Sonny Chiba - Der unerbittliche Vollstrecker (1974)

Takuma "Terry" Tsurugi returns. In this sequel, he sets out to bust up a phony charity put together by the Yukuza.

Director:

Shigehiro Ozawa

Writers:

Hajjime Koiwa (screenplay), Kôji Takada (creator)

Stars:

Shin'ichi Chiba, Yôko Ichiji, Masashi Ishibashi

Cast

Credited cast:
Shin'ichi Chiba	...	Takuma Tsurugi (as Sonny Chiba)
Yôko Ichiji	...	Pin Boke
Masashi Ishibashi	...	Tateki Shikenbaru
Claude Gagnon	...	Don Costello
Hiroshi Tanaka	...	Isamu Otaguro
Masafumi Suzuki	...	Kendo Masaoka
Naoki Shima	...	Shichiro Yamagami
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michiyo Bandô
Uzura Brown
Marina Elbirth	...	Mafia Assasin
Seizô Fukumoto
Hal Gold	...	Rio Grandol
Keisuke Handa	...	Takutoshi
George Ilican	...	Arabian Champion
Masataka Iwao	...	Masuda

Storyline

Takuma "Terry" Tsurugi returns. In this sequel, he sets out to bust up a phony charity put together by the Yukuza.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | yakuza | nunchaku | grindhouse | stabbed in the eye | 

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Taglines:

The incredible Sonny Chiba is back! And he's meaner than ever!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood of the Dragon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min (cut) 85 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited from Der Wildeste von allen (1974)

User Reviews

Return of the badass fighter

Director Shigehiro Ozawa and Sonny Chiba did this sequel immediately after their first Street Fighter (1974) in 1974-5. The plot is almost identical (what there is) as Sonny is again Terry who does dirty jobs for the mob and never has any morality in his mind bothering him. He just kills and kicks people's asses if the job requires that. Well so much for any "deeper" elements this film would have had; these are just ultra violent action films which are there only to offer the audience more savage action than those of HK film makers' of the same period.

Return of the Street Fighter has many flashbacks from the first film and never seems too original or interesting, but still it is never boring or hard to watch without falling asleep. The action is plentiful and Sonny tries again to be ultra cool and tough guy with some misogynistic habits, too. The violence is laughably over the top but still shocking and extreme enough to secure the highest X rating (or NC-17) for this kind of film, and so a film this savage would never come from Hollywood nowadays.

If one likes mindless action and memorable music score with strong imagery of gratuitous violence, then Return of the Street Fighter is worth a watch, but still I prefer the original first Fighter film (not that it is any remarkable masterpiece either). These films are Japan's answer to Hong Kong's Bruce Lee and Jimmy Wang Yu, but ten times more vicious, mindless and cinematically not so ambitious. 4/10