Country: Japan Starring: Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Aaron Banks, Judy Lee, Bill Louie Director: Tatsuichi Takamori (1973) Director: Simon Nuchtern (1976) Cinematographer: Joel Shapiro Music: Maurice Sarli Producer: Susumu Yoshikawa (1973) Producer: Terry Levene (1976) AKA: Chiba The Bodyguard, Viva Chiba Original Title: Karate Kiba Sometimes in this day and age it is easy to […]
Tagged Asian Cinema, Crime, Etsuko Shihomi, Exploitation, Martial Arts, Sonny Chiba
Country: Japan Starring: Sonny Chiba, Yutaka Nakajima, Makoto Sato, Naoya Makoto, Sanae Kitabayashi, Akiko Mori, Hosei Komatsu, Tetsuro Tanba Director: Norifumi Suzuki Writer: Isao Matsumoto Cinematographer: Yoshio Nakajima Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi Original Title: Shôrinji kenpô Minor warning. This review contains adult themes. As a teenager at school, out in the yard, talk would often drift […]
Tagged Asian Cinema, Caligula, Exploitation, Martial Arts, Sonny Chiba, Tetsuro Tanba
Country: Japan Director: Teruo Ishii Starring: Sonny Chiba, Eiji Gô, Yutaka Nakajima, Etsuko Shihomi, Kanjûrô Arashi, Ryô Ikebe, Tetsurô Tanba, Makoto Satô Music: Hajime Kaburagi Original Title: Chokugeki jigoku-ken: Dai-gyakuten The Executioner II: Karate Inferno is a broad comedic caper film, with a pinch of extreme violence added at the end (which may be somewhat […]
Tagged Asian Cinema, Caper, Crime, Etsuko Shihomi, Japan, Martial Arts, Sonny Chiba
Country: Japan Director: Yutaka Kohira Starring: Etsuko Shihomi, Sonny Chiba, Yasuaki Kurata, Masashi Ishibashi, Jirô Chiba, Bin Amatsu Original Music: Shunsuke Kikuchi AKA: Which is Stronger, Karate or Tiger? Original Title: Hissatsu onna kenshi In some parts of the world, this film was known as Sonny Chiba’s Dragon Princess, which would imply that this is […]
For those who are after a bit of entertainment beyond the spy world, I have posted a few reviews over the past few months at Teleport City. The Killing Machine If The Killing Machine was solely another violent exploitation flick in the same style as many other films that Chiba was making during this period, […]
Release Year: 1970 Country: Japan Director: Yukio Noda Writers: Fumio Konami, Yukio Noda Cast: Sonny Chiba, Ryohei Uchida, Fumio Watanabe, Giant Baba Editor: Osamu Tanaka Music: Masao Yagi Producer: Koji Ohta The Assassin is the second film in the Yakuza Deka series, and as the poster above would suggest, this film received an American release. […]
Release Year: 1970 Country: Japan Director: Yukio Noda Writers: Fumio Konami, Yukio Noda Cast: Sonny Chiba, Ryohei Uchida, Ryoji Hayama, Rinichi Yamamoto, Machiko Yashiro, Yoko Nogiwa, Toru Yuri Editor: Osamu Tanaka Music: Masao Yagi Producers: Koji Ohta, Masao Sato The James Bond films were more than a massive hit in Japan. They were an unprecedented […]
Country: Japan Director: Yukio Noda Starring: Sonny Chiba, Callan Leung, Etsuko Shihomi, Chi-Chung Lee Music: Harumi Ibe Based on characters created by Takao Saito Gogol 13: Kowloon Assignment stars 1970’s martial arts superstar Sonny Chiba as Duke Togo; codename Golgo 13. The name is derived from the 13th man who gave the crown of thorns […]