Lady Snowblood (1973)
Directed by Toshiya Fujita
A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
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What critics compared Lady Snowblood to
Best known in the U.S. as the primary inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films, particularly Vol. 1 (2003), Toshiya Fujita’s Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime) is a pulpy blend of traditional Japanese chanbara antics and grindhouse provocation.
Criterion’s The Complete Lady Snowblood collects two of Japanese director Toshiya Fujita’s revenge films, Lady Snowblood (1973) and Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974), which are must-sees for fans of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.
* Lady Snowblood (1973): Besides borrowing Meiko Kaji's theme song (you can hear it when the Bride flies into Tokyo), Tarantino owes much of Kill Bill's storyline and sexual politics to Toshiya Fujita's samurai movie about a steely female avenger.
He could resurrect forgotten films like “Lady Snowblood” with “Kill Bill, Vol.
Soaking up and dressing up what has already been done --- viz., Toshiya Fujita?s 1973 and ?74 Lady Snowblood 1 and 2, much better than cloned Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2 -- the director writer has progressed, or regressed, from his startling once-innovative playing with time sequence and graphic hurt, carried so far now as to be self-defeating.
Kim Ok-vin, probably best known in the West for her role in Park’s Thirst , goes through the wringer as Sook-hee, a talented killer in the Lady Snowblood mode who first comes to the attention of the authorities when she single-handedly mows down an entire gang.
Lady Snowblood ( Kill Bill ), The Killers ( Reservoir Dogs ) or the dance scene from Godard’s Bande à part (Pulp Fiction) .
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What clears him with his accusers is his unabashed admission of his influences within his films, be it Lady Snowblood and Shogun Assassin in Kill Bill , Vanishing Point in Death Proof , or The Dirty Dozen for Inglourious Basterds .