R0BTRAIN's Bad Ass Cinema: The Streetfighter

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It seems as if someone’s always touting “The Next Bruce Lee” these days. Before his death in 1973, Lee had become the biggest Martial Arts star in the world. When he passed, he left a void that studios all over Asia tried to fill with imitators and wannabes. Men with names such as Bruce Li and Bruce Le flooded the Cinemas of Hong Kong and other countries. In Japan, Toei studios decided to market their own Martial Arts star as the “next big thing”. That man was Sonny Chiba.

Prior to his elevation to superstar and cult figure in 1974, Chiba had appeared in tons of Yakuza Pictures. The best of these was probably when he appeared as the villain in the second of the five-film Yakuza Papers series, entitled Deadly Fight in Hiroshima. The film showed Chiba’s ability to portray someone extremely ruthless, who still had an odd charisma that drew people to him.

When he was given his own series, Chiba proved himself worthy of the praise he garnered. Crafting an unconventional hero, Chiba made The Streetfighter series a Cult favorite that has stood for decades now. While he never earned the attention that Bruce Lee knew, Chiba has definitely carved out a niche for himself among fans who are quite devout.

After his success with Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs in the early 90’s, Quentin Tarantino used his pull to get a release for the entire Streetfighter Collection, which was previously unavailable in the United States, garnering the star with new fans. Tarantino’s love for the Action star can be seen all over his work, as the film maker has referenced Chiba in his True Romance screenplay as well as giving Chiba an amazing supporting role in Kill Bill. The love was much deserved. For those that have thrilled at Chiba’s work, the man has brought a series of novel anti-heroes who really stood out in a genre that was marred by clones. Watching The Streetfighter is an excellent example of Chiba’s prowess.

The Streetfighter Starring Sonny Chiba and Masashi Ishibashi. Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa.


The Martial Arts and Samurai genres are filled with noble heroes. These are men with honor and a sense of justice. The Streetfighter’s Takumi “Terry” Tsurugi is not among them. Closer maybe to Tatsuya Nakadai’s Ryunosuke Tsukue from Sword of Doom, Chiba’s Tsurugi would rightfully be a villain in any other movie.

His first appearance in this film has him posing as a priest and then challenging a death row inmate to a duel. We learn that Tsurugi is actually there to break the man, Masishi Ishibashi’s Jungo, out of prison, and he does so by beating the man nearly to death. On his way to the hospital, Terry hijacks the ambulance and sets the man free.

So perhaps you’re thinking that this Terry Tsurugi guy’s not so bad. He’s just a working stiff trying to make his way. Assassins have made terrific heroes in films such as the Lone Wolf and Cub series and John Woo’s The Killer. Then when Jungo’s brother Jijou (Jiro Chiba, Sonny’s actual brother) and sister Ishi (Etsuko Shiomi) who initially hired Terry to break the inmate out of prison can’t pay him, blood starts to spill. You have to ask yourself “This is our hero?” as Jijou dies horribly and Ishi is sold into slavery.

But then for some reason, we still root for this character, mostly based solely on Chiba’s charismas and machismo. When he starts to fight, it’s as if you can see a mode of insanity wash over him. Every ounce of controlled fury that Bruce Lee would conjure up on screen is let loose with Chiba, not letting things like honor or pride stop him from killing viciously. There’s no “acting” per se to see in this film, but if you’re looking for it in a film named The Streetfighter, then you’re looking in the wrong place to begin with.

But then Terry is hard to pin down. Is he simply a sadist, out to kill all in his path? Not really. He defies the local Yakuza when they want to hire him to take out an oil heiress, and in doing so must face a myriad of exploitation villains. A small army of thugs meet their death at the hands of Terry’s insane Karate style. Then an awesome band of comic book style villains set their sights on the assassin.

The movie’s sole element of comedy comes from Terry’s sidekick Ratnose (Waichi Yamada). He’s Terry’s cook and all-around goofy friend. Most of the time a character like this could have the tendency for being really annoying, but Waichi Yamada pulls the role off pretty well, especially for not having much to work with. In fact, his character even manages to pull off just a pinch of pathos, which is in very short supply in this movie.

The biggest piece of notoriety that may be owned by The Streetfighter may be the fact that the film was the first ever to be rated “X” for violence… and what violence you get! Terry takes on a variety of villains, from a huge Sumo style assassin to a blind swordsman, and each meet their end in horrible ways. Eyes are gouged out, skulls cracked, and even one scrotum is ripped off.

The violence in this film is vicious in the worst (or considering your perspective the best) way. The film’s action is brutal and bone breaking, with Chiba making an ultimate, and almost irredeemable, antihero. It’s just so much fun watching him kick tail all over Asia that it doesn’t matter. This is Exploitation cinema at its most fun. Director Shigehiro Ozawa sets up a plethora of fight sequences and villains that Terry must face in video game style setups.

This is a great film to put in after your buddies have had their fill of all night Tekken tournaments. By the time Terry takes on seemingly every Yakuza in Japan aboard an oil tanker, and kills them gruesomely (especially a female Yakuza who receives no mercy from Tsurugi), your friends will be full of adrenaline and ready to do some ass-kicking themselves. The movie ends exactly as it should, with Tsurugi facing down Jungo on the deck of the oil tanker, standing in the rain, with life and death on the line. This is old school, Grindhouse cinema, with a particularly ghastly death awaiting the loser. As a throat gets ripped out, the credits roll.

The Streetfighter proved to be such as a popular venture in Japan, that two sequels and two spin-offs resulted. Unfortunately, only the next film, Return of the Streetfighter proved to be any good at all. The problem with the other films was that they played around too much, having Chiba put on goofy costumes or delegating him to a mere cameo in Sister Streetfighter. What the fans wanted out of these films was simple, they wanted Chiba, and they wanted him killing his prey mercilessly. This is why Return of the Streetfighter ends up still being successful.

Return of the Streetfighter Starring Sonny Chiba, Yoko Ichiji. Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa
Aside from having to sit through too many flashbacks from the first movie, this is a kick ass 83 minutes. Terry returns in high fashion, getting arrested so he can assassinate a prisoner being kept there. He does so with predictably horrible methods by ripping the man’s throat out before jumping out a window to escape the police station.

Again, plot is not terribly essential to the success of this Streetfighter entry. The flick deals with underhanded mob deals and double crossings just like the first film does. The real strength of this one lies, of course with its action. Just as he did with the first film, Director Shigehiro Ozawa shows a flair for putting Chiba’s Tsurugi against a host of over the top villains.

I especially love the sequences in which a multitude of weapons masters, (Samurai Sword, Chain and Sickle, etc.) attack Terry one at a time. A surprise villain even shows up from the first film which should bring delight to fans of the Terry’s first outing. Again, Tsurugi defends himself with the utmost brutality, even popping the eyes out of one opponent.
For those who wanted more of the same, this Streetfighter flick gives it to you, right down to its rain soaked finale.

There’s nothing deep or emotionally involving about The Streetfighter movies. They’re simply just brutal, definitive examples of Grindhouse at its most vicious. With more and more challengers to Bruce Lee’s crown of supremacy emerging in the last few decades such as Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and now Ong Bak’s Tony Jaa, the field has gotten much better than the days of the Bruce Li’s and Le’s. But most will never have the raw screen persona of Sonny Chiba. This is a man who owned the screen with sheer force and a bit of insanity. Thanks to Tarantino and a host of Cultish fans, Chiba will live on to kill hundreds more.

Picture Credits: cinemasterpieces.com, DVDbeaver.com, impawards.com

Robert Sutton feels the most at home when he's watching some movie scumbag getting blown up, punched in the face, or kung fu'd to death, especially in that order. He's a founding writer for the movies section of Insidepulse.com, featured in his weekly column R0BTRAIN's Badass Cinema as well as a frequent reviewer of DVDs and Blu-rays. Also, he's a proud Sony fanboy, loves everything Star Wars and Superman related and hopes to someday be taken seriously by his friends and family.