The Street Fighter (1974)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Sick Product of a Sick System

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Captivating movie !

Japan's answer to the Bruce Lee craze is revealed in this one-of-a-kind movie; the guy they called Sonny Chiba. Chiba's reputation as an invincible tough guy in the west rests solely on this ultra-violent movie which is remembered by all those fortunate to have seen it for the sheer violence alone. Every other factor in the film pales in comparison. Looking at it from a distance, this takes a leaf from the popular Japanese samurai cinema by making the central character an honourable but unlikable one. He's even more misogynistic than Hanzo the Razor (who interrogates female suspects using his penis!) and casually sells off one of his female employees to a prostitution racket at the beginning of the movie. His character may not be likable, but he commands our respect at the sheer efficiency in killing all the bad guys this movie has to offer.The plot is slightly convoluted and contrived, but no more so than most martial arts films. Let's just say it isn't the strong point here. After helping a man escape from prison, Chiba is employed to kidnap a girl recently come into a fortune. However he turns on his employers, who attempt to have him killed as he knows their secrets. Later, Chiba finds himself employed by the girl's uncle to protect her, and he finds himself up again an army of the Yakuza come the finale. The dubbing is pretty poor, it has to be said, and the acting isn't particularly fantastic either. Chiba is impressively fast in the various fight scenes, but his relentless posturing is more amusing than intimidating. The supporting cast is adequate at best, although Chiba's buddy Ratnose is fairly likable in an irritating way.Back to the action, and this film contains more gore than most horror flicks from the period. This is the reason it was rated X back in America on release. The violence comes thick and fast. Chiba busts a guy's teeth out, breaks a dozen limbs and stamps on people's chests until the bones break. Later he castrates a would-be rapist and tears out a man's entire throat. The most well-remember moment is when he whacks a guy on the head and an X-ray shows us the skull breaking. Gallons of blood are spilt during the course of the film and I loved every minute of it. The violence is so in-your-face that you can't help but be amused by it. Things hot up for the excellent finale, set on board a boat, where Chiba fights off countless thugs and bad guys in a taut and exceptionally adrenaline-packed sequence. A great conclusion to a great movie all round. Incredibly, two sequels followed – THE RETURN OF THE STREET FIGHTER and THE STREET FIGHTER'S LAST REVENGE as well as the spin-off movie SISTER STREET FIGHTER which itself spawned numerous sequels. However, none of them could match the sheer visceral appeal of this movie.

Notoriously Famous, or Infamous, Sonny Chiba Movie, along with Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" (1973), Solidified the Kung-Fu Craze in America. Bad-Ass, as He and the Movie are often Called, is an Accurate Description.Chiba made a lot of Films, this one is part of a Trilogy, but "Street Fighter" Stands Alone in its Audacious Violence, Non-Stop Action, and Unrestrained Bloody Battles. The Martial Arts Expert's Screen Persona Stamps and Stomps His Image On Screen with Facial Contortions, Grunts and Groans, and for a Man 5'10" Tall, has Lightning Quick Hands and Feet.He is No Goody-Goody either. He is a Mercenary and will Work for Anyone and Lustfully Gropes Females at will. The Plot is Inconsequential, the Girls are Brightly Attired Beauties, but it is the Gratuitous Gore that Everyone Remembers besides Our Anti-Hero. And Gory it is with Buckets of Blood and a Few Scenes that are Legendary that won't be Spoiled here.If You are merely Curious, this Film Alone will Prove why All the Fuss about Sonny Chiba. Originally X-Rated for the Violence and Cut for American Release, in the Eighties the Original Version makes it way to Video and the True Aspect Restored. Beware any Lingering Censored and Full-Screen Versions that should be Avoided.

Seldom does a film define the term "bad-ass" as it is the case with Shigehiro Ozawa's Japanese Karate-Exploitation classic "Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken" aka. "The Street Fighter" of 1974 starring the almighty Sonny Chiba in his arguably most career-defining role. This stylish and truly brutal flick is positively one of the most ultra-violent martial-arts films ever brought to screen, and it's easily one of the coolest, too.Sonny Chiba shines as the ferocious antihero Tamuka Tsurugi, a hired assassin capable of taking out entire armies with his fists of death. Actually, Tamuka is a dirt-bag beyond the usual antihero-standards. Right in the beginning he rescues a convicted criminal from the gallows. After his client's siblings cannot pay him, he kills the brother and sells the sister into prostitution. Yet, Tamuka has his very own, unbreakable, moral code of honor. After his refusal to take part in the kidnapping a beautiful young heiress (Yutaka Nakajima), members of the mob make an unsuccessful attempt on Tamuka's life - an act which has earned them a mortal enemy...In the US this was the first film ever to be rated X merely for violence. And this truly is an extremely brutal film, even for Japanese 70s exploitation standards - I do not want to spoil the best parts, but I can assure that fans of gory Grindhouse cinema will have the time of their lives. Sonny Chiba is truly outstanding. Ferocious, irascible and without mercy, Chiba is the the ultimate killing machine. When clenching his muscles in order to make a deadly move, he makes creepy noises that are almost capable of making the viewers afraid to be the next to get their asses kicked. I love Bruce Lee flicks, but compared to Chiba, even the most violent ones with Lee seem like harmless comedies. One could not claim that the storyline of "The Street Fighter" is the most elaborate thing ever written, but the incredibly stylish, ultra-violent action, the film's gritty and mean-spirited character and Chiba's overwhelming presence make this a true must-see for anyone even remotely interested in Exploitation and Japanese cinema.The cast includes several familiar faces for Japanese Exploitation fans, such as Fumio Watanbe, who is probably best known for playing the sadistic Warden in the fantastic first two "Joshuu Sasori" ("Female Prisoner Scorpion") films starring Meiko Kaji in 1972, and also had a part in the first of the brilliant "Kozure Ôkami" ("Lone Wolf And Cub") films starring Tombisaburo Wakayama, "Lone Wolf and Cub - Sword of Justice" in the same year. Beautifully Yukuta Nakajima makes a nice female lead, Goichi Yamada is fun as Chiba's sidekick and Masahi Ishibashi is great as his nemesis Shikenbaru, an equally skilled karate-killer. Chiba himself, of course, outshines anybody else in the role of one of the most ferocious antiheroes in motion picture history, and the ultimate killing machine in any Karate-flick. "The Street Fighter" is an awesome, stylish and ultra-brutal viewing experience and nobody who likes Exploitation or Japanese cinema could possibly consider missing it. A true gem; All hail Sonny Chiba!

If you try to compare this film to non-martial arts films, it surely would not receive a score like 9. However, for the genre, it is an exceptional film as way too many of these martial arts films of the 1970s were so cheaply made and featured the dumbest gimmicks and the most ridiculous fighting that STREET FIGHTER is a welcome relief--even being better than most of the Bruce Lee movies.Originally, this was an X-rated film due to its graphic violence, though today it probably would be rated PG-13 or R--I guess this says a lot about our culture and the type films we are making these days! There is a ton of blood and lots of gouging and ripping out of things such as genitals and throats--making it a movie you still should NOT let your kids see. Plus,instead of the likable and decent hero usually played by Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba plays an amoral jerk who will do anything for money--this is highly reminiscent of the "heros" in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and other Spaghetti Westerns.The film begins with Chiba rescuing a condemned man from execution. The man DID deserved to die, but for the money, Chiba and his dopey sidekick were more than willing to help. However, later, when the same employer wants him to do other jobs but don't want to pay the price he asks, they decide to kill him--after all, they are the Yakuza and they don't want their identities revealed. So, wave after wave after wave of baddies attack Chiba. His martial arts techniques are incredible--we was obviously well-trained and unlike most heroes in martial arts films, he took pains to kill most of his victims--not just punching them but brutally destroying them. However, it also helped that in many cases, the bad guys attacked him one at a time!!! This was reasonably achieved in some cases by having them attack down a path or in an alley, though often they took turns when they all COULD have attacked at the same time--and even the greatest marital artist would not survive this. Hey folks, these are the YAKUZA--Japanese mobsters famed for their brutality--this one at a time stuff just isn't realistic. What I did like, though, was that they did sometimes use guns and Chiba was able to handle this--it wasn't all hand to hand nonsense.Aside from the one at a time problem, the only other minor problem was his fight with nice-guy Master Masaoka. Masaoka was a middle-aged and rather overweight guy but he more than handled Chiba--even though Chiba then went on to kill dozens throughout the rest of the film. Masaoka appeared in the next film as well and none of his techniques look the least bit impressive. So how did he do so well against Chiba? But for the good, there is a lot to like. This is some of the most brutal and skilled martial arts I have seen and it is very realistic due to the blood and because he remembers to kill just about all those who attack him--making Chiba a rare thing in martial arts films--a very smart and pragmatic leading man!!! While not quite as fast as Bruce Lee or artistic as Jackie Chan, Chiba's brutal combination of styles of martial arts is very impressive and hard to dismiss. Lovers of the genre MUST see this film.