12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Viva Chiba!, August 2, 2004
This review is from: Kill Chiba Collection (DVD)
Sonny Chiba, who became a major kung-fu star shortly after Bruce Lee's death, is one of the few martial artists to show the gritty aftermath of a kung-fu battle. In his most famous movie, "The Street Fighter," he ripped out a man's throat and another man's testicles on screen, earning it the first (now defunct) "X" rating for violence. In this collection, we have three films from the hight of his popularity in the 1970s -"Golgo 13," "The Bullet Train," and "The Executioner."
"Golgo 13" is perhaps the weakest of the three films, although Chiba, playing the title assassin, is in fine form. The plot never makes much sense, but at least there are some good action scenes.
"The Bullet Train" (later remade as "Speed"!) is perhaps the best of the three movies, although Chiba is limited to the role of the train conductor and his screentime is limited. Still, there are some genuinely suspensful moments.
"The Executioner" is the one that is most likely to please Sonny Chiba fans. It's a wacky and ridiculous movie, with some very graphic violence (a man's eye pops out early on), an insane plot, and some incredibly butt-ugly nudity. It's fun, fun, fun.
This set, titled "Kill Chiba" to capitalise on Chiba's role in "Kill Bill," has the three films presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. The colours are washed out and the picture is extremely scratchy, but at least they're widescreen. The sound is strictly English dubbed, but that hardly matters. The biggest disappointment, though, is the lack of any extra features whatsoever. Could a poster gallery, a trailer, or even a biography and production notes been too much to ask for?
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cheesy Violence+Sonny Chiba= Unbelievable Hilarity, January 30, 2006
Awesome!! The Executioner reminds me of The Street Fighter trilogy but not as violent but it was almost there and this film was actually made before The Street Fighter Trilogy so you can say this is like a precursor to The Street Fighter Trilogy. This Film is awesome a classic Sonny Chiba film. I especially like it when body parts pop out of people or are ripped out. WATCH IT!!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not good picture quality, but it is WIDESCREENED!, August 26, 2006
This review is from: Kill Chiba Collection (DVD)
There is really somethign for everybody here. Amazon has the golgo movie for $39 right now! While that is the worst movie in this 3-pack, it was still almost worth watching. But bullet train is a really good movie that has no action but keeps you in suspense and has some really good acting. The Executioner is the real reason you should buy this. Not quite as good as the Streetfighter, but just as cheesy. I think that is all I will say, the Executioner is an absolute classic in the exploitation genre.
So all in all this is a really good buy.
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