi plays the daughter of Sonny Chiba in the Dragon Princess. As a little girl, Shiomi witnesses her father getting severally beaten and having his eye taken out. Chiba trains Shiomi to be every bit the martial artist he is. One evening while putting Shiomi through her final test, Chiba pushes her too far. Shiomi strikes back and accidentally kills Chiba. Shiomi views this experience as a clear indication that she is ready to strike revenge on those responsible for her fatherÂ’s obsession.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]“You useless big mouth, you…”[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Yutaka Kohira (New Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701) and Yataka Kodaira collaborate in the creation of the Dragon Princess. The revenge plot of the Dragon Princess is not uncommon for this genre of picture; however, few are presented with such style and pizzazz. The use of Chiba gave this film credibility; although, it was Etsuko ShiomiÂ’s performance that made this film compelling and worth while.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white] [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]“You have to beat him by any means, fair or foul. Never mind about rules. Get him. Kill him. But stay alive.”[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white] [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]The dart in the eye sequence, the poking out of the old manÂ’s eye, the training scene in the snow, Shiomi providing a lesson for the students at the school, Shiomi rescuing the magazine salesman, Shiomi versus the dogs, the Bloody Blades in Cuba, the sex scene on the dance floor, the fight in the rain, Shiomi defeating the blind man (twice), the one armed fight in the field, and the use of the bells to frustrate the blind swordsman were amongst the better portions of the film.[/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white] [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]“Just who the hell are you, anyway.”[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]The Dragon Princess reminds me of a martial arts version of Lady Snowblood. The film is not presented with quit the sympathetic storyline of Lady Snowblood; however, the action scenes are equally as compelling. The fighting scenes are choreographed to perfection. Despite Chiba’s limited performance, he still provides a sense of awe to his character. The added “toughness” in the film provided adequate rationale to the primary storyline. I strongly recommend this film to fans of the Lady Snowblood pictures.[/color][/size][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=white]Grade: B[/color][/size][/font]
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Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
[font=Arial][size=3]Before watching this trilogy, I only knew Sonny Chiba to be Hattori Hanzo in [i]Kill Bill[/i]. Well apparantly, he is one of the most famous Japenese Kung-Fu film actors in history, and this Street Fighter series is what he is most famous for over here in America. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite trilogies of all-time.
[size=5]The Street Fighter (Ozawa, 1974)[/size]
[img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Movie%20Posters/6304266375.jpg[/img]
T-Meter [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]80%
My Rating [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]10/10[/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3]Chiba plays Takuma (Terry) Tsurugi. In the spirit of anti-heros, most specifically being The Man With No Name, Terry is "not so much a good guy as he is a bada[color=Red]ss motherfucker." (Clarence says this to Alabama in [i]True Romance[/i]). [/color][/size][/font][font=Arial][size=3][color=Red]The yakuza try to hire Terry to kill the daughter of one of their former employees. She has just inherited lots of money and the yakuza is after it. Terry refuses and he vows to protect the girl. He plays both sides against each other, but in the end, he ends up taking out a boat load full of yakuza henchmen.
Here's a clip
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e11fnn3nJik"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e11fnn3nJik[/url]
Pretty awesome stuff huh? It's quickly becomig one of my favorites
[size=5][color=White]
[color=Red]Return of the Street Fighter (Ozawa, 1975)[/color][size=3][color=Red]
[img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Movie%20Posters/6303927831.jpg[/img]
T-Meter N/A
My Rating [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]9/10
This time around Terry has to stop the yakuza from lining their pockets with money from a phony charity. [/color][/size][/color][/size][/color][/size][/font][font=Arial][size=3][color=Red][size=5][color=White][size=3][color=Red]More of the same. Buckets full of bad-assery.[/color][/size][/color][/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=3][color=Red][size=5][color=White][size=3][color=Red]
Here's one of the best fights in the whole film.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fQjepGauWM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fQjepGauWM[/url]
[size=5]Sister Street Fighter (Yamaguchi, 1978)[/size]
[img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Movie%20Posters/204557Sister-Streetfighter-Posters.jpg[/img]
T-Meter N/A
My Rating [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]8/10
Not quite as good as the first two, but it's still got plenty of good fight scenes. The original Street Fighter, Terry, isn't even in this film, but Chiba plays a martial arts teacher. They both have to take out
[/color][/size][/color][/size][/color][/size][/font][font=Arial][size=3][color=Red][size=5][color=White][size=3][color=Red] Here's the awesome trailer
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3JY49-Xsxo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3JY49-Xsxo[/url]
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Dragon Princess (Kodaira and Kohira, 1981)[/size]
[img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Movie%20Posters/dragon-princess.jpg[/img] [img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Movie%20Posters/dragonprincess.jpg[/img]
T-Meter N/A
My Rating [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]8/10
Sue Shiomi is the daughter of Sonny Chiba. When Chiba is almost killed by some gangsters (he escapes with the loss of his right eye), he spends his remaining years on Earth training his daughter in Kung-Fu so she can avenge him. Chiba is only in the film for 10 minutes (he dies), which was kind of disappointing, but Sue Shiomi made up for it by kicking serious ass in the tournament that the gangsters set up to line their pockets with the profits (hey, that rhymes [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]). The best fight scene is of course, the final one. It takes place out in a deserted wheat field after Shiomi has won the tournament. The gangsters chase after her and her boyfriend, but she cleverly confuses them by throwing little jingle bells things into the wheat stocks. The wind picks up and the gangsters don't know where she is because they can only hear the bells ringing. Suddenly, she jumps up from her hiding spot and kills them all. It's freakin' awesome.
[size=5] The Chinese Connection (Wei Lo, 1972)[/size]
[/color][/size][/color][/size][/color][/size][/font][font=Arial][size=3][color=Red][size=5][color=White][size=3][color=Red][img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Various/jkd_chinese_connection.jpg[/img] [/color][/size][/color][/size][/color][/size][/font][font=Arial][size=3][color=Red][size=5][color=White][size=3][color=Red][img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l241/BryceTheCyclops/Various/bruchco.jpg[/img]
T-Meter [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]83%
My Rating [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/smilies/fresh.gif[/img]8/10
Many consider this to be Bruce Lee's best movie. I still enjoyed [i]Enter the Dragon[/i] more, but this was really fun. Lee plays Chen. Chen has returned to his former martial arts school just in time to find out that his former teacher has been killed by the Japenese gangsters who own a rival school. The Japenese challenge the "the sick men of Asia" to a tournament. Chen is the only one who accepts the challenge. Not only does he fight in and eventually win the tournament, he plays the detective role as well, gradually uncovering the nasty truth about his teacher's murder. The fight scenes are top notch, and they even more intensified by the anger you feel towards the Japenese.
The only problem I had with this film was Lee was a little too loud and overbearing with his sound effects. [i]Every[/i] single punch and kick came with a loud scream. I know it's a main staple of martial arts films, but this was just a little too excesssive. Besides that little annoyance though, the film was really enjoyable and if you're interested in martial arts films, then you should start with this classic Bruce Lee film.
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Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
[img]http://64.239.129.220/assets/users3/wisekwai/entertainment/gallery-msg-1089056635-2.jpg[/img]
Have trotted out my 10 Faces of Sonny Chiba box set. I feel like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel, but this one isn't so bad.
Sonny is not actually in this too much. The star is Sue Shiomi, who takes her cues from Sonny in all her clenched teeth, karate-yelling fury.
The photography is all jumpy. The DVD transfer is pretty poor, too. So the images are somewhat blurry. The sound is really bad, too. All English dubbed and muffled.
But the closing fight scene is worth slogging through this 90 minute feature. It's why I gave this a 7/10.
Still have a few more of the movies in the box:
[list][*]Legend of the Eight Samurai
[*]Shogun's Ninja
[*]Samurai Reincarnation
[*]Karate Warriors
[/list]Actually, I watched a couple minutes of Karate Warriors and didn't like the looks of it. I've seen a bit of Legend of Eight Samurai and it looks pretty tedious.
But, the price of this box set, around 20 bucks, is well worth it just to have Street Fighter, Return of Street Fighter and Revenge of Street Fighter.
The remainder of the box, Sister Street Fighter and The Bodyguard, aren't that great, but have their moments.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
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