SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Ensofter Overrated and overhyped

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Jithin K Mohan One of the most beautiful, stylistic and brutal action films I've seen. Tarantino essentially ripped off this one with Kill Bill. The cinematography and music were some of the highlights along with the great action choreography. Some of the most memorable sword slice killing in cinema is here. A must watch especially for all the Kill Bill fans.

WILLIAM FLANIGAN Lady Snowblood / Blood Snow / Snow of Blood / Fighting Snow Lady (Lit.) (shurayukihime). Viewed on DVD. Restoration = ten (10) stars; subtitles/translation = seven (7) stars; cinematography = five (5) stars; choreography = five (5) stars; music = four (4) stars; splatter/spurting effects = three (3) stars. Director Toshiya Fujita and Principal Producer Kikumaru Okuda deliver a four chapter film adaption of a popular contemporary manga (comic book / graphical novel) which chronically reminds the viewer of it's original source material. A live action manga complete with over-the-top accesses that characterize the genre. This is a tale of supposed enhanced suppression of the under classes by the top one per-centers during the first few decades of the Meiji emperor-ship. After undergoing 20 years of mostly sadistic training (including being rolled repeatedly down a hill in a barrel while still a child!), the leading protagonist sets out to exterminate four villains (one in each movie chapter) who destroyed her late mother's life. The film is loaded with expository voice over (more like listening to an audio book than watching a movie) suggesting (a) a lack of ideas about film adaption and/or (b) insufficient production financing. Acting is pretty hammy all round. Leading actress Meiko Kaji seems to do more sword-swinging posing (and posing in general) than line deliveries (she looks stunning when favorably costumed and lit, but has little to say compared to other cast members and appears a bit bored (or unhappy?) with her role. She also sings the opening/closing theme song (which is translated--a rarity!). Choreography is okay but a bit dragged out due to extensive inserting of Kaji-posing shots. Blood spurting (especially during sword fights) is strictly comic-book style - it looks like each of the wounded suffers from off-the-scale high blood pressure and is on the verge of blowing up due to gallons of excess blood! Cinematography (wide screen, color) and lighting are fine. Subtitles/translations are very good with all singing, signage, and written text translated. Music is contemporary (it often sounds like a rift on Italian spaghetti westerns of the time) and does not fit well with the time period of the film (late 1800s). Restoration is outstanding. An interesting organic cartoon. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

BA_Harrison Lady Snowblood: Blizzard from the Netherworld stars Meiko Kaji as Yuki, conceived and born behind prison bars and raised to take retribution against the four vicious criminals who raped her mother and slaughtered the rest of her family.Typical of the 70s Japanese exploitation genre, the film mixes stylish visuals with extreme violence, and as Yuki hunts down the guilty four, viewers are presented with stunning cinematography, masterfully staged fight choreography, and a copious amount of arterial spray and bodily dismemberment; director Toshiya Fujita even throws in some manga drawings for good measure.An exciting finalé at a decadent masquerade ball sees Yuki despatching her final target in suitably bloody style, only to be stabbed by the vengeful daughter of one of her earlier victims. How ironic! 7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

tomgillespie2002 In 1874 Japan, a woman gives birth in a prison. Almost a year before, the woman, Sayo (Miyoko Akaza), her husband and son are attacked in a village by four criminals - Okono (Sanae Nakahara), Banzo (Noboru Nakaya), Tokuichi (Takeo Chii) and Gishiro (Eiji Okada). The husband and son are murdered in cold bold, and Sayo is taken by Tokuichi to work for him. After Sayo murders him, she is sent to prison, where she has sex with many guards in the hope of becoming pregnant, to give birth to a child that can avenge her. That child is Yuki (Meiko Kaji), who after receiving years of training from a priest, becomes Lady Snowblood, a lethal assassin whose only thirst is for revenge.While this may sound similar to countless martial arts or samurai films to come out of Japan and China during the 1970's, there's something profoundly different to Lady Snowblood. While it certainly offers scenes of outlandish violence (the blood spurts from the body like a gushing fountain), director Toshiya Fujita, taking inspiration from the manga Shurayukihime, seems more interested in building the foundation to the sweeping story than having scene after scene of flying limbs. Separated by title-carded chapters, the film makes a point of giving us a decent story to each target, subtly interlinking the stories to make sure they flow, rather than simply jumping from one person to the next.What also separates this from others of similar ilk on the grindhouse circuit is the cinematography by Masaki Tamura, which is nothing short of beautiful. I promised myself I would try and get through this entire review without mentioning Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill (2003-2004), but it's not hard to see why he chose to steal (sorry, it's 'homage' when its Tarantino doing it) the same setting and colour palette. Every scene is wide and lovingly crafted, and when the violence ensues, it turns out that red on white is truly stunning. It may not have the outlandish violence of, say, the Lone Wolf and Cub series (1972-1974), but this has a calm yet quick slash of a sword, rather than an extended sword fight, and the film is clinical in that aspect to say the least. While the pace may be often too slow, this is still a satisfying revenge drama featuring one of the most iconic character of its genre.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com