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Review

Quentin Tarantino's two-part magnum opus homage to international genre and exploitation cinema Kill Bill contains so many movie homages and references that it would take a full-length book to dissect them all - but a valid case could be advanced that the 1973 Japanese chambara (or swordplay film) masterpiece Lady Snowblood might just be the single most important influence on Tarantino's revenge epic. Kill Bill not only utilizes Lady Snowblood's basic revenge quest plotline (admittedly not an original concept - also see another Tarantino inspiration, Thriller: A Cruel Picture, a.k.a. They Call Her One-Eye), but Tarantino often draws inspiration from Snowblood's visual style and the hyperbolic arterial-spray nature of its bloody action setpieces. Thankfully, Tarantino couldn't have picked a better film as a source of creative inspiration: Lady Snowblood is one of the best Japanese genre films of the 1970s, and an inarguable must-see for anyone interested in international action cinema. The esteemed Meiko Kaji (Female Convict Scorpion, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter) stars in the eponymous role of Lady Snowblood (or Yuki), trained since childhood to wreak revenge upon the quartet of criminals responsible for her father's murder. Adapted from a popular manga by Lone Wolf and Cub creator Kazuo Koike, the film Lady Snowblood follows Yuki from her childhood training through her final, cathartic enforcement of blood-soaked justice, while Kaji's reliably iconic performance transforms Yuki into a figure both tragic and towering. Director Fujita Toshiya (who had previously directed Kaji in one of the Stray Cat Rock films) displays the same masterful use of widescreen as his contemporaries Kinji Fukasaku and Seijun Suzuki, with a flare for stylized imagery and Lone Wolf-esque blood-letting that makes the experience of viewing Lady Snowblood cinematic nirvana for devotees of Japanese genre film. Highest recommendation.