Gun Crazy: Episode 1 - A Woman from Nowhere

"Gun Crazy: A Woman From Nowhere" is a Japanese female action film along the lines of the "Zero Woman" series, only considerably better. It is just as violent (which means VERY violent), less sleazy, and more action-packed, fast-moving and stylishly-executed. It's still a low-budget shot-on-video film, so don't expect anything flawless (for one thing, a lot of the characters sure could use a little more shooting practice), but it does not lack ambition (there are strong music and plot homages to Sergio Leone's westerns). Ryoko Yonekura is an impressive heroine (and probably one of the most beautiful women in the world - there is also a bad girl who is a stunner herself), and "Mr. Tojo" is a cruel, sadistic and smart villain. Worth getting if you like this kind of stuff. **1/2 out of 4.

At first I have to admit, that I had my share of fun with 'Gun Crazy: Episode 1'. You certainly are not surprised about the fact you do not get a masterpiece of modern cinema, as the movie never pretends to be. Nevertheless the impact of wooden acting and lurid dialog is quite a blast. If you can handle this, perhaps with the help of some alcohol, switch of all higher brain activities and .... voila the raw & simple story develops a certain kind of charm. The heroine is cute and her garment plus arms look good as well. Gun battles are the movies central element and they are not something never seen before - partially even plagiarizing - , however they do not let you down. I was not bored at all and enjoyed the hour watching. Besides, the two GI's at the beginning are my favorite bad guys. Wooohah! Do I recommend 'Gun Crazy: Episode 1 - A Woman From Nowhere'?

No way, people with good taste could ruin their sensitiveness.

6/10

Silly, simplistic, and short, GUN CRAZY (VOLUME 1: A WOMAN FROM NOWHERE) goes nowhere.

This brief (just over sixty minutes) tale isn't so much inspired by the classic spaghetti Westerns as it is a rip-off of Sam Raimi's THE QUICK & THE DEAD (his admitted homage to the spaghetti Westerns) brought into a contemporary setting. In QUICK & DEAD, Sharon Stone's character seeks revenge against the dastardly sheriff (played by Gene Hackman) who, when she was but an urchin, placed the fate of her father (a brief cameo by Gary Sinise) in her hands; she accidentally shot him through the head. In GUN CRAZY, Saki (played by the nimble Ryoko Yonekura) seeks revenge against the dastardly Mr. Tojo (played with minimalist appeal by Shingo Tsurumi), who, when she was but an urchin, placed the fate of her father in her hands; she let her foot slip off the clutch, and dear ole dad was drawn and quartered by a semi truck. The only significant difference, despite the settings, is the fact that Tojo sadistically cripples Saki with … well, I won't spoil that for you in case you decide to watch it.

In short, Saki – a pale imitation of the Clint Eastwood's 'Man With No Name' – rides into the town – basically, there's a auto shop and a tavern alongside an American military base, so I guess that suffices for a town – corrupted by Tojo, the local crimelord with a ridiculously high price on his head for reasons never explained or explored. Confessing her true self as a bounty hunter, Saki takes on the local gunmen in shootouts whose choreography bares more than a passing similarity to the works of Johnny To and John Woo. Of course, by the end of the film Saki has endured her fair amount of torture at the hands of the bad guys, but she rises to the occasion – on her knees, in a laughable attempt at a surprise ending – and vanquishes all of her enemies with a rocket launcher.

Don't ask where she gets the rocket launcher. Just watch it for yourself. Try not to laugh.

The image quality is average for the DVD release. There is a grainy quality to several sequences, but, all in all, this isn't a bad transfer. The sound quality leaves a bit to the imagination at times, but, again, it isn't a bad transfer.

Rather, it's a bad film.

I found this movie on Amazon in one of my continuously ongoing quests for finding Asian movies that I don't have in my collection. I wasn't initially expecting too much from "Gun Crazy: A Woman from Nowhere", so there wasn't much to live up to from the movie.

And now having seen the movie, I can say that this is indeed an action movie, and nothing else. The story in the movie was so weak and thin that it was more transparent than air. This is basically about a woman who comes to a small military base where corrupt people control everywhere, and she must clear out the 'trash' and seek the revenge on the leader here because he wronged her when she was a young girl.

Yeah, that is it. Then it is all action, fighting and guns shooting for the rest of the money. Oh, and I almost forgot about the hidden rocket launcher inside a prosthetic leg. Yeah, one of those in the movie too! Forget about acting, because there is very little of it in the movie, but then again, the action and shooting does make up for that and make up for the lack of a properly coherent story. And the dialogue, well, let's just say they tried to put in some - let's leave it at that.

One of the most memorable parts of the movie were the Westerners at the military base. Let's put foreigners in a Japanese movie, and have them come off a cocky, arrogant people lacking intelligence.

"Gun Crazy: A Woman from Nowhere" is a movie where you just sit back and disconnects your brain entirely, just watching the shooting and action unfold on the screen. The movie requires absolutely nothing from your mental capabilities. And it is actually an enjoyable enough result, and I have orders more movies from the series.

Solid, no frills, nineties Japanese gun action. Definitely enjoyable. I liked the main character. The gun action is weak by modern standards. And there's hardly any ornamentation to the story. Except for a couple smirks from the MC. So it's a seven. But it should be on your list if you're looking for old dubbed action. Just maybe not in the top dozen.