Lady Snowblood

Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime) (1973)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Toshiya Fujita

Starring: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza, Shinichi Uchida

From: Toho

Would you believe I hadn't seen this movie before? This is despite knowing for about two decades that Tarantino was, well, rather inspired by this film. In fact, to steal a quote—his entire directorial story may have been lifted wholesale from Lady Snowblood! This is the fact I learned as I finally streamed this picture on the Criterion Channel. While there is no good excuse for the prolonged delay in checking out something I've had easy streaming access to for countless months, it was at least a satisfying payoff.

It is a badass tale of revenge where a mother literally has a child in prison (only to die at childbirth) for the single-minded purpose of having the child grow up to get revenge against those that sexually assaulted her and murdered both her husband & son. Jumping backwards & forwards in time, we see how little Yuki became through brutal training a figurative demon in human form despite her female gender. Blood is sprayed... in copious amounts. No kidding, even more gallons of blood are spilled and more severed arteries gush blood like a geyser than you see in a Lone Wolf & Cub motion picture.

Sure, it's wacky that there's a 1970's-style tabloid reporter in 1890's Japan but I didn't care, as the movie was a blast. The stylish direction, the editing sliced w/ a katana blade, the sharp direction from Toshiya Fujita, the funky jazz score from Masaaki Hirao, Meiko Kaji as the believable avenging angel... <chef's kiss>. I do realize that the film's sequel (at least from hearsay) is lacking a certain Je ne sais quoi that is ever-present in this; regardless, it's a stylish, blood-soaked revenge tale that is a delight where even a trope that is pretentious twaddle when used in modern films (random chapter designations) are befitting in this case when they also include tubular titles that-for example-announce there will be a finale full of carnage.