Customer Reviews

Lady Snowblood

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

LADY SNOWBLOOD (1973) is a starkly beautiful Japanese swordplay drama featuring a female fighter, Shurayuki Hime (Lady Snowblood), or Yuki for short, whose mission in life is to track down and slay three of the four villains who brutalized her mother and killed the mother's husband and son. It takes place in the 1890s, in Meiji-era Japan, and includes several helpful flashbacks to provide the context for Yuki's mission. Born in prison--her mother was there for killing the first of the villains and died after childbirth--Yuki is raised by a Buddhist reverend who calls her a "child of the netherworld" and trains her in the fighting arts. Tall and regal, beautiful and ghostly white, Lady S (played by Meiko Kaji) looks too pure to sully herself with bloodletting, a tack which gives her the element of surprise in her many swordfights.

The film is divided into four chapters and is based on a manga written by Kazuo Koike, who also wrote the "Lone Wolf and Cub" and "Crying Freeman" manga series. At one point in Chapter Three, Yuki meets a writer (Toshio Kurosawa) who publishes a newspaper ("a cheap little rag") and tells Yuki's story, accompanied by manga-like illustrations, making her a legend in her own time and causing her considerable dismay. There's a bit of stylization in the fighting as Yuki leaps up impossible heights and causes blood to gush out like a fountain whenever she slices or dismembers an opponent, but otherwise the film has a deceptive simplicity as Yuki moves like a wraith through small villages and the back alleys of Tokyo in her inexorable quest for vengeance. There is a lot of action and bloodshed, so fans of samurai and yakuza films should be satisfied. The tape is presented in a flawless letter-boxed transfer, in Japanese with English subtitles.

Meiko Kaji (who also starred in the FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION series) plays the title role and sings the theme song, "Flower of Carnage." Quentin Tarantino drew on this film as part of the inspiration for the Lucy Liu character, O-Ren Ishii, in KILL BILL VOL. 1 (2003) and also uses "Flower of Carnage" on his soundtrack. As impressive as KILL BILL is, fans who want to experience the formal beauty of the original form--seen here in a deftly-blended mix of samurai, ninja, yakuza, and manga motifs--need to go back to films like this. And judging from recent Japanese genre releases, e.g. RETURNER, ONMYOJI, and PRINCESS BLADE (itself a flashy contemporary reworking of LADY SNOWBOOD), to name a few, it's clear that, aside from KILL BILL, "they just don't make 'em like that anymore."

Of all the films that Quentin Tarantino pays homage to in his Kill Bill films, Fujita's Lady Snowblood might have received the most because not do the Kill Bill films have screen shots almost taken directly from Lady Snowblood they also incorporate some of the music sung by Lady Snowblood's heroine Kaji Meiko. Like many other films from Japan during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Lady Snowblood was shot on a shoestring budget and at an incredibly fast pace. However, unlike many of the films made during that time period Lady Snowblood remains popular because while its plot had been done many times before, including Suzuki Norifumi's Sex and Fury which was filmed the same year and whose background plot is almost identical to Lady Snowblood, it possesses a certain style that differentiates it from many other films from this time period namely that the heroine seems to be able to keep her clothes on throughout the entire film and that while it has lots of blood and gore, another influence evident in Kill Bill, it is not too overdone. Also Kaji Meiko has quite a presence in front of the camera and her portrayal of the cool Yuki is almost perfect.

Penned by the creator of Lone Wolf and Cub and Hanzo the Razor Koike Kazuo, Lady Snowblood portrays the life of Yuki a young woman who was born to seek revenge for her mother whose husband was the scapegoat of a plot set up by for villains so they could extort money from a poor village. Forced to shack up with one of the murderers, Yuki's mom is able to kill him. However, while searching for the other three she is arrested and put in prison. In prison she sleeps with every man she can in order to get pregnant and eventually gives birth to Yuki and dies soon afterward. Trained by a stern priest in martial arts and swordplay the "child of the netherworld" Yuki begins her search for those who destroyed her family and her own life before she was even born.

While it may seem threadbare to many of today's film viewers, Lady Snowblood should be considered one of the finest examples of films of its genre. Definitely recommended for those who enjoy swordplay and blood in their films and also recommended to those who enjoy older Japanese films outside of the canonized films of Kurosawa, Ozu, and Mizoguchi, but it might not be for those with a weak stomach.

I'll be honest, I rented this film strictly because I love Kill Bill and I was curious to see where Tarantino culled his imagery and ideas. I'm very glad I did, and it's why I think Kill Bill is a very important bridge between modern cinema and cult and foreign film that, lets face it, most of us miss out on. This film is a very beautiful and poetic look at revenge and love. The title character, Yuki, is born into and raised with a single ideology, vengeance. She knows no love, except for that of her deceased parents and brother, nor hate, except for her enemies who killed her father and brother and tortured her mother. The film follows Yuki on her journey to find and enact her vengeance on these four villains. Though the plot is fairly simple, it's well crafted and manages to sidestep what could be easy static characterization for very well drawn character arcs. The action and swordplay are beautiful and wonderfully over the top, as are the settings, story devices (like the use of paintings and manga to depict flashback and plot explanation), and special FX (lots of arterial blood sprays.) For fans of Kill Bill, this film is the basis for the O-Ren Ishii character. Other references are similar settings (the fight at the end of the House of Blue Leaves sequence), numbered chapters, music, the afore mentioned arterial blood sprays, very similar character development, freeze frames with character identification, a very similar rouges gallery upward camera shot, and a mixture of live action and animation/manga.

I really must congratulate the producers of this DVD. The subtitles of most of the asian films that I've seen are definitely their weakest point. On this one, however, not only is the film transfer & sound amazingly good, but the subtitles are also nothing short of fabulous; with none of the usual gaffs, but more importantly with a genuine artistic sense of the use of language. Plus there are two 'levels' of subtitle available, one with additional context.

There are enough other reviews here I don't feel that it is necisary to go into to much depth about the story of the film, but I'll just close by noting that this film has the kind of silly blood special effect successfully mocked in Monty Python's "Salad Days". Apparently these victims of the sword have such enormous blood pressure that they spout great arcs of the stuff at the merest scratch. Don't let this aside deter you from checking out this excellent film. If you at all a fan of Japanese Action Movies, this one will not disappoint.

Quentin Tarantino owes a lot more to this movie
than a passing reference of "inspiration."
"Lady Snowblood" not only inspired Kill Bill,
but it also served as the complete schematic blueprint for
both Volumes I & II. While Tarantino claims that
Volume I was based on a story by him and Uma Thurman,
I suspect their collaboration would have come across
totally different on screen if "Lady Snowblood"
had never existed.

With that being said,
I absolutely loved this movie.
However, I would advise anyone who hasn't yet
viewed the film to completely forget about
it's connection to Kill Bill. If you concentrate on
similiarites, you'll most likey
be disappointed. First of all, I wouldn't really
considered this an action film at all. Although
the main character is a vengeful martial artist,
there is less action in this film than you'd ever
believe. The main theme of the film is the relationship
between Revenge and Fate, and the resulting effects.
Most of the film is reflection and contemplation on
the part of Lady Snowblood.

But what a beautiful character Shurayuki is! The close-ups
of her face while she's in a state of enraged numbness
are breathtaking. Since I'm an avid martial arts fan
I would've loved to have seen more (or even better) fight
sequences, but this is such a great film, it's easy
to be satisfied with the film as it is.

I think it would be best to classify this as a Dramatic Action
movie. For all those who have already seen the Kill Bill volumes and
are expecting any similarites beyond the plot basis,
you'll be sorely disappointed. The action and special
effects in "Lady Snowblood" are pre-school antics compared
to Kill Bill. However, this movie is by no means a waste of time.
In fact, the lead role in this film is the prototype for the
emotionless, lone female assasin of countless other films.
Regardless of how successful the Kill Bill volumes were at the box
office, neither of them holds a candle to the way that
Meiko Kaji incarnates this role of Lady Snowblood. Not only is she
convincing, but she seductively compels the viewer to justify her vengeance.

Don't miss this film, but please appreciate it for being
a great movie and not just an "inspiration"
for Kill Bill.

For such an old film Lady Snowblood doesn't seem very old fashioned. It's a tale of revenge which is very bloody and if the story seems tired, it's actually told in a fairly original way. Told in chapters (like Kill Bill) these story moves at a slow pace but you know each small part will have it's own climax - so there's never to long to wait before a new development.

The film also incorporates an extended scene where the story is told via illustrations (the story is based on a bestselling manga, and this is a technique which is also `borrowed' by Kill Bill, albeit in an animated style) and it's with this mixture of storytelling techniques that the film seems quicker and more lively than it actually is. This is of course a good thing. The lovely Kaji Meiko plays Yuki, otherwise known as Lady Snowblood, otherwise known as the crazy woman out for revenge. For the most part Yuki's un-expressive face manages to reflect all kinds of anger as well as a real sadness. Watching her facial expressions really translates this sense of untrust. The film looks amazing, contrasting all sorts of wide camera shots with close-ups, incorporating the landscape as well as close-ups of faces and with the added use of the weather (she isn't called Snowblood for nothing), Lady Snowblood pulls you into its narrative.

Again, Tarantino nicked some of the framing ideas and compositions of shots, and you can hardly blame him because they're so effective. For an example of this, simply see the scene where the group is looking down on Yuki's mother - laughing and smirking at her - and you get a sense of the way this film works on a `back to basics' level. Lady Snowblood seems to reduce themes, character and camera shots to a primitive level, it's only flourishes are the way the story is told. The action is also handled very well - swords swing leaving gushing blood and all sorts of detached limbs - while maintaining an ironic beauty. Blood on snow (like her name) is quite beautiful, but disturbing. Despite its b-movie plot, this is a film which is full of style. Lady Snowblood is an excellent revenge-flick and all-too an obvious influence on some contemporary cinema. It's not the most subtle film, but it has a huge amount of character and is still a step above the average hack-and-slash revenge story. It's one of those films that surprises you at how good it is and almost begs for a repeat viewing.

I viewed "Shurayukihime" ("Lady Snowblood" in the U.S. and "Lady Snowblood: Blizzard from the Netherworld" in the U.K.), after I read all four volumes of the manga by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Kazuo Kamimura. You would think that I came to the film from hearing that it is one of the main inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" movies (both film's offer "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei on their soundtracks), but having read Koike's epic "Lone Wolf & Cub," and his "Samurai Executioner" manga, I was looking for anything else I could get my hands on even if it was not drawn by Goseki Kojima (and even if I had to read it right-to-left). The first volume of "Path of the Assassin" was not out yet, but most of the four volumes of "Lady Snowblood" were already available, so I went that route.

The manga started being published in 1972 and the movie came out in 1973, so they are somewhat contemporaneous. The script for the film was written by Koike and Kazuo Uemura (the latter's only movie credit), and while the situation is the same for Yuki Kashima (Meiko Kaji), the story is different. Before she was born her parents and brother became victims of a scam being worked by a quartet of criminals. Yuki's father and brother were murdered, and her mother raped. Yuki's mother tracks down and kills one of the four before she is caught and imprisoned for life. There she seduced every man she could find to become pregnant and give birth to a child of "syura" ("hell") that would be raised in the world and give her vengeance over the three remaining criminals.

The manga is different from the film version of "Lady Snowblood" in two important ways. First, the manga has a lot more nudity and sex, especially since Yuki often ends up naked when she is using her thin sword that comes from the handle of her umbrella. Second, Lady Snowblood is often more elegant in how she accomplishes her missions. In the movie that means geysers of bright red blood, but in the manga there was a bit more creativity to how Yuki claims her victims. Here it is all about slicing and dicing. There are three people Yuki has to kill and she kills them to fulfill her blood oath. There are trials and tribulations along the way and you can tell how things are going by how big Yuki's eyes get.

Of course I think the manga is better because there is a lot more character development than you get in the movie, but "Shurayukihime" is pretty good for a Japanese revenge drama. You get the back story fleshed out in the film, incorporating more of the manga in that regard than with the actual killing of Lady Snowblood's three targets. Having a female in the lead role lends a different dynamic to the events, and her thin little sword even gives the fights a different look as well (but not in a delicate way). I do not end up recommending which of the two between the manga and the movie you should go with first, because I think it works either way. However, I will warn you that the cinematic sequel, 1974's "Shurayukihime: Urami Renga," is a disappointment because beyond some nifty tracking shots for a couple of fights, our heroine is passive and uninspired.

First off, here's a flat-out comparison between the two films. From my perspective, Shurayukihime 1 and 2 are both excellent, but they are quite a bit different. Logically, I saw Shurayukihime 1 first, and I was quite pleased. The movie was fairly fast paced, and a great plot, but still, there were a few places where it slowed down, which I didn't mind, but some people aren't very fond of it.

A few days later, I watched Shurayukihime 2, which, wasn't at all what I was expecting, but I was very pleased nonetheless. Without giving too much away, Shurayukihime 2 has a very interesting political twist, which, at first, I kind of scratched my head wondering why the sudden change from bloody revenge in the first? But as it continued, I found myself enjoying the second more kind of for it's "what?" twists and turns; Shurayukihime 2 also seemed a bit more evenly paced than the first as well.

Now, for those of you wanting to know about this vs. Kill Bill. Though there are some definite elements that Tarantino borrowed, DO NOT watch Shurayukihime 1 or 2, especially 2, and expect to see "The Original Kill Bill," THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU WILL GET. The films are completely separate. Personally, I prefer Kill Bill for it's more in-depth development, and modern over-the-top filming, but Shurayukihime 1 and 2 are more of the entertaining 70's Japanese films category. Another thing that I would note is that the fight scenes and bloodshed are not as much as Kill Bill either, these films are more revenge driven, than action driven, although, Shurayukihime 2 had a few moments in which I cringed.

I don't think I did a very good job selling it, but I enjoyed it, so, thus the review.

As for the Boxset, I think that it is worth is, you get 2 in one, though there is nothing special about the layout (ex. no bonus disk), it is nice to have them together, and at the time of my purchase, it was a better deal to get both together.

Brutal and graphic. The origin of Lady Snowblood and the horrors she suffers made this character into a killing machine of vengeance. One of the best vengeance type samurai movie ever made. This is the way a revenge movie should be made. It's no wonder this movie helped inspire Quinton Tarantino's Kill Bill. Watch it and see why

Born in a filthy Japanese prison of the 19th century, a girl is raised to exact vengeance for the murder of her father and the rape of her mother. A harsh priest trains her to be a lethal combatant, and she spends her life hunting the band of criminals.

Although revenge may be one of the basest human motivations, a movie like "Lady Snowblood" reveals its seductive nature as well, because director Toshiya Fujita understands how satisfying it can be to watch an implacable agent of destruction track down and annihilate a richly deserving target. Meiko Kaji embodies the steely heroine convincingly as she dispatches her victims in exuberant sprays of blood. Gory, but fun.