FORMAT: BLU-RAY
Quentin Tarantino ripped off this movie when he made Kill Bill Vol. 1. Not only did he copy the vibe of the main character for O-Ren Ishii, he used the same chapter structure, stole the look of the snow-covered opening scene, and he also used the awesome theme song. Like most films Tarantino cribs from, it got a second life on home video. Now that more people have seen it, it’s rightfully recognized as one of the most badass lady samurai movies ever made.
The awesome Meiko Kaji (from the Female Prisoner Scorpion movies) stars as Lady Snowblood. Using her trick sword that doubles as an umbrella, she sets out to get revenge on the men who killed her mother. Lone Wolf and Cub had their baby cart full of weapons. Zatoichi had his cane sword. Lady Snowblood has her umbrella sword. It’s a cool way to make her enemies think she’s just a dainty gal out for a stroll before she dispatches them with authority.
Kaji is terrific in this, especially in her quieter scenes where she just broods with vengeance. The opening scene sets the stage nicely as Kaji uses her sword to hack off limbs and cause arterial spray to decorate walls. In fact, all the sword fights wind up painting the room red at some point or another.
Lady Snowblood also contains one heck of an origin story that is told in a mixture of highly stylized flashback and a series of still photographs, as well as a particularly brutal training sequence (made even more so due to the fact that it’s a little girl being trained). The plot also wonderfully complicates her quest for revenge as she winds up becoming acquaintances with her targets’ offspring. There’s also a great moment when she learns that one of her intended victims is already dead, which pains her to no end. Little touches like this help to make Lady Snowblood stand head and shoulders (not to mention severed limbs) above other revenge pictures.
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