Lady Snowblood

This is one of those movies that have an all Japanese motivation. A girl is trained from childhood to avenge the death of her father and the brutal rape of her mother. Then she does it. Lots of blood and lots of sword fighting. Well, she does most of it, everybody else pretty much dies.

The movie is well done, although I think it is hard to watch for most of the people nowadays, since it has that 60's-70's feel to it. I can see how this could have been an inspiration for Kill Bill. If you liked Kill Bill for other reasons than that it had Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu in it, then you will love this film.

If you watch the movie, you will probably have fun, but if you look at the whole picture (pun intended) there isn't much to it other than the actual revenge and death of everyone. The girl is very nice, the acting is OK, the atmosphere, settings and soundtrack are good, but that's all. No strange twists of the story, nothing unexpected.

I am not a particular fan of martial arts and samurai films but this one is not only colourful and tightly constructed but stars the lovely Meiko Kaji, she of the Female Prisoner Scorpion films, as well as many others. She is perfect here as the beautiful young woman born to avenge her mother and we are with her and her motion throughout. Director Toshiya Fujita has an eye on the look all the time and when we are not treated to views of the young lady and her weaponry we have wondrous views of the land and seascape with opening and closing scenes in the snow. That Lady Snowblood is the basis of Tarantino's Kill Bill gives this 50 year old film added interest but for whatever reason you might choose, this is well worth a watch..

Based on a comic by late Kazuo Kamimura and Kazuo Koike, Shurayukihime is a story about vengeance and rebellion. Shurayuki who had her father murdered by conspiracy goes out to avenge the three conspirators.

The movie's title "Shurayukihime" is a play on "Shirayukihime" which is the Japanese title for Walt Disney's movie Snow White. Very similar title, but the two movies can't be further apart in their contents.

In the original plot, there was some element of rebellion against the government that was the ultimate culprit of the conspiracy, but in the movie, this did not play a main role of the story except where Yuki kills the police force that captured Ashio.

The movie which attracted little attention when it was released, now has world wide audience thanks to Tarantino giving it credit as inspiration for Kill Bill. The back drop of battle between Oren Ishii and Black Mamba is almost verbatim copy of the last scene from this movie.

There is little known part 2 of this movie released in 1974 which picks up after this one with Kaji reprising her role as Yuki.

More recently a version done by Yumiko Shaku was released in 2001 with backdrop set in the future, and story which is almost unrelated to the original except Yuki eventually avenges her mothers murderer and that her organization Takemikazuchi was rebelling against the the government.

Some of Kamimura's original artwork of Shurayukihime can be seen in his website at kamimurakazuo.com

The movie is unusually graphic for a Japanese movie of its era. Meiko Kaji was a star of another dark comic turned movie Sasori. Her mood fits this type of role perfectly.

Watch this movie for its action, and historical value.

Unfortunately this film's only getting the attention that it deserves because of Tarantino's "Kill Bill." Fortunately, this film is getting the attention it deserves because of Tarantino's "Kill Bill." This is the double-edged sword of sample-based art. Is it theft, or an homage? Does it help, or hurt the classics? While Tarantino did lift a number of images, a few characters, countless plot devices, and one memorable song from this film; it is impossible to lift the experience that each film offers. Besides, would this film be crawling from the dark, fuzzy depths of the bootleg video without its newfound attention? From the opening scene in the all female prison, we are grabbed from our worlds and thrust into the dynamic Japan at the end of the nineteenth century. Ultimately Toshiya Fugita's 1973 film is about the victims of profound social change, and how sometimes the only way to erase victim-hood is to pass it on to those that have done you wrong. Yeah, "The Bride" goes through quite a bit for her revenge, but Meiko Kaji's character is literally born from death, with the express purpose of carrying out revenge for a family she's never met. While it's hardly addressed openly in the film, Kaji brings a subtle uncertainty to her character's motivations and actions. This depth not only grants humanity to the character, but by making her more believable, Fujita and Kaji raise the stakes. If she can fail, will she? Will she decide her parents revenge is not her own? Or will she embrace her destiny and proposed purpose? Don't get too worked up over how much and what "Kill Bill" sampled from "Shura-yuki-hime." Instead, remember that the samurai (chambara) genre is like any genre; without sampling it wouldn't exist as a genre. Fugita's samples: "Chushingura" Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), "Sword of Doom," every film by Hideo Gosha...

Lady Snowblood isn't the most widely known Samurai Film in the International movie market, but it is certainly worth a viewing, particularly for those into Samurai/swordsplay pictures. I just checked it out randomly because I thought the female swordsperson angle might be interesting, but I had no real expectations. I was surprised to find a stylish film with a solid story (which can actually be unpredictable at times), adequate action sequences (spruced up by heavily stylized blood spurts) and good acting (particularly from the female lead). The film balances the sadness of Lady Snowblood's story and some campy humor to great affect. Some may be turned off by the latter part, particularly if they fail to see it as intentional. I loved the bit, for example, when a villain explains to a radical left-wing writer his business of the last few years, exactly in the exaggerated fashion that a radical left-wing reporter would be inclined to write about a tyrannical bureaucrat. This movie would be well viewed by Samurai film aficionados and people interested in gender roles in cinema.