Lady Snowblood (1973)

 

Genre: Action

Time: 1h 37mins

Director: Toshiya Fujita

Quick Summary: A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

I can definitely see why Kill Bill was inspired by this. 

This is a very good revenge story that is done incredibly well. A young girl has the act of revenge passed down to her from her mother's deathbed, so she then proceeds to get trained in the art of kung fu. Boy, she is absolutely brutal with it too. She chops heads and slices and dices like she means it! Blood sprays out in huge amounts that honestly even though it realistically isn't possible, I loved it. And she doesn't stop no matter what. 

Aside from the violence, the action was incredibly enjoyable. It doesn't really show off a lot of kung fu but this has a calm yet quick slash of a sword, rather than an extended sword fight and I think that really shows off the long build-up of anger towards people instead of going in all rageful. It shows how revenge can creep up on people when they don't expect it. 

Music-wise, I found it interesting as it was a mix of 70's and traditional Asian music. Honestly, I think it's pretty much as iconic as the Kill Bill soundtrack. It slots right in with this film and is never out of place.

Something this film is really good at is contrast. The main Lady is usually dressed in white/ neutral colours against darker backgrounds. Blood is sprayed against the snow. It blends light against dark wonderfully. As well the shots are framed so beautifully, framing the Main lady so that the eye naturally focuses on her. Each arc of the film starts with a title card that sits against the background in bold colours, each called a little joke relating to the chapter. 

The only shame about this film is that it is rather slow-paced, and can get a bit confusing if you aren't fully following it as there is a bit of dialogue. As well, it is a bit too long for what it is. By the end, I was waiting for it to end. But don't let that ruin how awesome this revenge-driven film is. 

7/10

"People say you can't wash away the mud of this world with pure white snow. You need asura snow - stained fiery red"