Lady Snowblood (1973)

	Also Known As: Shurayukihime
	Year of first release: 1973
	Director: Toshiya Fujita
	Actors: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon
	Country: J
	Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 21.06.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A young woman sees her husband and son killed before being raped. She will conceive another child to avenge her twenty years later.
Review: I remember Lady Snowblood as the fist movie I ever saw at the Far East Film Festival in Udine. We were late, had bad seats and watched the movie in original version with German subtitles, not ideal. The recent Blu-ray edition allowed me to watch it in the best conditions: pristine image and sound quality. This movie is one of the main inspirations of Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill. He took from it the revenge story, the scene in the snow garden, some visually intereting shots and the soundtrack, interpreted my the main actress Meiko Kaji. The story revolves around the status of the main character as instrument of revenge ; indeed she was conceived only to that purpose. While it could have been boring in any other Japanese movie, here it is told in an credible and interesting way, thanks to the non-linear story, made of flahbacks and flash-forwards that force you to stay awake. The fighting scenes are also well choregraphed and always surprising. Another nice aspect is the confrontation towards the end of the movie of the traditional Japan with progress coming from Occident. The end of the 19th century was indeed a key period for Japan's opening to the world. One still has to be an amateur of Asian cinema to appreciate this thirty years old movie but it is clearly a masterpiece.
Rating: 8 /10