Shin’ichi Chiba (a.k.a. Sonny Chiba) was a sportsman in his youth, hotly tipped to be part of the Japanese Olympic Team in his teens. When a back injury put a stop to this though and scouts from Toei film studio discovered him in a talent search, Chiba moved into acting at the turn of the 1960s.
He swiftly found success in Japan, landing starring roles in a couple of TV series and working on a number of films for Toei, including long-time collaborator Kinji Fukasakuâs directorial debut, Drifting Detective: Tragedy in the Red Valley.
However, it wasnât until the 1970s that Chiba made an impact in the West. When Enter the Dragon exploded onto screens in 1973, it not only made the unfortunately deceased Bruce Lee a megastar around the world, but it made martial arts movies all the rage. Toei, like many studios back then, jumped on the bandwagon, putting the karate-blackbelt-holding Chiba in Karate Kiba (a.k.a. The Bodyguard) in 1973. This proved popular and even spawned a sequel in the same year but it wasnât until the actorâs next karate movie, The Street Fighter, that he became a global megastar.
Later in 1974, the year that both The Street Fighter and Return of the Street Fighter were released, Toei teamed Chiba up with writer-director Teruo Ishii to make another karate film, The Executioner. It didnât make quite as big a splash in the US as The Street Fighter but it did very well in Japan and, yet again, spawned a swiftly produced sequel (once again released in 1974 – Chiba was certainly busy in the 70s!).
Arrow Video have released a number of Sonny Chiba films on Blu-ray over the years and have now turned their attention towards the two Executioner films, releasing them together on one disc, with a small collection of extra features.
Loving everything martial arts, it didnât take much to convince me to review the disc. So, I gave it a spin and my thoughts follow.
The Executioner (a.k.a. Chokugeki! Jigoku-ken)
Director: Teruo Ishii
Screenplay: Teruo Ishii
Starring: Shin’ichi Chiba (as Sonny Chiba), Eiji GĂ´, Makoto SatĂ´, Yutaka Nakajima, RyĂ´ Ikebe, Hiroyuki Sanada
Country: Japan
Running Time: 87 min
Year: 1974
In the first film of the series, Chiba plays Ryuichi Koga, a skilled ninja from a respected clan whoâs hired by Arashiyama (RyĂ´ Ikebe) and Emi (Yutaka Nakajima) to help smash a Japanese drug cartel. Joining Koga on his mission is Hayabusa (Makoto Sato), a former narcotics cop now operating as an assassin-for-hire, and Sakura (Eiji GĹ), a young Aikido master with an unhealthy sexual appetite. The trioâs greedy, macho personalities cause friction but their skills help get the job done.
Chibaâs action films of the era are known for their brutal violence and this is no different, even if it doesnât quite hit the levels of The Street Fighter. Eyes are popped or poked, a rib is ripped out and someoneâs leg is skewered with a grappling hook Chiba is hanging from. Itâs all gleefully over-the-top and thrillingly presented, aided by plenty of camera movement, boldly colourful production design and regular splashes of blood.
Chiba doesnât have the elegant grace of some of his Hong Kong martial arts star counterparts but what he lacks in balletic poise, he makes up for in animal ferocity and a strength that looks genuinely impressive. Heâs a superb physical performer who had already, back in 1970, opened his own school for training martial arts and stunt performers, called the Japan Action Club.
The set pieces are quite inventive too, mixing wild fist-fights with rather wacky, James Bond-spoofing gadgets. Everythingâs also underscored by a supremely funky score, which always helps.
Writer-director Teruo Ishii reportedly didn’t want to direct a generic ninja movie, but it was thrust upon him by Toei. His disdain for the concept can be seen in the healthy dose of humour in the film that pokes fun at some martial arts movie cliches. Ishiiâs fascination with sex also makes an impact, through a lot of lowbrow gags and gratuitous nudity. This can get a bit much at times for someone like me, who came to the film wanting to see Chiba bust some heads rather than goof around with his characterâs horny cohort Sakura.
Overall, however, this is prime Chiba. With plenty of bone-crunching action, a fast-paced narrative and wacky humour (albeit a little too much), itâs a fun slice of Japanese genre cinema.
The Executioner II: Karate Inferno (a.k.a. Chokugeki jigoku-ken: Dai-gyakuten)
Director: Teruo Ishii
Screenplay: Shinichi Hashimoto, Teruo Ishii
Starring: Shin’ichi Chiba (as Sonny Chiba), Eiji GĂ´, Makoto SatĂ´, Yutaka Nakajima, RyĂ´ Ikebe, Etsuko Shihomi, KanjĂťrĂ´ Arashi
Country: Japan
Running Time: 86 min
Year: 1974
The Executioner II: Karate Inferno (a.k.a. Chokugeki jigoku-ken: Dai-gyakuten) sees the unruly trio of Koga, Hayabusa and Sakura brought together again by Arashiyama and Emi to rescue the kidnapped daughter of the heiress Sabine Kaufman and retrieve her valuable necklace. They manage to save the young girl but when the necklace escapes their grasp and a second attempt results in them getting their hands on a fake, they begin to suspect all is not what it seems with Sabine.
After thoroughly enjoying The Executioner, its sequel came as a crushing disappointment. Other than a smattering of brief dust-ups and an admittedly enjoyable finale, the film is rather light on action. Clearly, Ishii, who already didnât want to make the first film, was not interested in making another ninja movie, so instead went all out on the goofy comedy that only peppered its predecessor.
I wouldnât have minded if the film were funny, but the numerous fart gags and badly dated up-skirt and rapey sequences are more patience-testing than side-splitting. I did, however, enjoy how Ishii doggedly followed up a superglue gag, having Sakura spend the rest of the film with gradually evolving wooden glove contraptions built from the tabletop stuck to his hand.
Overall then, Karate Inferno is a disappointing sequel that lays on the daft humour way too thick, sacrificing the brutal violence you expect in a Sonny Chiba flick.
The Executioner Collection is out now on Blu-ray from Arrow Video. The films look great, with bold but not oversaturated colours and a natural grain structure. Itâs a touch on the soft side but details are still clear. The original Japanese audio is solid too, though you only get an English dub for the first film.
Special Edition Contents
– High Definition Bluray (1080p) presentation
– Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio for both films
– Original uncompressed English mono audio track for The Executioner
– Optional English subtitles
– Brand new audio commentary by Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow
– Sonny Chiba, Karate King, a 30 minute featurette on the legendary Sonny Chiba, featuring Grady Hendrix, Tom Mes, Chris Poggiali, Marco Joachim and Seiji Anno, from the band Guitar Wolf
– Original trailers
– Image galleries for The Executioner and The Executioner II: Karate Inferno
– Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Lucas Peverill
– FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by Mark Schilling
Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow’s commentary is a treat for Japanese genre movie fans as the pair have a seemingly endless knowledge of the cast and crew. They provide a lot of information about Chiba and Ishii’s careers in particular.
The âSonny Chiba, Karate Kingâ featurette is fun too. Itâs quite slickly put together with a funky intro sequence and plenty of clips from the legendary actorâs films. Itâs a bit of a love-in perhaps, not digging particularly deep into Chibaâs past, but itâs an entertaining celebration of his work, nonetheless.
I didnât receive a copy of the booklet to comment on that, unfortunately.
Itâs not a particularly well-stacked package then in terms of extras, but what is there is of great value and the release appears to be priced as a single-title disc, so itâs well worth your money.
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