#106. The Street Fighter (1974)

DVD Synopsis: This action-packed, violent martial arts film stars Sonny Chiba as Terry Tsuguri, a mercenary hireed by the Yakuza and Mafia to spring a convicted killer from prison. When Terry (Sonny Chiba) completes his task, the mobs refuse to pay him for his services. Big mistake! All hell breaks loose as Terry changes sides and seeks revenge for the double-cross.

The Street Fighter is a very violent film, a fact that initially earned it an X rating from the MPAA. Now, obviously when you take into account that this is a martial arts film from the 70’s, you go in expecting a certain amount of violence. Hell, the movie’s title might even give that away. Even still, I believe The Street Fighter is one of the most violent films I’ve ever seen, and what makes it so shocking is that the majority of the bloodshed comes courtesy of the film’s title character. the "hero" of the story. 

Sonny Chiba’s Terry Tsurugi is incredibly powerful, and has no qualms about showing off this power every chance he gets. He knocks out the teeth of one guy the mob sends to kill him, uses his fingertips to pop the eyeballs of another baddie, and even breaks an enemies skull into dozens of pieces (for this particular kill, the director chose to get as graphic as he could, showing what went down by way of an X-ray of the doomed guy’s head, in which we see Terry’s fist crashing down, shattering the bone).  This is just a sampling of what you can expect from The Street Fighter. Honestly, I don’t even think I covered the worst of it.

The bottom line is I did enjoy The Street Fighter; it's an action-packed film featuring a very charismatic performance by Sonny Chiba. But I have to be honest: parts of it turned my stomach.


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