X
- 1974
- Not Rated
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
- 1974
- Not Rated
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
Summary A strikingly beautiful young woman is raised from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
Directed By: Toshiya Fujita
Written By: Kazuo Kamimura, Kazuo Koike, Norio Osada
- 1974
- Not Rated
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
- 1974
- Not Rated
- Universal Pictures
- 1 h 37 m
Lady Snowblood
80
7.0
Where to Watch
Summary A strikingly beautiful young woman is raised from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
Directed By: Toshiya Fujita
Written By: Kazuo Kamimura, Kazuo Koike, Norio Osada
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 Critic Reviews
80
83% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
17% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 Critic Reviews
80
83% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
17% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Even a passive comparison of Tarantino’s work and the first Lady Snowblood film betrays that it had a significant effect on the filmmaker. The film’s non-linear storytelling, morally uncertain characters, freeze-frame character introductions and vivid chapter titles are all hallmarks of Tarantino’s movies.
A pulpy, violent tale of revenge based on a comic serialized in a popular Playboy-esque men’s magazine, Lady Snowblood didn’t have to be art. But director Toshiya Fujita treated it as such, utilizing a complicated flashback structure and expressionistic cinematography to tell the story of Yuki Kashima, a highly skilled assassin trained from birth to find and kill the men (and woman) responsible for murdering her father and raping her mother before she was born.
The story is simple but the imagery more than compensates: from the tragic-beautiful opening – Yuki’s mother dies in childbirth (and in prison) as white flakes drift peacefully by the barred windows – through a series of shocking, angry flashbacks, to the striking, unexpectedly emotive final shot, this is beautifully controlled, almost sedate action cinema.
Blood sprays, limbs fall, bodies are chopped in half--business as usual in this moderately diverting feudal Japanese revenge story, enlivened by peculiar plot twists and offbeat cinematic flourishes that greatly influenced Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
A rape-revenge narrative so streamlined that even the gimmick of its achronological editing never muddies the progression of Yuki’s journey.
Stylishly shot and full of blood spraying from slashed necks, shoulders and stomachs, Lady Snowblood is a thoroughly enjoyable and arty exploitation flick which has deservedly gone on to become a cult hit.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 4 User Ratings
7.0
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 4 User Ratings
7.0
75% Positive
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
