Sonny Chiba recommendations

[stills]

resurrection of golden wolf
golgo-13
ninja wars aka death of a ninja aka black magic wars
the executioner

iirc street fighter 2 is better than 1. both are good.
sister streetfighter's good too.



avoid legend of the 8 samurai like herpes if you can. if you've got kids they may like it.
i've got like 3 copies of it. they force it on you in the combo dvd's.

[Takuma]

Legend of the 8 Samurai is fantastic. Seen it at least three times. Time to see it again soon. Hiroko & Sanada + Chiba + Shihomi = bloody huge thumb up.

Resurrection of the Golden Wolf is absolutely fantastic, too - the best Yusaku Matsuda action film.

Neither of the films have anything to do with this topic though - no karate, and very little Chiba

[wigsplitta]

Originally Posted by stills

iirc street fighter 2 is better than 1. both are good.

I agree, BUT, I view them as ONE film
I watch them as a single movie because they flow with the same story/characters/feel. The third installation is fun, but it doesn't have the same grittiness. I can still remember making one of my mates watch both films after a few beers. He enjoyed the first one, loved the second, and literally laughed when Chiba smiled when the bad guy burnt at the end! Pure anti-hero awesomeness!

Originally Posted by Takuma

+ Special mention for Okinawa Yakuza War, in which Chiba plays a psychotic karate maniac villain. It's like if the streetfighter was a yakuza...

I have to agree 100% and also say that his intro to the film is "almost" better than the Street Fighter films! Pure-Crazy-Badass just doesn't quite cut it!

All other recommendations before are good. My personal favourites are Karate Warriors, Soul of Chiba and Shoguns Ninja.

Enjoy if ya ever get the chance!

[ShaOW!linDude]

OKINAWA YAKUZA WAR --- does this go by any other names? I've not seen this unless it might be by another title. But then I think I'd remember it if his intro is comparable to that of SF. I reckon I've not seen this.

[Tosh]

Originally Posted by wigsplitta

All other recommendations before are good. My personal favourites are Karate Warriors, Soul of Chiba and Shoguns Ninja.

There was talk of a wide Soul of Chiba, has anyone got their hands on one? One of my favorite Chiba's!

[Takuma]

Originally Posted by wigsplitta

I agree, BUT, I view them as ONE film
I watch them as a single movie because they flow with the same story/characters/feel. The third installation is fun, but it doesn't have the same grittiness. I can still remember making one of my mates watch both films after a few beers. He enjoyed the first one, loved the second, and literally laughed when Chiba smiled when the bad guy burnt at the end! Pure anti-hero awesomeness!

I don't agree. The first one is one of the coolest films ever made. Part 2 has too many flashbacks and doesn't really find any form until during its second half. Still a good film, though. Has some classic violence, Chiba wears karate uniform when he goes skiing, and treats women "gently", and Yoko Ichiji is in it

But yes, Chiba's sadistic smile when he hurts people (in both films) is priceless.

And like you said, although the third one is a bit lesser film, it's still great fun and has some excellent fights.

Originally Posted by wigsplitta

I have to agree 100% and also say that his intro to the film is "almost" better than the Street Fighter films! Pure-Crazy-Badass just doesn't quite cut it!

Plus there's the Tarantino connection: the music during Chiba's introduction scene is the one that was later remixed into Battle without Honor and Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei, used in Kill Bill Vol. 1 (when Lucy Liu and her gang enter the Tokyo night club). In this case, the Kill Bill remix is actually much better, but still.

Originally Posted by ShaOW!linDude

OKINAWA YAKUZA WAR --- does this go by any other names? I've not seen this unless it might be by another title. But then I think I'd remember it if his intro is comparable to that of SF. I reckon I've not seen this.

Okinawa yakuza senso. I don't think it has ever been released outside Japan, even on bootlegs. I've got the official Toei dvd.

Originally Posted by Tosh

There was talk of a wide Soul of Chiba, has anyone got their hands on one? One of my favorite Chiba's!

Here's all we've got:
http://bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/v...111086#p111086

I've got the German disc, but the English audio is very weak and muffled. Can anyone tell me if Rarescope English version suffers from the same? The German audio on my disc is clean and crisp...

Chiba screencap time:

Chiba-san loves violence (The Street Fighter)


... and wears karate uniform even when he goes skiing (and looks very bored)


The pleasure of breaking an arm (he no longer looks bored)...


... and seeing a mafioso burn alive


Okinawa Yakuza War

[wigsplitta]

Originally Posted by Takuma

Okinawa yakuza senso. I don't think it has ever been released outside Japan, even on bootlegs. I've got the official Toei dvd.

Yeah, I think that it has only had a Toei DVD release thus far. I think (and i'm usually wrong on most things! ) that some subs have been transcribed for this film.....baited breath time for anyone that hasn't seen this cool movie!

Originally Posted by Takuma

[Soul of Chiba] - I've got the German disc, but the English audio is very weak and muffled. Can anyone tell me if Rarescope English version suffers from the same? The German audio on my disc is clean and crisp...

Originally Posted by Tosh

There was talk of a wide Soul of Chiba, has anyone got their hands on one? One of my favorite Chiba's!

The English audio from the Rarescope DVD is ok. It just sounds like a standard VHS. Definitley not crisp, but passable. I was tempted to add the original Japanese audio to the slightly more widescreen English dub, but the running time difference was so heavy that I gave up (for now!) I got the Japanese VHS release hoping that it was W/S, but it is fullscreen - possibly the source of the rarescope DVD?

Originally Posted by Takuma

Chiba screencap time:

Awesome pix.

[66 Mantis]

The Executioner is my fave China film bar none, even over The Streetfighter


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwWs6...layer_embedded