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Published on 03-18-2019 08:25 AM
Released by: Shout! Factory
Released on: March 26th, 2019.
Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Teruo Ishii
Cast: Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shiomi, Hiroshi Miyauchi, Claude Gannyon, Frankie Black, Waichi Yamada
Year: 1974-1975
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The Street Fighter Collection – Movie Reviews:
Inspired by the international success of Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon, Toho Studios decided that it would release its own martial arts action films, and cast in them the man who at the time looked like the successor to Bruce Lee's crown, Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba (star of The Executioner, Bullet Train). Chiba had been well known in Japan for a while, having starred in quite a few successful action, comedy and drama films, as well as numerous television shows. And so was born The Street Fighter (known in Japan as Gekitotsu! Satsujin-Ken) in 1974, the film for which Chiba remains best known for to this day, almost thirty years later. It's also one of historical importance as it was the first film to receive an 'X' rating for violence, rather than sexual content.
With black belts in multiple forms of Japanese martial arts, his brutal fighting style would bring an air of savage and intense brutality to the screen that hadn't really been seen before. Where Bruce Lee's characters fought with honor and an even-tempered mind, Chiba's Takuma (Terry to his English-speaking pals) Tsurugi was more likely to rip out your throat and steal your woman when you weren't looking. He was a complete and utter bad ass in these films, and it's this role that put him in the same tough guy league as Death Wish's Charles
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