Lady Snowblood (1973)

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Director: Toshiya Fujita

Writers: story by Kazuo Kamimura & Kazuo Koike, screenplay by Norio Osada

Stars: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza, Shinichi Uchida, Takeo Chii, Noboru Nakaya


Born in a filthy Japanese prison of the 19th century, a girl is raised to exact vengeance for the murder of her father and the rape of her mother. 



A harsh priest trains her to be a lethal combatant, and she spends her life hunting the band of criminals.



 

Although revenge may be one of the basest human motivations, a movie like "Lady Snowblood" reveals its seductive nature as well, because director Toshiya Fujita understands how satisfying it can be to watch an implacable agent of destruction track down and annihilate a richly deserving target.

 


Meiko Kaji embodies the steely heroine convincingly as she dispatches her victims in exuberant sprays of blood.

 


Gory, but fun.


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