Karate Kiba (1976)

Karate master and anti-drug vigilante Chiba returns to his home in Japan, where he holds a press conference announcing his intention to wipe out the nation's drug industry. He also offers ... See full summary »

Directors:

Ryuichi Takamori, Simon Nuchtern

Writer:

Ikki Kajiwara (screenplay)

Stars:

Jirô Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Aaron Banks

Cast

Credited cast:
Jirô Chiba
Etsuko Shihomi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Aaron Banks	...	(U.S. version)
Sonny Chiba
Judy Lee	...	(U.S. version)
Bill Louie	...	(U.S. version)

Storyline

Karate master and anti-drug vigilante Chiba returns to his home in Japan, where he holds a press conference announcing his intention to wipe out the nation's drug industry. He also offers his services as a bodyguard to anyone who is willing to come forward and provide information about the drug lords' activities. He is soon approached by a mysterious woman claiming to have important information and asking for Chiba's protection. She seems to be legitimate, but is she really what she appears to be?

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Plot Keywords:

karate | karate kick | street shootout | f word | tommy gun | 

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Taglines:

Sonny Chiba, hired to kill... If his kick doesn't get you... his fatal fist will!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

September 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Bodyguard

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toei, Nippon-American Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Narrator: The path of the righteous man and defender is beset on all sides by the iniquity of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper, and the father of lost children. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious anger, who poison and destroy my brothers; and they shall know that I am Chiba the Bodyguard when I shall lay my vengeance upon them!
[...]

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Connections

Edited into You're Still Not Fooling Anybody (1997)

User Reviews

Worth it for the first ten minutes alone.

El Buncho my friend, you got it all wrong. The tacked-on prologue is the only really good thing about this downer of a flick. Even die-hard Chiba fans (like myself) will be disappointed with this 42nd street second-stringer. A lame vanity project that stars badass Chiba as a badass named Chiba who rents his services (martial arts skills, not...) to anyone willing to rat on the syndicate. Sort of a one man witness protection program. A reasonably good story is ruined by artsy-fartsy direction and editing, though the noir-ish camerawork and lighting is a plus. The fight scenes are few and far between, failing to showcase Chiba's legitimate skills and prowess.

Now back to that infamous prologue. Totally unnecessary, but funny. And fun. Tacked on by the American distributor, it was filmed in NYC during the mid 70s. This scene is of note to martial arts historians for the brief glimpse it provides of the New York karate scene after the heady kung fu craze just a couple of years earlier. It features Goju-kai practitioner and legendary promoter Aaron Banks in his world famous (now defunct) school in Times Square. Also worth mentioning is the title sequence featuring Mas Oyama training in the woods with his students. Oyama was Chiba's first Karate teacher. Bet you didn't know that, huh.