DVD Review: 'Lethal Chiba' 3-disc [R1]

The Japanese title for Killing Machine, Shorinji Kenpo, is in fact a martial art form of Kempo [Kenpo is a romanticizing of Kempo] that was invented by Doshin So in 1947. Doshin So incorporated Japanese Zen Buddhism into the fighting style, which he based on Shaolin Kung-fu. So the film is loosely based on the story of Doshin So, played by Chiba. This of course creates a paradox because the title Killing Machine certainly doesn’t bode well with the martial art’s focus on the sanctity of life and has no killing moves in it. Regardless, Chiba plays the former Japanese spy, returning from behind enemy lines in China to find everything he ever had gone. He rebuilds his life, caring for war orphans and fighting the local black marketers. You have to forgive the filmmakers for their clumsiness and keep in mind that films like this were done over only a few weeks, if that. You certainly do wish for a bit more spit and polish, and perhaps a bit more preparation but what can you do? Enjoy it for what it is worth and grab your groin in sympathetic discomfort when Chiba removes the manhood from one of the black marketers with a pair of scissors and feeds it to a dog. Really.

The Executioner is the best of the three movies in this set, dressing up its plot in polyester slacks and dancing to a funky soundtrack. Chiba plays Ryuichi Koga, once the heir of a ninja clan, turned private detective, he is hired along with two other skilled killers to take down a drug smuggling ring. Their boss, an ex-police captain, and his beautiful assistant, Emi, promise a big pay-out at the end of the job. It is bloody, violent, chock-full of beautiful women, brimming with sleazy sexuality and funky to boot. What struck me however, was the comedy in the film. The Executioner and its sequel can in essence be qualified as action comedy films. But, I wasn’t laughing. Clearly the great cultural divide was present. It is not that the comedy wasn’t funny. I imagine if I were to watch the Executioner films with Japanese friends they would get the joke. But there I was, enjoying the removal and jiggling of body parts and not laughing at the comedic element of the film. Though I will say that Yasuaki Kurata’s character, Kurayama, made me laugh out loud when, in his dying breath, he yells out to his sempai, Hayabusa, to not forget his car payments. Now that’s funny.

Within the same year Toei Studio brought back the cast and the original director, Teruo Ishii, hoping to cash in on the success of the first film. The gang is reunited to aid in the rescue of a kidnapped girl. When the exchange goes bad and the ransom money is lost the kidnappers the gang discovers ties to the mob in the U.S. [of course]. They conceive a plot to steal back the money and also a priceless necklace. Sadly, what The Executioner did right must have been forgotten during the filming of the much poorer sequel. Relying more on the comedy elements and shafting the viewer on the martial arts, Karate Inferno is an inferior film and a sad reminder of what greed can accomplish. Karate Inferno is a chaotic mess. It lacks the magic of the first film and leaves the viewer frustrated.

Knowing a good thing when they see it Toei Studios were cranking out martial arts flicks left, right and centre during the 70s [Chiba alone starred in more than 125 films for Toei during his illustrious career]. While you certainly cannot praise them for churning out quality you certainly have to admire the quantity of films coming out in those days. The pace must have just dizzying. What is also clear is that any studio is guilty of cashing in. Just by the difference in quality between The Executioner 1 and 2 it is evident that the sequel was rushed to cash in on the success of its predecessor.

Tetsuro Tamba, Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata are among the familiar faces you will see in these three films [How Yasuaki Kurata never achieved the iconic status of the likes of Chiba and Lee outside his native land is beyond me]. All three films are presented in original Japanese audio with English subtitles, in Anamorphic Widescreen, and each film clocks in just less than 1 ½ hours long.

You can get your own copy of Lethal Chiba here.