Why So Blu?

The Sonny Chiba Collection, Volume 2 (Blu-ray Review)

A highlight of last year’s big fall box set lineup was that of Shout! Studios The Sonny Chiba Collection. Not having a “Volume” number attached to it made you wonder if that would be it as no promises of it being a series were in the naming convention. Luckily, another November rolls around a year later and here we are with Volume 2. This next set contains 7 more films from that master of action that definitely has a seat at the discussion table for greatest of all time. This films in this second volume encompass a smaller window, being from 1975-1978. There are minimal extras in the way of featurettes and commentaries, but just landing some of these films on the format with good transfers is the best bonus of all. Here’s hoping there’s a third volume in the works as these have been such a treat over the past year. You can order your copy, which releases on November 14th, by using the paid Amazon Associate link following the review.

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The Defensive Power Of Akido (1975)

Jiro Chiba tackles the role of Morihei Ueshiba, born in Wakayama to a farming family and destined for martial arts greatness as he learns from the masters (including brother Sonny Chiba) and develops his own well-polished Aikido.

The Defensive Power of Akido has Sonny Chiba in more of a supporting role with the film following Jiro Chiba’s Moreihei Ueshiba. This one features a more classic martial arts style of film but feeling a hair more modern with folks showing up in suits and the like. This isn’t all just a robed individuals affair. Besides an opening voiceover, the film actually feels like its attempting to teach martial arts techniques like Akido instead of just serving to tillite and show them off in violent ways.

The film follows a path of a person have to earn their keep in order to be taught and master the arts. The Defensive Power of Akido does a fine job of that with both teaching and comedy. The strength in the film lies in showing the growth of our lead from a goofball to a fighter. There is a real ramping up of stakes on display and the film finds itself with a grisly battle in the desert for its conclusion. With a pretty fun and talented cast, the film finds itself an enjoyable measure in martial arts films of this type that also looks better cinematically than many of its brethren of the time or before.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Not much has been provided on any of the films in these sets as far as their transfers. They are more than likely HD masters or 2K transfers. Regardless, The Defensive Power of Akido looks really clean and as if the source materials are in good shape. The image is crisp and clear with plenty of fine information present and good depth. It does not appear to be some glorified DVD upscale in terms of quality.

Depth:  Depth of field is rock solid with some good spacing and movements freely going about with no issues on rapid action scenes causing distortions.

Black Levels: Blacks and deep and inky. Minimal issues with information lost in the shadows or shade of nighttime. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are more on the natural side and aside from blood, nothing there to really pop off the screen. There’s a sense of blue in the overall look of the film.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures, like wrinkles, dried blood, blemishes, sweat beads, freckles and more show through from most reasonable distances in the frame.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: The Defensive Power of Akido has a rather impressive sounding mono track. Its quite clean with no hiss from the analog sourcing. There is good layering and depth with good enough lower sounds to be a decent enough engagment.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp.

13 Steps Of Maki (1975)

Based on a comic book, 13 Steps Of Maki follows the leader of the all-female Stray Cats gang who use their fighting skills to help others. But when Maki crosses the daughter of a powerful man with connections to the yakuza, she winds up in prison on false charges.

Sonny Chiba merely makes a cameo toward the end of 13 Steps Of Maki despite his character being mentioned all throughout the story. And when he does show up, it is in a flashback/dream sequence. Its a role of importance to the lead character. Calling this a Sonny Chiba movie is a gigantic stretch. However, it appears him doing a solid for his frequent collaborator and sister in street fighting, Etsuko Shihomi.

As a matter of fact, she rocks and completely kicks ass in this movie. Here character is dress iconic and I feel like is a not too complex cosplay for people. This is a tale of getting even and then going too far with getting even. The film features a lot of grindhouse staple things (blood, mob boss, rape/sexual abuse). So while it touts being from a comic book, some of the events may be a bit much for some viewers look for “fun kung fu movie”.  The martial arts on display are your typical one on many in fashion and plenty of bloodshed and gore is to be had in both grisly and cartoonish fashions (There’s an eye that pops out, its awesome). As mentioned, Chiba’s role is very very minimal, but the inclusion of this film in the set is definitely welcome.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: 13 Steps of Maki has a transfer more akin to what you feel like with the 70s grindhouse kung fu flicks. But, its one that is quite clean and the image is in very good condition. The color palette here is quite nifty and the depth is rock solid.

Depth:  Depth of field is a little bit above average. There is good space to be seen in many a fight arena with decent pushback. Movement is fluid, smooth and has no issue with rapid action causing motion distortions.

Black Levels: Blacks are in that level of sort of dark but a light gray in times. Information sticks out, patterns/texture/finer details on darker surfaces quite well. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors have a nice, kind of beautifully muted look. It helps the red on her uniform contrast well and stick out. Blues and greens also look nice in this image.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial details and textures are good from close ups to medium shots, showcasing detail with ease.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: 13 Steps Of Maki has a bit more traditional sounding mono track of this era. However, on the best side of things. They’ve polished this up rather decently and its a good, effective mix, more on the lighter end of sound but fitting with the kind of film it is.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and crisp with a very slight analog hiss behind them.

Karate Warriors (1976)

A street fighter (Sonny Chiba) arrives in a town ruled by two warring gangs headed by feuding yakuza brothers. He does everything he can to keep them feuding while tracking down a lucrative stash of drugs and befriending the son of a sword-wielding samurai …

To my understanding, Karate Warriors is a spin-off to the Sonny Chiba’s The Street Fighter series, with him boasting a new character and martial arts techniques. With The Street Fighter and Sister Street Fighter franchises, this would make it the 8th film in the line. This was it, however for them as no sequels came from this one. Like that series, the filmmaking on-hand with at a bit more higher quality in both an innovative and technical fashion. Chiba, himself, comes off as stylish and bad ass as ever.

Three films into this set, we finally have Sonny Chiba as a lead. Karate Warriors incorporates a very Yojimbo like plot, with our protagonist playing multiple sides. However, it has an interesting element of an equal, albeit of a different type of martial arts. The brute power of the fist and feet versus the elegance of the samurai and his katana. Both are shown off in fun and effective fashion throughout. However, its Chiba’s acrobatics in slow motion that wow, impress and make the audience truly feel the impact.

This one plays to many different locales with which the filmmakers take to infusing the action. There are also plenty of grindhouse elements to give it grit, be it boobs or blood. Chiba shines here in both his physicality and his dramatic performance. Karate Warriors is quite the enjoyable one off martial arts film that is perfect for a random grab.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Karate Warriors arrives on Blu-ray with a very filmic appearance, carrying grain and a look of watching a print that’s in decent shape. Details are pretty strong with the reasonable expectations. It has some nice depth and bolder color work with the palette it is working with.

Depth:  Depth of field is rather decent given what this film looks like. The slow motion sequences provide a bit better pushback and spacing, though regular isn’t flat but a little above it. Motion is smooth and doesn’t have any issues with distortion in the heavy action moments.

Black Levels: Blacks are quite deep here in this very dark looking film. Even the daylight scene have somewhat of a darker feeling to them. Tho, minimal intended detail is absorbed by the darkness. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are more natural with bolder looks coming through on the browns, oranges, grays and such. Leather has a nice look and feel to it. Some yellows as well as fabrics will pop here an there where appropriate in the film.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures are apparent in close ups and most medium shots.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: The mono mix on Karate Warriors is about up to par with films of this era, tho more on the crisper and cleaner end of things. There is some layering and depth, tho maybe not the most spacious. If you’re accustomed to films of this era, then your expectations are probably good and you’ll find the track enjoyable.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear and quite crisp for an older analog grindhouse natured film.

The Great Okinawa Yakuza War (1976)

Co-starring alongside Hiroki Matsukata, Sonny Chiba makes for a striking, animalistic gangster battling his way through the streets of Okinawa in this eye-popping martial arts powerhouse set one year before the return of power to the mainland.

This film takes a pretty big turn from both the types of movies we’ve had in this set so far as well as the kind of role Sonny Chiba is playing. The Great Okinawa Yakuza War is a hardcore Yakuza grindhouse movie with all the hallmarks of its gang on gang and ruthless violence aesthetics in play. Its a film that focuses on rivalries taking things over the top from one sect of folks to another, basically until one is stopped or one crosses a line too far in order to make things cease to be.

Sonny Chiba is a completely unhinged wildcard villain here in the film. His look in the film is instantly iconic with his scar on his mouth and aviators. And really, its not just those details that do it, what really does it is the man wearing those details. Chiba is incredible at harnessing this role. The film is based on his continued climb to power and the conflict’s descent to madness as he’s not a guy to play by the rules the other side expects to adhere by. Sonny leads the vibe of this film and its an utterly entertaining mob movie with more free wheeling wild card elements to make it a solid popcorn munching affair.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: The Great Okinawa Yakuza War has a transfer much in line with the rest of the films so far in this set. Its a pretty clean looking image, with solid depth and some bolder coloring to it. Details and texture come through rather decent from anything a reasonable distance in the frame.

Depth:  Depth of field is up to par with the other films, its above average and has a nice clean look with solid spacing. Movements are smooth and filmic with no distortion issues.

Black Levels: Blacks have a slightly lighter tone to them, but still have a nice inky appearance, doing well with shadows and nighttime scenes. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are plenty natural but good with putting out browns, grays, oranges, yellows, greens and the like. Certain fabrics stick out and pop when appropriate.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures are easily discernible in close ups and most medium shots.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: The mono track here is pretty solid, though on the lighter end with not much “oompf” to the lower end sounds. Nonetheless, it feels appropriate and feels like something of its era, which those used to these film will find an appreciation for.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear, though when people pronounces S’s it is pretty fuzzy and hissy a lot of the time.

Karate For Life (1977)

The final film in the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, Karate For Life follows our hero through US-occupied Okinawa, where he leaves a professional wrestling job … but must return to the ring in order to help a friend in desperate need of medical supplies.

Personally, I am not familiar with the Masutatsu Oyama trilogy, but from what I’ve gathered, this third film is a sort of stand-alone complete work on its own. And had I not known that from the specs on the box set, I’d have never have guess this was a piece of a film series. A lot of these martial arts or Japanese and Chinese action films can stand tall like that. This film is one that features a narrative around karate and tournament fighting within.

In this film, Chiba is a clear lead, through and through. This one showcases his skills in hand to hand combat and a lot of it professionally officiated. There is some gore here, but this is a more cleaner film overall. If anything this one feels sort of like the type of film that would be Jean Claude Van Damme’s bread and butter a decade later. Think on things like Bloodsport and Kickboxer and you get the idea of Karate For Life.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Karate For Life has a transfer that sits up equal with most of this set. It looks to be in decent shape as far as source material and includes solid depth and clarity to it. There’s a 70s cheapie filmic appearance that is endearing for those checking it out. Not going to set the world on fire, but if you have the proper expectations and experience, you know this is a pretty good as we can get.

Depth:  Depth of field is pretty solid with decent pushback and spacing. Movements are smooth and filmic with no real issues with distortions.

Black Levels: Blacks are slightly on the lighter end and pretty solid at shadow work and shading. No real issues occur with hiding details in the darkest corners of the frame. No crushing witnesse.

Color Reproduction: Colors are rather natural and the palette adds not too much in terms of colors to pop out. They do showcase a bold appearance when one that is appropriate on a fabric or art item do provide one.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures are good in close ups and decent in the mid range and further shots.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: Karate For Life has the kind of mono track you’d expect from these with a slight fuzzy base and then a lighter end sound on the effects and the life. Its decently balanced and layered and the type of audible experience one is accustomed to on a movie of this type and of this era.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are plenty loud and audible with an extra hiss on the S pronunciations.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977)

International spy Duke Togo has taken on a tricky assignment from an American drug syndicate: take out a Hong Kong kingpin who has been selling their drugs on his own. Duke faces danger at every turn … and competition from a detective who wants the kingpin for himself!

While I’ve never read the Manga, seen a cartoon or even the other movie, I was aware of the Golgo 13 brand. My experience? The NES game on the original system. All I knew was it had to do with some stealthy spy stuff. Low and behold, this is a hitman type movie. And Chiba is very much in mode and crafting yet another “cool hitman” character in a genre that seems to have plenty of space for them (More recently adding Michael Fassbender in The Killer to it).

Sonny Chiba is and isn’t the main character here. For portions of the film it feels like it, but then toward the final act, another character kind of runs the show. In true Chiba film fashion, its cool to see Etsuko Shihomi show up and kick some ass for a bit. Chiba shows great presence and most of the best moments this film offers are ones of him. I rather enjoyed many of the stylistic touches and blocking of the scenes in this one. As mentioned, there are some really cool sniper sequences in this movie. Its a shame Sonny Chiba only played this character once, as he does quite a good job here (Though, I have no idea the accuracy to the written part in the movie or the performance).

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon has a transfer that feels like a very nice print of a grindhouse type film. Its not perfect and pristine, but for what you are looking for in that kind of aesthetic is certainly is. This features some nice details and decent depth to provide a good viewing experience.

Depth:  Depth of field is rock solid and a little above average. There are some nice moments of scale that translate well in terms of sniper distance effectiveness. Movements are smooth and natural with zero issues of blur or jitter in the rapid sequences.

Black Levels: Blacks are decently dark and inky with good shades and information showcasing in even the darkest areas. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are pretty average and natural. There are some nice pops here and there from a fabric or blood, but overall this is a more washed looking affair.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural an consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures are easily discernible with the reasonable expectations set.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: This one carries a mono track that reminds me of The Great Okinawa Yakuza War. Though I feel like the lower stuff is a hair more effective here. There is a good balance and some decent layering with good spacing.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are clear, though when people pronounces S’s it is pretty fuzzy and hissy a lot of the time.

The Okinawa War Of Ten Years (1978)

It’s brother against brother and friend against friend when Okinawa is returned to mainland Japan … and the local yakuza does not take kindly to being strong-armed by mainland gangs. The result is mayhem and the biggest yakuza war ever fought in Okinawa.

Another Yakuza movie in the set keeps things quite honest and balanced. Here we get to see a bearded Sonny Chiba grow into the lead role. Like other Yakuza movies its a battle of back and forth and one-upping another side. There’s a lot of shock value to be had in the violence and gore as it hits extremes as well.

Chiba looks pretty scary here, but he’s got a bit of a calm, cool demeaner to bring his enforcing. Its nifty to see how the film world in Japan has reacted and mines Yakuza stories out of Okinawa returning to the mainland. Its demonstrated in two films in this set and both really have different kinds of vibes to them as well as very different roles for Sonny Chiba.

Video

Encoding: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Layers: BD-50

Clarity/Detail: This is one of the better transfers in the set. Its a pretty clean print with some good depth, color and finer details that can be observed in any given scene. There’s a nice layer of grain which helps add to all these things.

Depth:  Depth of field is rock solid and there are some good instance of scale as well as pushback in the interior scenes. Movements are smooth and natural with no blur or jitter issues from rapid action moments.

Black Levels: Blacks are deep and provide some good shadow and nighttime sequences. No crushing witnessed.

Color Reproduction: Colors are bold and have a nice palette on display with good blends as well as some bolder looks to your browns, greens, grays and the like.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones are natural and consistent from start to finish. Facial features and textures are easily discernible from close ups and medium shots.

Noise/Artifacts: None

Audio

Format(s): Japanese 2.0 Mono DTS-HD MA

Subtitles: English SDH

Dynamics: This mono track is quite good with a nice balance as well as layering and depth on display. It doesn’t carry much in the way of the deeper tones (to be expected) but manages to remain quite engaging in its own right.

Height: N/A

Low Frequency Extension: N/A

Surround Sound Presentation: N/A

Dialogue Reproduction: Vocals are a clear and crisp with a nice analog hiss as its base.

Extras

The Sonny Chiba Collection, Volume 2 is 4-disc set. The first 3 discs having movies sharing discs while The Okinawa War Of Ten Years has a disc all to its own.

DISC 1: The Defensive Power of Akido / 13 Steps of Maki

The Defensive Power of Akido Trailer (HD, 3:17)

DISC 2: Karate Warriors / The Great Okinawa Yakuza War

Audio Commentary

• Karate Warriors – by Chris Poggiali and Mark Walkow

Karate Warriors Trailer (HD, 2:45)

DISC 3: Karate For Life / Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon

Audio Commentary

• Karate For Life – by Brian Bankston
• Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon – by Brian Bankston

DISC 4: The Okinawa War Of Ten Years

The Okinawa War of Ten Years Trailer (HD, 3:17)

Summary

Sonny Chiba is a legend deserving to be celebrated and Shout! Studios has done just that for two sets now. This second volume offers a Yakuza flavor as well as some supporting turns and other variety here. Bonus features are a bit lighter, though having commentaries are nice. Transfers and audio are rock solid. An instant, easy pick up for fans in the United States.

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