修罗雪姬

Lady Snowblood (1973) Movie Review
By James Mudge on September 7, 2004 | Asian Movie Reviews, Japanese Movie Reviews, Reviews

“Lady Snowblood” was, until the recent “Kill Bill” by Tarantino, a relatively obscure 1973 female samurai revenge film. However, since the inclusion of the songs “Flower of Carnage” and “Urami-Bushi” (both sung by lead actress Meiko Kaji) on the soundtracks to both of Tarantino’s films, and his citing of it as one of his main influences, both the classic original and the slightly inferior sequel (“Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance”) have earned new releases and retrospectives.

Fans of modern Japanese cinema will be quite used to seeing sword-slinging female killers in films such as “Azumi” and “The Princess Blade”, though “Lady Snowblood” as both a film and a character is still very much the standard by which all others must be measured. Beautifully directed, action packed and very violent, it contains more memorable scenes and characters than most of its imitators put together. Hopefully, the success of “Kill Bill” will inspire viewers not only to watch “Lady Snowblood”, but to appreciate it not simply as a curio piece, but as an excellent, and indeed superior, film in its own right.

The plot, set during a historical period of political unrest in Japan, is revenge, pure and simple. After her husband is murdered, a woman is accused of being a spy and thrown into jail. Consumed by rage, she sleeps with every man she can, with the bloody-minded aim of producing a child who will enact her revenge. Dying in childbirth, the woman gives life to Yuki Kashima (Meiko Kaji), who becomes Lady Snowblood, the living embodiment of vengeance. Twenty years later, having dedicated her life to deadly martial arts training, Yuki sets forth on her quest, swearing that she will not rest until she has slaughtered the villains who wronged her mother.

Apart from the use of the theme song, the influence of “Lady Snowblood” on Tarantino’s revenge films is blatantly obvious, with similar training sequences, set pieces and even a voiceover-heavy narrative that is divided into chapters. This is fair enough. I have nothing at all against Tarantino or his films, and this is the only mention I’ll make on the subject of homage, inspiration, rip offs, or whatever.

Lady Snowblood herself is a fascinating character. Although purportedly an instrument of death and violence, the film gives her a welcome injection of personality and emotion, both of which serves to make her bloody quest more interesting. Though her background is tragic and traumatic, the film makes clear that it’s her dead mother’s revenge she is carrying out, and not her own, allowing for moments of self-doubt and uncertainty. Similarly, although she is a highly skilled killer, she is far from invincible, and this allows the viewer to sympathize with her, if not identify. It helps that Meiko Kaji is excellent, making the role her own with an intense performance that at times conveys a tangible sense of barely contained violence through the smallest of actions.

“Lady Snowblood” benefits from its historical setting and the attention paid to the political nuances of the time period. The film has a voiceover by a journalist named Ashio (Toshio Kurosawa, from the classic “Water Margin”), who is investigating Yuki, and he provides plenty of social commentary on the great changes that swept the country at the time. As well as giving the film an interesting and realistic grounding, this allows for a few moments of sly humor that lighten the mood somewhat. Since the film has a fairly slow pace between the fight scenes, this is very welcome and keeps things moving along nicely.

The direction by Toshiya Fujita (relatively unknown in the West apart from the “Lady Snowblood” films) is excellent and at times beautiful. The film boasts a rich color scheme, predominantly using deep red and cold white, usually in the form of the film’s common motifs of blood and snow. The cinematography is gorgeous, and although the film does at times look low budget, it provides an evocative and atmospheric look at ancient Japan.

The action scenes are excellent and well shot, relying on short bursts of swordplay rather than extended martial arts battles. The action is tense and exciting, and usually drenched in geysers of spraying red. “Lady Snowblood” is a very violent film, and there is a great deal of hacking, slashing and dismemberment, which is bound to please fans of the genre.

“Lady Snowblood” is a classic, and deserves to be recognized far beyond its value as an inspiration to the films of Tarantino. It offers fans of martial arts and samurai films plenty of action, a beautiful, tragic heroine, and a gripping tale of revenge, all set against a fascinating historical backdrop. Though I’m sure we will see countless more ‘female samurai’ films, I’m equally sure that “Lady Snowblood” will stand the test of time far better than any of them.

Toshiya Fujita (director) / Kazuo Uemura, Kazuo Koike (screenplay)
CAST: Meiko Kaji …. Yuki Kashima
Toshio Kurosawa …. Ryuurei Ashio
Miyoko Akaza …. Sayo Kashima
Masaaki Daimon …. Gou Kashima

杀死比尔明显抄袭此片，本片比好莱坞提前伟大30年！剧情饱满，气氛铺设到位，美术精致，节奏感叙事方式都突破当时的传统~动画元素介入、章节叙事，手法多样！昆汀不是借鉴，而是学习！没有杀死比尔的妥协和圆滑，只有东方文化中彻骨的仇恨和无法解脱！但是东方文化里，这种冤冤相报可不是什么美德啊。

片名挺酷，据闻改编自70年代漫画，但情节超烂~~
梶芽衣子幽怨的眼神挺动人，裸露的后背也很诱人~~
武士刀刀把的款式有创新，但不好看，像塑料的游戏机摇杆~~
缺乏一个优秀的动作指导，砍来砍去动作难看死了，同杀死比尔不是一个层次~~
整部片加滤镜拍得黄黄的，难看死了，真是很黄很暴力~~
低分辨率显示屏上象聊天工具的那个不知道是什么回事~~
总的来说半烂片一部~~~