Member jalvarez82 Posted November 16, 2011 Member Share Posted November 16, 2011 So after 29 years on this planet, I finally got around to watching my first Sonny Chiba film yesterday; The Street Fighter (thank you, Netflix). I enjoyed it thoroughly. What a fierce presence this guy had on screen. I haven't seen eyes like his since Chen Shan in Shaolin vs. Lama, or Yasuaki Kurata in Heroes of the East. It blew me away! And now I'm on a Chiba binge. Please recommend me his best films as far as martial arts choreography goes. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fist Of Boss Posted November 16, 2011 Member Share Posted November 16, 2011 So after 29 years on this planet, I finally got around to watching my first Sonny Chiba film yesterday; The Street Fighter (thank you, Netflix). I enjoyed it thoroughly. What a fierce presence this guy had on screen. I haven't seen eyes like his since Chen Shan in Shaolin vs. Lama, or Yasuaki Kurata in Heroes of the East. It blew me away! And now I'm on a Chiba binge. Please recommend me his best films as far as martial arts choreography goes. Thanks! Shogun's Ninja Ninja Wars Shogun's Shadow I have not seen lot but those are enjoyable..I would not pick follow ups to street fighter, 1st is finest, not good but followups lot worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted November 16, 2011 Member Share Posted November 16, 2011 www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14504 Starring roles: Martial Arts & Action 1. The Street Fighter (karate / action) 2. Karate Bearfighter (karate) 3. The Killing Machine (karate) 4. Karate Bullfighter (karate) 5. Karate Warriors (karate) 6. Karate for Life (this while a lesser film, this one has perhaps Chiba's best fights) (karate) 7. The Street Fighter's Last Revenge (karate) 8. The Executioner (karate / action) (also love the sequel, although it's mainly a comedy) 9. Soul of Chiba (karate) 10. Return of the Street Fighter (karate) Supporting roles: Martial Arts & Action 1. Shogun's Shadow (star: Ken Ogata) (chanbara) 2. Sister Street Fighter (star: Etsuko Shihomi) (karate) 3. Legend of the Eight Samurai (star: Hiroyuki Sanada) (chanbara fantasy) 4. Dragon Princess (star: Etsuko Shihomi) (karate) 5. Roaring Fire (star: Hiroyuki Sanada) (karate / action) 6. Wandering Ginza Butterfly: She-Cat Gambler (star: Meiko Kaji) (action, yakuza) 7. Hunter in the Dark (star: Tatsuya Nakadai) (chanbara) 8. The Ninja Wars (star: Hiroyuki Sanada) (karate) 9. Shogun's Ninja (star: Hiroyuki Sanada) (karate) 10. The Kamikaze Adventurers (star: Hiroyuki Sanada & Sonny Chiba) (action / drama / comedy) In addition, Chiba has played supporting roles in a ton of great non-martial arts movies, like Virus, Hokuriku Proxy War, Deadly Battle in Hiroshima, Resurrection of the Golden Wolf, The Yaguy Conspiracy, The Fall of Ako Clan, and many, many more. Plus starring roles and many enjoyable (although not that great) contemporary action movies like Yakuza Deka and Golgo 13. + Special mention for Okinawa Yakuza War, in which Chiba plays a psychotic karate maniac villain. It's like if the streetfighter was a yakuza... ok, I could be listing films all night... and I haven't even seen many cool looking ones that are not out on (official) dvd, like Wolfguy Enraged and Tokyo-Seoul-Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jalvarez82 Posted November 16, 2011 Author Member Share Posted November 16, 2011 Awesome! I will be sure to check some of those titles out. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fist Of Boss Posted November 17, 2011 Member Share Posted November 17, 2011 I would check bullet train also. Not martial arts but just very good and interesting movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yakuza954 Posted November 17, 2011 Member Share Posted November 17, 2011 I would check bullet train also. Not martial arts but just very good and interesting movie. But not for Chiba. All he does is clumsily drive the train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Fist Of Boss Posted November 17, 2011 Member Share Posted November 17, 2011 But not for Chiba. All he does is clumsily drive the train. Yes, not for chiba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jalvarez82 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Member Share Posted November 18, 2011 I'm mainly interested in any film where he has a fights scene. Thanks anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted November 18, 2011 Member Share Posted November 18, 2011 Then score Takuma's first recommended list of 10. That's the stuff you're looking for, bro. Starring roles: Martial Arts & Action 1. The Street Fighter (karate / action) 2. Karate Bearfighter (karate) 3. The Killing Machine (karate) 4. Karate Bullfighter (karate) 5. Karate Warriors (karate) 6. Karate for Life (this while a lesser film, this one has perhaps Chiba's best fights) (karate) 7. The Street Fighter's Last Revenge (karate) 8. The Executioner (karate / action) (also love the sequel, although it's mainly a comedy) 9. Soul of Chiba (karate) 10. Return of the Street Fighter (karate) #'s 3 and 9 are a couple of my faves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted November 25, 2011 Member Share Posted November 25, 2011 Re-watched Karate Inferno with a friend yesterday. Despite limited karate (the finale is great, though) the film is pure awesomeness. Five star mental insanity. The the opening credits sequence is probably the best film opening ever. And there's also a fantastic came at the end of the film. Also, came across this old Street Fighter bootleg dvd cover... ... and I'm really wondering why does it say "Woman Again" in kanji The guy who made (=photoshop/stole) that cover is either very clever... or not. Anyone know what film it is belongs to? The Chiba shot is from Karate Warriors, but the rest of the artwork belongs to yet another movie... maybe some (taiwanese or HK?) female ninja flick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member stills Posted November 25, 2011 Member Share Posted November 25, 2011 resurrection of golden wolf golgo-13 ninja wars aka death of a ninja aka black magic wars the executioner iirc street fighter 2 is better than 1. both are good. sister streetfighter's good too. avoid legend of the 8 samurai like herpes if you can. if you've got kids they may like it. i've got like 3 copies of it. they force it on you in the combo dvd's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted November 25, 2011 Member Share Posted November 25, 2011 Legend of the 8 Samurai is fantastic. Seen it at least three times. Time to see it again soon. Hiroko & Sanada + Chiba + Shihomi = bloody huge thumb up. Resurrection of the Golden Wolf is absolutely fantastic, too - the best Yusaku Matsuda action film. Neither of the films have anything to do with this topic though - no karate, and very little Chiba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wigsplitta Posted December 6, 2011 Member Share Posted December 6, 2011 iirc street fighter 2 is better than 1. both are good. I agree, BUT, I view them as ONE film I watch them as a single movie because they flow with the same story/characters/feel. The third installation is fun, but it doesn't have the same grittiness. I can still remember making one of my mates watch both films after a few beers. He enjoyed the first one, loved the second, and literally laughed when Chiba smiled when the bad guy burnt at the end! Pure anti-hero awesomeness! + Special mention for Okinawa Yakuza War, in which Chiba plays a psychotic karate maniac villain. It's like if the streetfighter was a yakuza... I have to agree 100% and also say that his intro to the film is "almost" better than the Street Fighter films! Pure-Crazy-Badass just doesn't quite cut it! All other recommendations before are good. My personal favourites are Karate Warriors, Soul of Chiba and Shoguns Ninja. Enjoy if ya ever get the chance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member ShaOW!linDude Posted December 7, 2011 Member Share Posted December 7, 2011 OKINAWA YAKUZA WAR --- does this go by any other names? I've not seen this unless it might be by another title. But then I think I'd remember it if his intro is comparable to that of SF. I reckon I've not seen this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tosh Posted December 7, 2011 Member Share Posted December 7, 2011 All other recommendations before are good. My personal favourites are Karate Warriors, Soul of Chiba and Shoguns Ninja. There was talk of a wide Soul of Chiba, has anyone got their hands on one? One of my favorite Chiba's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Takuma Posted December 7, 2011 Member Share Posted December 7, 2011 I agree, BUT, I view them as ONE film I watch them as a single movie because they flow with the same story/characters/feel. The third installation is fun, but it doesn't have the same grittiness. I can still remember making one of my mates watch both films after a few beers. He enjoyed the first one, loved the second, and literally laughed when Chiba smiled when the bad guy burnt at the end! Pure anti-hero awesomeness! I don't agree. The first one is one of the coolest films ever made. Part 2 has too many flashbacks and doesn't really find any form until during its second half. Still a good film, though. Has some classic violence, Chiba wears karate uniform when he goes skiing, and treats women "gently", and Yoko Ichiji is in it But yes, Chiba's sadistic smile when he hurts people (in both films) is priceless. And like you said, although the third one is a bit lesser film, it's still great fun and has some excellent fights. I have to agree 100% and also say that his intro to the film is "almost" better than the Street Fighter films! Pure-Crazy-Badass just doesn't quite cut it! Plus there's the Tarantino connection: the music during Chiba's introduction scene is the one that was later remixed into Battle without Honor and Humanity by Tomoyasu Hotei, used in Kill Bill Vol. 1 (when Lucy Liu and her gang enter the Tokyo night club). In this case, the Kill Bill remix is actually much better, but still. OKINAWA YAKUZA WAR --- does this go by any other names? I've not seen this unless it might be by another title. But then I think I'd remember it if his intro is comparable to that of SF. I reckon I've not seen this. Okinawa yakuza senso. I don't think it has ever been released outside Japan, even on bootlegs. I've got the official Toei dvd. There was talk of a wide Soul of Chiba, has anyone got their hands on one? One of my favorite Chiba's! Here's all we've got: http://bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=4581&p=111086#p111086 I've got the German disc, but the English audio is very weak and muffled. Can anyone tell me if Rarescope English version suffers from the same? The German audio on my disc is clean and crisp... Chiba screencap time: Chiba-san loves violence (The Street Fighter) ... and wears karate uniform even when he goes skiing (and looks very bored) The pleasure of breaking an arm (he no longer looks bored)... ... and seeing a mafioso burn alive Okinawa Yakuza War Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member wigsplitta Posted December 8, 2011 Member Share Posted December 8, 2011 Okinawa yakuza senso. I don't think it has ever been released outside Japan, even on bootlegs. I've got the official Toei dvd. Yeah, I think that it has only had a Toei DVD release thus far. I think (and i'm usually wrong on most things! ) that some subs have been transcribed for this film.....baited breath time for anyone that hasn't seen this cool movie! [soul of Chiba] - I've got the German disc, but the English audio is very weak and muffled. Can anyone tell me if Rarescope English version suffers from the same? The German audio on my disc is clean and crisp... There was talk of a wide Soul of Chiba, has anyone got their hands on one? One of my favorite Chiba's! The English audio from the Rarescope DVD is ok. It just sounds like a standard VHS. Definitley not crisp, but passable. I was tempted to add the original Japanese audio to the slightly more widescreen English dub, but the running time difference was so heavy that I gave up (for now!) I got the Japanese VHS release hoping that it was W/S, but it is fullscreen - possibly the source of the rarescope DVD? Chiba screencap time: Awesome pix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member 66 Mantis Posted December 12, 2011 Member Share Posted December 12, 2011 The Executioner is my fave China film bar none, even over The Streetfighter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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