Black Belt/Kuro-Obi (Shuntaro Nagasaki, 2007)

[venoms5]

BLACK BELT 2007 aka KURO-OBI

Akihito Yagi--President International Meibukan Goju Style Karate (Giryu), Tatsuya Naka--Master Japan Karate Association (Taikan)

Martial Arts Director: Fuyuhiko Nishi/ Action Co-ordinator: Akihiro Noguchi

Directed by Shuntaro Nagasaki

In 1932 having conquered Manchuria, the Imperial Army of Japan establishes itself as a powerful new force. Prior to the end of the Qing era, martial arts schools were protected by the government. The Kenpeitai (Japanese military) decides to also take control of all the martial arts schools in Japan. However, one such school, the Shibahara Eikan Karate dojo, is reluctant to allow such a takeover. After Taikan shows much force against his opponents, Eikan decides Giryu should defend against the Lieutenant. Without attacking him, Giryu humiliates the military leader. The soldiers leave in shame. Some time later, Eikan dies. His three top students are entrusted with one day inheriting the Kuro-obi (Black Belt) of the school but it will only go to the one who acquires Eikan's way of Karate--defense without attack. After receiving another notice that the dojo's will be used to train troops, the students relent and on their way to the army encampments, Giryu is attacked by the children of the Lieutenant who has killed himself in disgrace. Giryu seemingly dies being sent over a cliff to a waterfall below. Taikan then assumes the position of chief instructor. He ignores his teachers orders and soon embraces the dark side of his soul leading to violence and death. Giryu returns and an ultimate final duel is set between himself and Taikan, the Karate master obsessed with procurement of the Kuro-Obi.

Totally brilliant character driven action drama from director Shuntaro Nagasaki. As much time is spent on building these wonderful characters, the film features ample action sequences in its 95 minute running time. A strong story and a meaningful message unlike most all martial arts movies. However, there's no shortage of action but these scenes resonate with more significance than the average fist-and-kick feature. Despite the plentiful action, so much more is said about discipline through the art of defense and the consequences of violence without continence.

The characters of Taikan and Giryu are the main focal points of the picture and represent 'result through force' and 'result without force' respectively. There is a third student, Choei, but his skill isn't as strong as the other two and he is crippled at the beginning by a soldiers sword when he attempts to keep Taikan from attacking the regiment. Back to the two main participants, Taikan wishes to pummel or eliminate his obstacles supplanting his superiority on any and all those who challenge him. Giryu, on the other hand, follows his Sensei's teachings never doing unnecessary harm to those unskilled that go against him. It is this dynamic that foreshadows an eventual clash between the two colleagues who have obviously trained for years alongside one another. Taikan, with his stubborn and arrogant disposition is clueless until the final moments of the film, of what his teacher meant by saying, "One's skill is not for use against one's enemy. It is just for oneself. The time to use all of your skills comes only at one crucial moment in your life." Taikan is blind to this and seeks instead to force his dominance on other schools in the area much like the Kenpeitai has used their ascendancy for wrongful means such as sharing an alliance with the Yakuza.

Although Taikan eventually breaks his Sensei's rules, he never becomes a true villain. Even though he is overtaken with power and the desire to show he is the best at his art, some semblance of respect to his master and duty of honor remains. This is seen in at least two sequences--one in which Giryu goes with Kenta to rescue a number of women who have been sold into prostitution by farmers who owe money to gangsters. Kenta is threatened with death lest Giryu surrender himself. The gangsters then beat him severely and plan to toss him into the river. Kenta runs to a nearby brothel and by chance, Taikan is inside with one of the women. He goes to his former classmates rescue and easily defeats the assailants. He does realize Giryu was only overtaken because the boy was used as a hostage but he says that he can only fight without fighting for so long. The other sequence where Taikan shows his humanity is towards the end when Giryu marches out to an inevitable death against a squad of rifle bearing soldiers led by the cruel Captain Goda. Taikan interferes and threatens the Captain with death if he intervenes demanding the two are allowed their date with destiny. In between these two scenes there is a duel between Taikan and the master of another school, Togo Takaori. Togo is incensed that Taikan has become the military's dog training their soldiers having forsaken his teachers traditions. This duel is a tense one. When it appears likely Taikan will overpower Togo, Choei shouts that the match be stopped. Too late, as the death blow is delivered and Choei demands Taikan explain his actions. His response is a line that is repeated over the course of the film, "How can he live with this shame?" Taikan's demeanor displays an unmoved and detached aura that shows no emotion for having killed a man. His next line is, "Togo and myself, our wishes were the same".

Whereas Taikan is easily the most complex individual found in the film, Giryu is the unwavering true strength of the piece. Taikan explains to him after saving him from the Yakuza, that he needs to embrace his evil side to survive. To an extent, this is true, but Taikan is consumed by it and temporarily loses sight of his masters training and is the reason why he never fully understands his schools traditions till the end. Giryu is the less interesting character but his person represents the humanity that shines over everything else. During the final fight between Giryu and Taikan (shot entirely in black and white only reverting back to color once the fight is over) Giryu refuses to fight back preferring to defend and evade which incenses Taikan proclaiming, "Do not underestimate me, you can't beat me with defense!" Remembering what Eikan said earlier about using your skill at one crucial moment comes into play here leading into one of the most exciting fight sequences of recent memory.

Which brings us to the fight choreography itself. Simply some of the best ever put on screen. A little bit of everything is shown here from defensive maneuvers, to forceful and powerful attacks, to evasive and counter throws and utterly devastating killing blows. The two main participants are real martial artists in real life and the attacks are precise and pin point movements of fists and feet. The breathing techniques will instantly recall Sonny Chiba's many Karate movies but here, everything is taken seriously all to the accompaniment of a wonderfully poignant and suitably heightened score by Naoki Sato. Every fight scene in this movie is memorable, different and beautifully executed.

KURO-OBI (2007) is one of the best serious movies I've seen in a long while and I'd recommend it highly to any fan of either kung fu or Japanese martial arts cinema as this film has a message behind its "matches". At both times cerebral and stirring, there are exuberant and complex characters with more than enough excitement to not only cater to the art crowd but those seeking some intense, bone shattering action. The highest accolades for everyone involved.

[Guest LoBo]

I will buy this film when hkdvdstore get`s it soon.

________

Whip Vaporizer

[daisho2004]

venoms5: Is this movie on DVD? Sounds really good.

[venoms5]

Yes. There is a Japanese DVD. The copy I got was a custom subbed edition.

[Alex]

I have been dying to see this, thanks for the review

[noodles]

I disagree on all points, I thought this film was downright awful. Don't know what was worse, the fight scenes or the characters.

[venoms5]

I disagree on all points, I thought this film was downright awful. Don't know what was worse, the fight scenes or the characters.

Sounds like we have seen a completely different movie. Here's an interview with the director taken from another site but posted at kyokushin4life.com...

Interview with the director of Kuro Obi, posted on the Okinawa Karatedo Kobudo Support Centre website;

A production of The Klockworx network, "KURO-OBI" features Goju ryu Meibukan Akihito Yagi sensei as the hero. Scheduled to be in theater in autumn 2007, we met Klockworx's Mr. Kojima and director Fuyuhiko Nishi, at the origin of the movie.

Is KURO-OBI an Okinawan karate action movie?

Kojima: It is not an Okinawan karate movie but a karate movie. There are many karate styles in Okinawa and mainland Japan but this movie goes beyond styles to introduce the spirit of karate. And while there is much karate action in the movie, I would say it is more a movie about Budo or martial arts rather than just karate.

Can you tell us about the story?

Kojima: The action takes place in the Japan of 1932. 3 men are the tops students a a karate dojo among which is Akihito Yagi. At the sudden death of their master, his black belt is left to succession. Then starts a story on who will be succeeding the master¡Ä

There are many action actors and karateka in Japan. Why choose Akihito Yagi?

Nishi: I have been looking at karate and other martial arts for more than 20 years, but when I first saw Akihito¡Çs moves, I saw something that I had never seen. It was fascinating. There are many martial artists with long carriers, but seeing Akihito¡Çs kata, I saw not only the kata performed by a real martial artist, but a real aura that was captivating. This is a factor that first class actors have, like a natural talent and Akihito had it. That¡Çs why in my mind he was the perfect person for the role.

After finishing the movie, are you satisfied?

Nishi: Very satisfied. The movie is filled with true karate. I am proud to introduce it as a movie that demonstrates the beauty, way of life and spirit of karate masters. I hope that many karate enthusiasts will enjoy it and that non karate men will want to start practicing this art.

When is the movie scheduled to appear on screen?

Kojima: First, the movie is going to the Montreal International Film Festival August 23rd to September 3rd. Then it should be in Japanese movie theaters in October 2007 "

[Chinatown Kid]

I thought this movie was great! The Karate featured looked very authentic and I loved the realistic style and brutalness of the fights. The whole production seemed to have a sense of class and style and the story gave a good message about what true Karate is all about. I would like to see more class Japanese productions like this.

[daisho2004]

OK JFYI: Merlin over at SamuraiDVD.com has this movie:

KURO-OBI (THE BLACK BELT)

Starring:

YAGI Akihito, NAKA Tatsuya, SUZUKI Yuji

Directed by:

NAGASAKI Shunichi

Anamorphic Widescreen (16:9) Presentation with English subtitles

Bonus material: Subtitled trailers and interviews (subject to change)

READ A REVIEW OF THIS MOVIE FROM

THE E-ZINE DEVOTED TO THE LATEST & BEST IN JAPANESE CINEMA

In 1932, three top students of master instructor Shibahara Eikan are challenged by the Japanese Military Police, the dreaded “Kenpeitai” when the army wants to take over their dojo. Japan was in a state of rising militarism during the 1930’s. As the land of the Rising Sun moved deeper into China by taking over Manchuria, the power of the Imperial Army was growing and liberal leaning politicians like Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi were being assassinated as part of an attempted coup. Against this backdrop the special permission granted by the government to operate a dojo was rescinded and would lead to not only the death of Shibahara-sensei, but a pitched battle between his students to determine who would inherit their master’s Kuro-Obi (Black Belt) as head of the style. When one of the three is forced to leave, he gets involved with a family who are being pressured to sell their daughter to the yakuza so the Military Police can use her as a “Comfort Woman” (essentially a prostitute for the troops). When her little brother sets out to save her it brings to a head the showdown that would settle once and for all the succession of the style. Featuring real-life karate masters this is one of the finest martial arts movies ever made. A film festival favorite last year, this 2007 production is a masterpiece of Japanese cinema.

[Lo Lieh]

Where can you buy this movie online guys?

[ToothbrushFu]

Looks like the film is getting a legit R4 English subbed release from Madman next month.

[Alex]

Finally got to see this, it was great. Fairly simple story used well, fantastic fighting, beautifully put together - easily on of the best MA features in the last couple of years. Maybe the best japanese karate movie of all time actually, I can think of some that are more fun and exploitative but none that can match the quality of the ingredients that make up this one. It's not simply a good MA movie, it's just a really good movie period. See this the first chance you get

[GwaiLoMoFo]

Ha, I was looking at amazon-uk for this DVD and found this pre-order:

Black Belt

Format: PAL

Region: Region 2 ( DVD formats.)

Number of discs: 1

Classification:

Studio: Vengeance Video

DVD Release Date: 1 Jan 2020

Run Time: 93 minutes

Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.

DVD Features:

ASIN: B000HxDS6S

Look at the release date!! Wow, thats a hell of a pre-order!

BTW, anybody with access to the Official R4 Aussie release please lmk and we'll work a trade!

[HAZ]

I liked it a lot, but the ending was a bit hollow.

[Cujo Jenkens]

Hey,does anybody know if this film will be released in the U.S. ?

[KUNG FU BOB]

Chinatown Kid clued me in to this cool film.

I loved it! I thought it was beautiful, moving, well acted, and the karate looked fast and powerful. I rewound almost every action scene several times as soon as they happened. Usually I watch a film all the way through to see it as the director intended it to be seen, then if there's something I wanted to see again, I'll go back and check it out after it's finished. But these scenes were like "What!?" rewind. "Holy..." rewind. The only thing I felt was slightly flawed, as Haz also stated, was the ending. Just slightly.

However, I read an interesting review at IMBD where a karate practitioner complained that the fighting was not realistic. He said it was more like "point match fighting", and pointed out a lack of grappling techniques and throws which I found to be a valid criticism.

I highly recommend the film!

[GwaiLoMoFo]

Here.

http://shop.hkdvdstore.com/new/black...i-p-27376.html

Very good picture quality.

$18 without shipping for a bootleg!!? Are you kidding? You can shell out a few bucks more and get the legit Aus release. Btw, you can get bootlegs of this for around $10 (shipped) on ebay.

[ToothbrushFu]

According to Amazon its getting a R1 release on November 18 from Tokyo Shock / Media Blasters.

[GwaiLoMoFo]

According to Amazon its getting a R1 release on November 18 from Tokyo Shock / Media Blasters.

Sweet, I ALMOST pulled the trigger and bought the Aussie release for @ $30. I can wait for 2 more months.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

The wait is over Gwailomofo. I got it at Best Buy today for $12.99. Really looking forward to this.

[KUNG FU BOB]

I was disappointed that there were not any special features on this. I think the copy a friend sent me may have had a "making of" on it. Can't remember for sure. But I was hoping for something... All that's included is the trailer. The Grindhouse "double-feature" THE BLACK DRAGON/ CHINESE HERCULES was cheaper and cooler! Of course, neither of those films compares artistically to KURO-OBI, but they're both great in their own way. And that DVD is really fun.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Yeah it is a little weird that there's no special features. You would think that for a movie that is so highly regarded, there would be a least 1 special feature. Oh well, for $12.99 I can't really complain since I haven't seen the movie yet. And I just got done listening to the Black Dragon commentary. A lot of stuff is repeated from the other 2 commentaries they did, but still a lot of new stuff. You gotta love Ron Van Clief's honesty, like when he's talking about being a train officer (or something like that). He talks about one guy slashing him with a knife, and George Tan asks "what did you do after he cut you". Van Clief- "I shot him".

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I just got done waching Black Belt, and I didn't really like it. I didn't mind the slow pace too much, and I liked the fights, but I guess I just didn't get it:( I mean, I got that Taikon was the attacker, and that the other guy was all about defence, and that's why he won, but I didn't like the movie. I guess I was expecting too much out of it. It just didn't move me at all like I was expecting it to.

[KyFi]

Wow, just got this, and I love this movie! While I enjoy all kinds of martial arts movies, it's nice to see one like this that's SO grounded in reality---not just in the fight scenes, but in the motivations and complexity of the characters, too. Very nicely filmed, with some great fight scenes---I loved how they switched to black and white for the final fight. From what I gathered from the credits, the two main actors are pretty high-level Karate instructors in real life. I thought they were both extremely skilled actors, and it seems like in many modern martial arts movies, you're lucky if the stars are either good actors OR real martial artists, but in this one they're both. I thought this was a really fantastic movie, and I wish there were more like it being made.

[jiujitsu77]

well, it's not unlike media blasters to release a sub par edition of any film....i figured if they actually DID do a special edition, it would take way longer to put out than expected...but as bob has pointed out, the extra material is already out there, but i figure to hire someone to translate all the extra stuff would mean money...ive lost my faith with that company a long time ago with zombi 2.

im going to be honest. i thought the karate displayed in black belt was beautiful, regardless if the story was something we had already seen before (shades of sanshiro sugata, anyone?). YAGI akihira is a true master of his craft, and suprisingly not a bad actor as well. Real karate....that's what was displayed on the screen. restoring my faith in traditional martial arts, despite them (the arts today) being watered down and americanized. that was a time when people trained, and trained to live accordingly to the art. almost brought a tear to my eye