Shurayuki hime 修羅雪姫
I'm excited because I have just learned that the 1973 movie Shurayuki hime [修羅雪姫] is being shown at a movie theatre here! I have never seen it on a big screen - last time was about 10 years ago and on VHS. There seems to be a growing interest in this kind of movies since the success of Kill Bill. I don't remember too much of Shurayuki hime except that it was very violent and all about revenge. I also remember that Meiko Kaji was moving amazingly quick and fleet-footed despite her Kimono and rather un-athletic shoes [different than the shoes worn in Kill Bill].
In my opinion, 1947 born Meiko Kaji [梶芽衣子] is not only the greatest actor of the whole exploitation genre of Japan's 1960's and 1970's cinema, her taboo-breaking and strong appearance is also an impressive example of a decisive, independent and very cool woman. Back in the 1960's, Hollywood's female movie stars were still ridiculously dependent on their male counterparts and the only way they took influence on the plot was by using the stereotype 'weapons of a woman' such as charm, seduction, guilt and manipulation while in Japan and HK cinema, women were already fighting alone, with fists, knives, shotguns and swords... :) and their minds and goals were feminist.
Meanwhile, Hollywood's female stars have also become tough, violent and independent, but it's still amazing to see how impressed people are by the strength of female characters in movies like Kill Bill when actually, the story of Kill Bill as well as the compostition and choreography of most scenes are all inspired [I'm not saying 'stolen'] by movies that were made decades ago. Don't get me wrong: I like Kill Bill very much. But it's interesting to go back to the roots... and Shurayuki hime is a great example of it. Just compare the images:
Shurayuki hime 1973Kill Bill 2003
click images to enlarge
What many people don't know: Meiko Kaji was also a great singer. To her, music was always just a side-business and most of her recordings are actually taken from soundtracks of her movies, such as probably her most famous song 'Urami Bushi' [怨み節 = grudge blues], which was also used by Tarantino for Kill Bill. 'Shura no hana' [修羅の花
= flower of hell], the title song of Shurayuki hime is dreamlike, strong and beautiful.
Different than Kill Bill, Shurayuki hime could be interpreted in a political way despite that on first sight, it's purely violent. It's about the fight of helpless victims against the western invasion which however was wanted and approved by almost everyone. And very symbolic, the end of the movie is set at a decadent international masked ball and the last person killed by Shurayuki hime - here almost like the last samurai avenger - is falling from the balcony tearing down both flags of Japan and the USA... If you have seen Kill Bill, it's a must to watch Shurayuki hime, even if you didn't like Kill Bill. Shurayuki hime already had everything: b/w sequences, anime-sequences, snow, buckets of blood, hard martial arts-training by an old master... and revenge.