May 23, 2023
Satsujin ken 2 (Return of the Street Fighter, 1974)
"I'll tell you something. The intention of the Mafia was to control the whole Asian martial arts world. But you and Masaoka got in our way. And anything that gets in our way... must die."
#Satsujin ken 2#return of the street fighter#street fightin' cinema#japanese cinema#1974#sonny chiba#shigehiro ozawa#hajime takaiwa#kôji takada#shin'ichi chiba#claude gagnon#yôko ichiji#masashi ishibashi#naoki shima#katsuya yamashita#kazuyuki saito#hal gold#hiroshi tanaka#masafumi suzuki#masataka iwao#takuma's back babey‚ splitting skulls and stomping spines. a pleasingly direct sequel to the previous film with multiple returning#characters‚ although Chiba's lead (whilst still resolutely antiheroic) does seem to be wavering in the amorality stakes. in the previous#entry he only wasn't one of the villains bc of a quibble about payment; here he has an actual scruple (just one) and won't turn against#the martial arts master with whom he earnt a mutual respect last movie. cue a mafia grudge match with Chiba on sparkling form#there's a scene in which he reveals his knowledge of a friend's betrayal whilst eating a banana‚ a potentially bizarre performance choice#that Chiba nevertheless nails (i have quite literally never seen someone eat a banana with more tension). there's an increased nod to#aesthetics this time‚ including an unexplained trip into the mountains for a big fight (presumably the reason was: karate in the snow looks#cool as hell). also fanservice for the Chibanauts (i just made that fandom name up) in a scene where he wears shorty shorts to fight a#dozen other men‚ all also wearing only shorty shorts. this is grotesque exploitation cinema meets high camp but it's also just awesome#highly recommended for fans of when one guy runs up another guy and then fucks him up badly
