Lady Snowblood (1973) Shurayukihime (original title)

Director:

Toshiya Fujita

Writers:

Kazuo Kamimura (story) &
Kazuo Koike (story) ...
(more)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A young girl is born and raised to be an instrument of revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Childbirth | Prison | Blood | Buddha

Cast

Meiko Kaji	...	Yuki Kashima (Shurayuki-hime)
Toshio Kurosawa	...	Ryûrei Ashio
Masaaki Daimon	...	Gô Kashima
Miyoko Akaza	...	Sayo Kashima
Shinichi Uchida	...	Shirô Kashima
Takeo Chii	...	Tokuichi Shôkei
Noboru Nakaya	...	Banzô Takemura
Yoshiko Nakada	...	Kobue Takemura
Akemi Negishi	...	Tajire no Okiku
Kaoru Kusuda	...	Otora Mikazuki
Sanae Nakahara	...	Kitahama, Okono
Hôsei Komatsu	...	Genzô Shibayama
Makoto Matsuzaki	...	Daikashi
Hiroshi Hasegawa	...	Daihachi Kachime
Takehiko Ono		(as Susumu Kuroki)
Hitoshi Takagi	...	Matsuemon
Mayumi Maemura	...	Young Yuki
Kenji Ôkura	...	Henchman
Ichirô Kijima
Shôichi Hirose
Kai Atô	...	Henchman
Eiji Okada	...	Gishirô Tsukamoto
Kô Nishimura	...	Priest Dôkai

Directed by
Toshiya Fujita

Writing credits
Kazuo Kamimura		(story) &
Kazuo Koike		(story)
Norio Osada		screenplay

Produced by
Kikumaru Okuda	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Masaaki Hirao

Cinematography by
Masaki Tamura

Film Editing by
Osamu Inoue

Production Design by
Kazuo Satsuya

Production Management
Hiroshi Tanno	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kiyoshi Segawa	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Noboru Kamikura	....	sound
Noboru Nishio	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Naomi Hashiyama	....	still photographer
Choshiro Ishii	....	electrician

Other crew
Kunishiro Hayashi	....	sword choreographer

Production Companies

• Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Distributors

• Another World Entertainment (2008) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Toho Company

Other Companies

• Screen Time Images  DVD menus and authoring
• Screen Time Images  audio restoration
• Screen Time Images  film restoration
• Screen Time Images  film transfer

Also Known As:

"Shurayukihime" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Australia:R (DVD rating) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | West Germany:16 | New Zealand:R16

Company:

Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

Along with its sequel, this movie served as one of the main inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's movies Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Kill Bill' (2003) (TV)

A violent, silly, rampaging romp, but has a heart of sadness.

This film has obviously gained a lot of attention since Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume One and Volume 2 came out. I am not ashamed to admit I got interested in it after it being linked to Kill Bill, but then again, I hadn't heard of it until a while after the Kill Bill movies came out, and I thought it sounded like something I'd be interested in, my kind of movie. And it definitely is.

Let's get it out there in the open: this film is really silly. It has those great seventies Kung Fu noises when someone jumps up in the air unlike any human could, as well as noises when someone shoves a sword into the enemy. But because it's silly don't jump to the conclusion that there isn't a point to watching it. Sure it's just entertainment. But the story is one of the best I've ever witnessed, and not because of the blood and guts.

The story is of course about revenge, but the revenge spawns from a woman who gives birth to a daughter and swears that the daughter must be an instrument of revenge on those that messed with her mother. (A silly premise, but here's where it becomes cool). Meiko Kaji who plays Lady Snowblood, also known as Yuki, doesn't spend the movie wrapped in evil and revenge with anger on her face. There's genuine hurt in her performance. It is actually extremely sad that all she is is an instrument of revenge and death, but that's what weighs the film down into some sort of believability.

The sets are standard Japanese action sort of sets but they have that certain charm about them that's easy on the eyes, it locks the film into this particular recognizable genre but still stands on its own two feet as a film. Also another standard in this genre is freeze frames. Usually I like to comment on shots that continue movement but a certain frame, frozen or still moving, is my favourite of a film. Now, one freeze frame (if memory serves me correctly, the only one), of the baddie coming up some stairs, that may be the second Shurayukihime (apologies if it is) and one side of her face is visible in the freeze frame to alert the audience of this woman's arrival. It is laughable in this but laughable for the right reasons: it isn't corny or annoying, but it's a genuine charm of this genre.

Many standards of this genre may stop you from watching this but watch it for the genuine heart-wrenching story of Yuki Kashima, also known as Shurayukihime, Lady Snowblood.

A genuine piece of cinematic gold that is also entertaining and worth a watch.