Lady Snowblood (1973) [Film Review]

Lady Snowblood; or, Vengeance is Hers

      Tsukamoto Gishiro, I'll kill you!

This week’s review will be about a movie that “inspired” Quentin Tarantino to make one of his intertextual mash-ups known as Kill Bill (2003). Lady Snowblood is a simple revenge tale about a woman trying to avenge her parents' death, but contrary to Tarantino’s morbid and disjointed picture, this film presents the story in a more sophisticated and definitely truer way to the chanbara genre.

Release Info

Directed by: Toshiya Fujita Starring: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Ko Nishimura, Eiji Okada
Language: Japanese Original Title: Shurayuki-hime Runtime: 96 min

Synopsis

Japan has entered the Meiji era in the 1870s, the period during which the Shogunate ceased to exist, the power was restored to the Emperor, and industrial development ensued. However, in the midst of socio-political changes, crime flourished as well. Four ruthless criminals brutally kill the village teacher, his son, and rape his wife. Having ended up in prison, the disgraced woman gives birth to a daughter whom she calls Yuki (snow) and, before dying, she tells the inmates to raise the child for vengeance. Given an exhausting training by a priest Dōkai (Ko Nishimura), Yuki (Meiko Kaji) grows up to become a professional assassin. The priest calls her “a child of the netherworlds,” a demon spirit that came to this world for the sole purpose of revenge. Indeed, Yuki assumes her new identity as Shura Yuki Hime (Lady Snowblood) and sets out to hunt down the killers of her family.

The Unsurpassed Classic

After seeing Lady Snowblood, I thought it wasn’t surprising that Tarantino made his pitiful mixed-bag of various genre references, since the original film, which served as inspiration, is so bloody damn good. Financed independently, directed by Nikkatsu-veteran Toshiya Fujita, and starring glorious Meiko Kaji (already known at the time for Stray Cat Rock and Female Convict 701: Scorpion series), the movie is an adaptation of manga by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura.

Ironically, the film is vastly different in tone and style that Fujita usually used to do for Nikkatsu, but it’s his only picture that has mainstream recognition outside of Japan. Allegedly, it took some time for Meiko Kaji to be persuaded to play the part and, eventually, she agreed on condition of having some input in the shaping of the character. Thus, Lady Snowblood is not a typical pink/exploitation flick of its times, but primarily an action violence picture. We follow Yuki’s quest, divided into four chapters, in which we see her beginnings, each step as she tracks down and mercilessly kills the criminals, and the morbid finale of her revenge at the "House of Joys" that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Some of the more particular cinema connoisseurs unanimously claim that Lady Snowblood is just an outdated, poorly executed B-Movie. Well… they could not be more wrong. Only those who have not seen the movie can claim something like that. Lady Snowblood is literally an unpolished gem among samurai flicks. It perfectly delivers the story of good vs. evil in which the protagonist masterfully slaughters the baddies.

What’s more, the film also rocks in terms of character development. Even though we know that Yuki is just a female assassin, as the plot progresses, we may slightly doubt her earthly nature. We never see her eat or drink, or even engage into sexual intercourse and display her body. Yuki is only focused on completing her mission, her destiny, because it is the only reason of her coming into this world. Although we may perceive some “love interest” through the character of Ryūrei Ashio (Toshio Kurosawa), this is not his function in the story; Ashio serves to provide a metatextual comment on the events and tie-in the storytelling structure of manga to that of the film.

In terms of filmmaking techniques, the picture was simply ahead of its times. The very first scene of Yuki taking on the gang of thugs is beautifully staged and choreographed. The 180-degree-shots of fighting Yuki match perfectly with the framing shots in crowded scenes as well as the handheld sequences of chasing, not to mention lots of Yuki close-ups to hint at her twisted psyche and barely controlled wrath.

In other words, Toshiya Fujita did a splendid job in his directorial duties and Meiko Kaji steals the picture with her mesmerising performance, making the role of Shura Yuki Hime easily the best one in her career. I’m not saying that Lady Snowblood is a flawless film, because it could have been a little longer, more linear in its narration, and more elaborative on the historical context of the Meiji era. Nevertheless, if the movie had a bigger budget and had been made a bit earlier (in the golden era of samurai classics), I’m confident that it would get the attention it rightfully deserves.

Recommendations

I recommend this to anyone who likes good old revenge flicks with moderate amounts of bloodshed but greater emphasis on the main character and enormous pay off at the end. To me, Lady Snowblood is a Japanese version of Once Upon a Time in the West. If you like this feeling of spaghetti westerns, but at the same time dislike the overt craziness of Tarantino, then Lady Snowblood is the movie for you.

Overall score: 9/10