The Street Fighter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Street Fight.
| 激突！殺人拳 | |
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 Film poster |
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| Directed by | Shigehiro Ozawa |
| Written by | Steve Autrey Kôji Takada |
| Starring | Sonny Chiba |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema (USA) |
| Release date(s) | February 2, 1974 (Japan) November 1974 (USA) |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Language | Japanese |
| IMDb profile | |
The Street Fighter (激突！殺人拳 Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken?), literally Clash, Killer Fist!, is a Japanese martial arts film released in 1974 and produced by Toei Company Ltd. This film is well known for its extreme and graphic violent content. Street Fighter was the first film to receive an X rating solely for violence.
Inspired by the world-wide success of Enter the Dragon, Toho Studios decided to release its own martial arts action films and cast Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba who had been well known in Japan for a while, having starred in many successful action, comedy and drama films, as well as numerous television shows.
In 1993, the film (and its sequels) received mainstream exposure in North America when they were featured in Tony Scott's True Romance (written by Quentin Tarantino), which had the two lead characters spending time at a Sonny Chiba Street Fighter marathon.
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[edit] Plot summary
Terry Tsurugi is a very violent and deadly martial arts master who will commit almost any crime for money. In the opening scenes, we see him break out a murderer from jail by a clever ruse. Then the plot thickens as a wealthy oil tycoon dies, leaving his daughter, Sarai, as his heir. Tsurugi is sent to retrieve her from a Karate dojo, but is soon betrayed, and the rest of the movie centers on the conflict between Tsurugi and the mob as they try to acquire Sarai's new fortune. Also, the film has several side plots; a heated feud between Terry and another mercenary; the budding romance between Tsurugi and Sarai; and the relationship between Terry and his sidekick, Ratnose, who serves as the comic relief.
[edit] Cast
- Terry Tsuguri is played by Sonny Chiba
- Sarai is played by Yutaka Nakajima
- Ratnose is played by Waicha Yamada
[edit] Trivia
- In Romeo Must Die "X-ray" shots of a person's body being somehow maimed on the inside were inspired by those in The Street Fighter.
- The Street Fighter was especially controversial because of a scene in which Tsuguri tears off a man's penis with his bare hands; it is this scene (among others) that reputedly gained the film its 'X' rating.
- The Street Fighter inspired two sequels, Return of The Street Fighter and The Street Fighter's Last Revenge. There was a third sequel entitled Kozure Satsujin Ken (the last of the films), but was brought to the US by a different company under the title Karate Warriors. Additionally, the film Sister Street Fighter is a spin-off of the film.
[edit] External links
- The Street Fighter at the Internet Movie Database
- Kung Fu Cinema review
- a review of the entire Street Fighter saga
- The Street Fighter - Full download at www.publicdomaintorrents.com
