Good Sonny Chiba flicks

[Guest Cerebus]

I just bought a couple of Sonny Chiba films, the Kill Chiba collection plus Streetfighter and Return of Streetfighter (the first sequal).

 

The first Streetfighter was awesome, I loved the moral bankruptcy reminicent of Kurosawa's Yojimbo plus the action scenes were amazing. Return was mediocre in comparison.

 

The Kill Chiba collection was pretty dissapointing. Bullet Train was a good movie in and of itself (it was the flick that inspired Speed and starred Ken Takakura of Yakuza fame) but it only had Chiba in the beginning and the end and virtually no martial arts. Golgo 13 was hilariously bad despite Chiba's main role and was horribly choreographed (but was good for a B-movie fan like myself). Executioner had great fight scenes and Chiba rocked but was so ludicrously over the top that it was hard to enjoy as much as Streetfighter.

 

Anyone else know any other good flicks Chiba was in?

[The Mandarin 0]

..Kill Bill.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Bullet Train didn't inspire Speed, no matter what the back of the box tries to have you believe.

 

Speed owes more to Die Hard then Bullet Train.

[Karnage 0]

Well there is this Chiba movie where he rips a guy's testicles off and feeds it to a dog. I forgot what it was called though.

[Cheex Incarnate 0]

Return of the Streetfighter is as awesome as the first.

 

Don't bother with the shit pile that is Streetfighter's Last Revenge, a complete departure from the series and suffers because of it.

 

Sister Streetfighter isn't too bad, not insultingly bad anyway.

 

The Bodyguard is another great one, despite its superfluous beginning scene added in the american version. Also, the opening narration may be a little too similar to a certain Pulp Fiction speech *wink wink*

 

Glad I could help

 

-Cheex

[razazteca 0]

Storm Riders!

[griffinmills 0]

Storm Riders!

Super Mega Ultra Seconded!

[BrokenTiger 0]

Storm Riders!

Super Mega Ultra Seconded!

Storm Riders is certainly a fav of mine, Sonny Chiba as the main villain kicks ass.

 

However, you guys should check out the comic ('Fung Wan' - Wind & Cloud)from which it was based on. Hugely successful (in HK and South East Asia, my region)...they even have a Storm Riders online game for goodness sake.

 

I need to get a hold on Chiba's Streetfighter. Heard nothing but good things for this one...just can't seem to find it.

[Guest Annoyed Grunt]

In Champion of Death he kills a bull with his bare hands. Need I say more?

[strummer 0]

Forget the name of the movie, but he was in a B movie with Brigette Nielsen and Robert Davi. The story is absurd, as Nielsen shows up one day at a prison wearing practically nothing and somehow is able to seduce the idiot guards and distract them so Chiba can break out of prison. Then Chiba and Nielsen commit various crimes and escape through sewers. Seeing Brigette Nielsen in a halter top, mini-skirt and high heels climbing down a sewer system is one of the most surreal things I've seen in a movie. Chiba then tries to get revenge on the cop that sent him to prison (Davi) and somehow there is an autistic 10 year old girl involved in the plot. I had not heard of Chiba before this movie, so I assume he has done a lot better than this

 

Edit: The movie is called Body Count and was released in 1995.

[Guest Cerebus]

Storm Riders kicked ass. Thanks all.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

Bullet Train didn't inspire Speed, no matter what the back of the box tries to have you believe.

 

Speed owes more to Die Hard then Bullet Train.

From IMDb...

 

Bullet Train plot summary:

"One of the Japanese Shinkansen "Bullet Trains" is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers and to learn how to defuse the bomb."

 

Speed plot summary:

"A man tries to extort money by threatening to kill some people with explosives. And the city was about to give in when rookie cop, Jack Traven stops him. Jack and his partner, Harry find him and corner him but instead of giving up he blows himself up. He is believed to be dead but he actually escapes. He tries again this time he has placed bomb on a bus that will exploded if the bus goes below 50 mph. He dares Jack to stop him. Jack tries to stop the bus before the bomb is armed but Jack is too late; all he can do now is to keep it going. While Harry tries to find the guy."

 

Visually, and regarding pacing and other filmic issues, Speed may very well owe a debt to Die Hard, but one cannot deny an inspiration in the story at some point, even if it was just "hey, have you ever heard of this Japanese movie about a bomb on a train? We should do something like that, only with a bus or something!"

[Jingus 0]

Return of the Streetfighter is as awesome as the first.

 

Don't bother with the shit pile that is Streetfighter's Last Revenge, a complete departure from the series and suffers because of it.

 

Sister Streetfighter isn't too bad, not insultingly bad anyway.

::spit take::

 

I'm sorry, but the words "Sister Streefighter" and "isn't too bad" just should never, never be used in the same sentence. Easily the worst film of the series. And it's been a while since I saw them, but I recall liking Last Revenge more than Return.