Daibutsu, Kamakura

Daibutsu, Kamakura
Daibutsu in Kamakura, June 2010. There were thousands of school kids visiting that day. It was still great fun.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice

The first of a classic chanbara trilogy, this cult film introduces outrageous samurai constable Hanzo "the Razor" Itami (Shintaro Katsu), a maverick who lives and plays by his set of rules. In this installment, Hanzo learns that his underhanded boss and a political crook share a lovely temptress' sexual favors. Hanzo uses his razor-edged rapier -- along with his sexual prowess -- to earn a promotion by exposing his superior's peccadilloes.

This masterpiece is in the same category of cheesy samurai flicks such as the Lone Wolf and Cub. However, the Hanzo flicks differ from the Lone Wolf by its decidedly more tawdry sexual aspects. This is definitely not a film for the family or most people with somewhat decent morals. The film is a bit slow in the action department and mainly deals with Hanzo's "unique" interrogation techniques with the ladies and his battles against corrupt officials. One of the funniest aspects of the movie is how Hanzo "toughens" himself up to make himself an even more efficient lady interrogator. His two bumbling assistants also add to the humorous aspect of the movie. It is funny how many of the samurai actors of the day such as Shintaro Katsu are pudgy and slightly overweight. Hanzo has a serious double-chin goin' on in this film but he still pulls off the bad-ass cop in this film really well. You can tell that he is not one that criminals should want to deal with. A good description of Hanzo is part Dirty Hairy and part John Holmes. If you don't mind or if you actually enjoy a samurai film that verges on soft-core porn, than this is a must see.

11 comments:

  1. I just don't know if I could bear to see Zatoichi in a role like this!

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  2. It is a pretty amazing contrast from Zatoichi. That's for sure. The Hanzo's are entertaining though. The last one is the best of the three.

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  3. The review looks good. I'll have to check it out. Thanks!

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  4. It is good and entertaining film but please note you have been forewarned regarding the content of some of the "interrogation" scenes. :-)

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  5. I'll show you MY "SWORD OF JUSTICE..."


    -just kidding

    Merry Christmas

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  6. Uh, no thanks about your sword but thanks about Christmas. You too.

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  7. Merry Christmas to all! :-)

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  8. Thank you Otsuke and you too. :-)

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  9. I think I can handle it.

    Merry Christmas!

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  10. Just finished watching this movie. What a riot!

    The last scene where he helps 2 children deal with their terminally ill father, totally bizarre.

    The movie is more like a combination of Dirty Harry, Johnny Wadd and Marquis De Sade.

    One of the many reasons I love Japan and the Japanese.

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  11. I'm glad you liked it. The last two are equally good and entertaining.

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