Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

This movie begins in 1874 with a woman named "Sayo" (Miyoki Akaza) giving birth to a baby in a Japanese prison. As it so happens, Sayo's husband and her young son were killed by four bandits and she was subsequently taken away by one of them and forced to become his consort. Eventually, Sayo kills her abductor which results in her being imprisoned for life. Although Suyo dies after giving birth her last words to her fellow inmates is to make sure that her baby "Yuki" (Meiko Kaji) gets revenge on the other three people responsible for the atrocities committed upon her family. To honor her request Yuki is then given to a nearby priest who not only raises her but also teaches her the necessary combat skills she will need to exact her revenge. And then at the age of 20 she is released to fulfill her mission in life. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an entertaining movie with a good plot and some fascinating elements of Japanese history and culture. Unfortunately, it also had several action scenes which were much too unrealistic and this greatly limited the overall effect. Even so, in spite of its faults, I still liked this film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Protagonist Yuki Kashima was born in 1874 and her whole life has been preparation to carry out revenge for her mother who died shortly after her birth. Four people had killed her husband and after killing one of them she was sent to prison. Here she seduced guards until she became pregnant; she hoped for a strong son to carry on her revenge but when she had a daughter she was just as keen that she should kill the other three. After twenty years of training Yuki is ready and starts looking for the three remaining targets. Along the way she meets many other people she will have to fight before getting to her targets… she will also inspire others to seek their revenge against her.Before watching this I was aware that it was a major inspiration behind 'Kill Bill' so had some idea what to expect… revenge and lots of blood! Revenge is indeed the main theme of this story and there is a fair amount of blood spilt but it is far from being non-stop action and gore. In fact the film spends quite a lot of time on character development and backstory. This character development shows us young Yuki's harsh training regime and spends time showing us how the daughter of her would-be victims cares for her father to emphasise that Yuki's own revenge will provide motivation for others' revenge. The action is pretty bloody with unnatural geysers of vivid blood spurting from many wounds, the snow white kimono that Yuki wears for much of the time was clearly selected to show all the blood that gets spilt on it. Often in this sort of film the protagonist doesn't seem in much real danger but here Yuki is frequently injured and as the end approaches in is far from clear that she will survive. Director Toshiya Fujita did a fine job making the film look stunningly beautiful much of the time. The cast were pretty good too; especially Meiko Kaji who make Yuki formidably while still having a degree of fragility. Overall I thought this was a fine film, somewhat better than I expected; I'd certainly recommend this to fans of films like Kill Bill or of course any of the other films that inspired that film.These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.

Beautifully directed by Toshiya Fujita, LADY SNOWBLOOD is another Art House samurai saga chock full of geysers of blood. When it all comes together as it does here, the result is a joy to behold. (I'd seen this one years ago, but revisiting it just recently reminded me just how good it is.) Yuki (the lovely Meiko Kaji) is the orphaned daughter of a woman forced into prostitution when her husband was murdered (in a VERY graphic sequence). Armed with her umbrella (which hides a sword, the use of which she has mastered), Yuki sets out for revenge. "You were born for vengeance," her mother told her when she was born to her in the prison where she died for killing her rapist: "A child of the Netherworlds..." "I've immersed my body in the river of Vengeance," her theme song tells us. Much like the current situation here in these United $tate$, her world is one where "unfair practices by mercenary plutocrats and shady businessmen and actions taken by corrupt officials seeking only to benefit themselves" are rampant. "People say... that what cleanses this world of decay is not pure white snow... but snow that is stained fiery-red- the snow of the Netherworlds!" Yuki enlists the aid of the beggar clan to help find her next target, whom she tells: "It's time to start the journey of Death." Says the Narrator: "All life is transitory... but the virtues are eternal." When "liberal" writer Ashio Ryurei begins writing a manga, LADY SNOWBLOOD, chronicling her exploits, he draws the ire of the local authorities (who, like the Democratic Dictators who've ruled THIS country for so many decades, now, get real upset when The Little People get out of line). LADY SNOWBLOOD is one of the better samurai epics (and that's saying a lot, as there are a good many of them of superior quality)- and it doesn't skimp on the bloodletting.

Based on a comic by late Kazuo Kamimura and Kazuo Koike, Shurayukihime is a story about vengeance and rebellion. Shurayuki who had her father murdered by conspiracy goes out to avenge the three conspirators.The movie's title "Shurayukihime" is a play on "Shirayukihime" which is the Japanese title for Walt Disney's movie Snow White. Very similar title, but the two movies can't be further apart in their contents.In the original plot, there was some element of rebellion against the government that was the ultimate culprit of the conspiracy, but in the movie, this did not play a main role of the story except where Yuki kills the police force that captured Ashio.The movie which attracted little attention when it was released, now has world wide audience thanks to Tarantino giving it credit as inspiration for Kill Bill. The back drop of battle between Oren Ishii and Black Mamba is almost verbatim copy of the last scene from this movie.There is little known part 2 of this movie released in 1974 which picks up after this one with Kaji reprising her role as Yuki.More recently a version done by Yumiko Shaku was released in 2001 with backdrop set in the future, and story which is almost unrelated to the original except Yuki eventually avenges her mothers murderer and that her organization Takemikazuchi was rebelling against the the government.Some of Kamimura's original artwork of Shurayukihime can be seen in his website at kamimurakazuo.comThe movie is unusually graphic for a Japanese movie of its era. Meiko Kaji was a star of another dark comic turned movie Sasori. Her mood fits this type of role perfectly.Watch this movie for its action, and historical value.