(Japan 1975)

Original Titles: Kenka Karate Kyokushinken/Karate Bullfighter けんか空手 極真拳 Kenka Karate Kyokushin Burai Ken/Karate Bearfighter けんか空手 極真無頼拳 (aka) Champion Of Death

Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi Produced by Toei Studios Action by Sonny Chiba Starring: Sonny Chiba, Masashi Ishibashi, Yumi Takigawa, Jiro Chiba, Mikio Narita, Katsumasa Uchida, Jun Fujimaki, Yutaka Nakajima Reviewing: Eureka Video US Blu-ray Release Genres: Martial Arts / Drama / Biopic

 

Rating: 3.7 / 5

Eureka Video US Blu-ray Synopsis: The mighty Sonny Chiba (Bodyguard Kiba) stars in two spectacular martial arts movies based upon the real life of Masutatsu “Mas” Oyama – the fabled bull-slaying karate master who trained none other than Chiba himself. In Karate Bullfighter (or Champion of Death), a karate tournament is crashed by an enigmatic martial artist calling himself Oyama (Chiba), who arrives in tattered rags and beats all who dare challenge him. But Oyama's entrance into the world of karate has unforeseen consequences, and soon he is fighting for far more than sporting victory. Then, in Karate Bearfighter, Oyama is expelled from the karate community for refusing to pull his punches. With nowhere else to turn, he takes a job with the yakuza after running into Kimura (Hideo Murota), who Oyama once knew as a fellow member of the Imperial Japanese Air Service before he turned to a life of crime. Ultimately, though,Oyama has no more respect for his superiors on the streets than he did in the dojo... Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Sister Street Fighter), Karate Bullfighter and Karate Bearfighter were adapted from the popular manga series Karate Baka Ichidai by Ikki Kajiwara, which ran from 1971 to 1977 and chronicled the life and legend of Mas Oyama. Eureka Classics is proud to present both films for the first time ever on Blu-ray from brand new restorations of the original film elements by Toei. (176 Mins)

 

Views: Based on the true life story of Japanese martial arts master Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate, Champion Of Death – mostly known around the world as Karate Bullfighter – must be taken with a pinch of salt as the film delivers an exaggerated and overly dramatized tale of his very colourful and unbelievable life. Born in Korean with the name of Choi Bae Dal, Mas Oyama went onto become one of the most famed karate masters in Japan. Over the years, Oyama's exploits have went onto inspire the character of Ryu in the Street Fighter game, a lengthy manga that ran throughout the 1970s which was soon followed by a popular anime series, the classic film series including this and its sequels, Karate Bearfighter and Karate For Life, as well as the fantastic 2004 Korean adaptation, Fighter In The Wind, and many others!

 

Here, Mas Oyama is played by his very own and most popular student, the fantastic and late Sonny 'Shinichi' Chiba; a role he would reprise in the aforementioned sequels, Karate Bearfighter which was made the same year and Karate For Life that followed just 2 years later. Of course, these would only be 2 of 11 roles that Chiba would deliver in 1975 alongside films such as Wolf Guy, Bullet Train, The Killing Machine, and a number of television shows. Produced by Toei Studios, Karate Bullfighter takes its name from one of Oyama's legends that speaks of him defeating a rampaging bull – with rumours going onto say that he successfully fought over 70 others throughout his lifetime. When it comes about, the scene in question will definitely have most animal lovers screaming in disgust as Chiba's violent strikes and brutal removal of horns leaves him soaked in the animals blood. It's also worth noting that all the films in this series were adapted from the Karate Master manga of that time, written by Ikki Kajiwara.

 

In Karate Bullfighter, the great Masashi Ishibashi returns to face off as Chiba's toughest opponent yet again – a job he would often portray in films such as Bodyguard Kiba 2, The Street Fighter Series, the Sister Street Fighter Series, Dragon Princess, Ninja Warriors, Roaring Fire, and others. He stars alongside names such as actress Yumi Takigawa and dramatic actor Mikio Narita, with the latter having previously starred with Chiba in films such as G.I. Samurai, The Fall Of Ako Castle, and Shogun's Samurai. Katsumasa Uchida, Kenji Imai, and Nenji Koayashi also star, along with Jiro Chiba – Sonny's younger brother who co-stars as one of his first students. As always, Sonny Chiba delivers yet another adrenaline fueled role, this time with a little more of a dramatic performance compared to his roles played in previous films. Of course, fans can rejoice as he lets loose in the action department – bringing down anyone that gets in his way with hard strikes, flying kicks, and strong punches. Highlights for me included the dynamic fight between him and an African-American GI that had shades of Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul Jabar in Game Of Death, blended with Jet Li's similar fight scene in his self-directed Born To Defend. Then there's his lengthy and brutal attack on a hundred karate fighters in long grass – an exciting finale that sees him dodge fists, kicks, nunchuks and bullets!

 

Yoshio Nakajima, the same man that captured many of Chiba's other films including Yakuza Wolf, The Bodyguard, Sister Street Fighter, Wolf Guy, Killing Machine and Karate Warriors, returns to lens Karate Bullfighter and its respective sequels. As per usual, his wild camerawork begins immediately with a beach training scene that quite possibly inspired Tsui Hark for a similar scene in Once Upon A Time In China. Of course, the frantic cinematography continues throughout. Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, who had also directed Chiba on many of the same aforementioned movies, also returns to handle the three Mas Oyama films and, once again, keeps that connection of having Chiba battle in nature or by the sea...

 

The first sequel, Karate Bearfighter, opens with the real Mas Oyama in action, cut with some dynamic martial arts demonstrations. It kicks off an action packed opening 10 minutes that sets the tone for what's to come. Released just after Christmas in 1975, the films' Japanese title literally translates as Fighting Karate – Brutal Ultimate Truth Fist, and proves to be just as exciting as its predecessor with the next chapter of Mas Oyama's adventures, continuing to take its inspiration from the pages of the popular Oyama-inspired manga, Karate Baka Ichidai, from Ikki Kajiwara, Jiro Tsunoda and Joya Kagemaru. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and cinematographer Yoshio Nakajima continue their duties, with the latter delivering some spectacular scenes and especially those set in the heavy rain. As with many Chiba movie sequels, a lot of the cast members from Karate Bullfighter also return – this time as different characters, along with stars such as Sister Street Fighter herself Sue Shiomi, Tetsuro Tanba, Eiji Go, and Chiba film regular Bin Amatsu among many others.

 

As with the first film, Sonny Chiba brings the action to life with plenty of wild and over-the-top brutality, keeping martial-arts film fans happy as he battles his way against karate schools, highly skilled masters, yakuza gangsters, and even a 400 kilo Japanese Brown Bear. But unlike the first film, where Oyama takes down the bull to stop it rampaging through the town, the karate master agrees to fight a bear in order to raise the funds to help the sick father of a young boy that he just befriended. While it's quite obviously a guy in a bear-suit – a trick that Japanese film-makers had been doing for years in many kaiju and superhero movies – it still proves to be effective and exciting scene overall. Of course, we can't forget that this was made 50 years ago, although still proves to be as entertaining today.

 

While it may be a tad OTT and often hard to believe if looked at as true bio-pics for the legendary Mas Oyama, one can't deny just how entertaining the Beastfighter movies really are – perhaps allowing the great late Sonny Chiba to deliver some of his finest moves and greatest fights on-screen. Brilliantly shot and wonderfully directed, both Karate Bullfighter and Karate Bearfighter are well worth checking out – if not only for the experience of an outlandish, action-packed 1970s Sonny Chiba adventure, now beautifully restored and released on Blu-ray for the first time by Eureka Video!

 

Overall: Wild and brutal, over-the-top and packed with dynamic martial-arts action, Chiba's Beastfighter movies are hugely entertaining and well worth checking out!

 

Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary on both Films by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, Video Essay by Jonathan Clements, Alternate Champion of Death opening credits, Original Theatrical Trailers, Champion of Death TV Spot