Lady Snowblood 1 - Blizzard From The Netherworld Reviews

The first Kill Bill

Quentin Tarantino has acknowledged the influence of this film on Kill Bill, and the similarities are striking: the use of chapter headings, the nonlinear use of flashbacks, the bloodshed and the melancholy, unstoppable female avenger.

But what Shira Yuki Hime or Lady Snowblood, has over Kill Bill are two things: the political context on which it is based, the flirtation with leftist politics that permeated much genre films in the Sixties and Seventies as evidenced in Spaghetti Westerns, Gangster films, and Samurai films, and the blistering presence of star Meiko Kaji, whose smouldering gaze and steely presence keeps your eyes fixed on her whenever she's on-screen. Kaji played tough women in various film series and also enjoyed a singing career in the 1970s (she not only sings the theme song here, but Tarantino also pays tribute by including one of her ballads on the Kill Bill soundtrack).

See Lady Snowblood for Meiko Kaji, for the merciless story of revenge, and for Kaji's nihilistic screen of rage and despair that ends the movie.

And then come back for the sequel.

Excellent film

This is a great film, anyone out there that liked Kill Bill should love this! A sad story of revenge with plenty of proper samurai spraying blood into the bargain;) Also if you like this (and Kill Bill) You have to checkout the Lone Wolf & Cub Films;) All of them! Though UK releases of some are slightly cut!

Lady Snowblood is a must for any fan of Japanese samurai films...a classic!

Kill Bill?????

If you enjoyed Kill Bill and are curious about the inspiration behind Quentin Taratino's martial arts revenge drama then look no further. From the episodic revenge plot involving a kick-ass heroine to the chapter headings, taking in samurai sword training and hacked limbs, with bloodied stumps spraying fountains of blood along the way - this is the real deal. If it's insights into the human condition, subtle nuanced acting and realism you want then pass on this, but if you're after a stylish racy mix of martial arts with an original oriental super-babe then give this a go - you won't be disappointed - it's excessive, it's gory, it's stupid, it's great!

BORN TO SEEK REVENGE

The film takes you through a story of a baby born to later seek revenge on people who had attacked & murdered her parents. Great Film, Good Ending to.

Revenge - Japanese Style.

Fantastic film. You can see where Tarantino got his inspiration for Kill Bill, but this film is far more than that. One of the darkest films I have seen. This is revenge, cold and calculated, with no humour, just purpose. The gushing bloodletting mars the overall realism of the film a touch, but what do I know about severd arteries? On the whole this is stylish and grim. The kind of serious revenge drama that Hollywood manages to fail at. A must see film. Now I just wait to see the sequal.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Enjoyable but it's not Zatoichi

Enjoyable Japanese revenge flick that served as an inspiration for [i]Kill Bill[/i]. Some political subtext and the strong female role lift this above standard films with the gore particularly funny as well. Good if not brilliant.

Absolutely awful

Not much of a story - in fact hardly any and a great deal of gratuitous violence - pigs' bladders bursting all over the place. Not my cup of tea, thank you !!

Kill Gishiro

If reviews are measured against type then this film is classic! The 70's samurai trashy sound effects and tunes (A few Tarantino has borrowed for Kill Bill) are very retro cool, as is a lot of the style and imagery. Dodgy visual effects make it seem authentic and you get a true sense of what QT wanted to achieve with Kill Bill. Those who claim he copied it are right only to an extent. The Kill Bill plot has only slight similarities, most of them are featured in Kill Bill Vol. 1. It's definatly worth seeing if you like Kill Bill, and particularly interesting to watch for QT's steals. All in all a wicked retro samurai film.

Kill Bill without the pomposity

QT took the cartoon violence from films such as this and added some ponderous dialogue on top. Admittedly, Kill Bill has more exciting and extravagent fights but this should be watched as one of its inspirations and it does have more heart and beautiful cinematic compostions than Kill Bill.

Highly entertaining and a much more accomplished piece of film-making than I had anticipated. Flying limbs and hissing jets of blood are virtually guaranteed from every one of the films many fight scenes. It's also brilliantly paced, covering essentially the same ground Tarantino did with Kill Bill (1+2) but in just over 90 mins. I mention that because this is one of the major influences in Kill Bill where both films follow a heroine exacting revenge on 4 killers. It's told in chapters, like KB and we even get the same shot from the victim's POV of the four killers standing over their prey. Liking Kill Bill guarantees you'll love this.