From the success of the ZATOICHI films, Shintaro Katsu became one of the most powerful and influential figures in the Japanese cinema throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. But times were changing. The safe, last-resort good guy appeal of the ZATOICHI character and restrained productions of the film series gave way to a dark, new approach. Audiences became jaded over the years and demanded more violence, nudity, and intensity in their Samurai films. During the early 1970’s, the ZATOICH actor founded Katsu Productions (with distribution through Toho Pictures), and was dedicated to taking the chambara to a whole new level. Now a full fledged movie Producer, Shintaro Katsu and screenwriter/idea man Kazuo Koike worked on numerous adult-oriented, super-violent, Samurai epics that forever changed the face of contemporary Asian cinema. Together the duo was responsible for the most notorious, bloody film series known to man—the saga of Itto Ogami, LONE WOLF AND CUB, perfectly essayed by Katsu’s real life brother, Tomisaburo Wakayama. Next, they gave us the beautiful and deadly LADY SNOWBLOOD, who certainly lived up to her name. But perhaps Katsu and Koike’s most dangerous reworking of the honorable Samurai hero theme, was the three HANZO THE BLADE films, which certainly add a perverted flair to the bloody, Samurai antics.

Once again Katsu cast his brother as the Samurai hero somewhat different than ol’ Itto Ogami. You see, Hanzo is a man driven and blinded by justice—a man who crosses the law itself to achieve his ends. A man who will resort to torture to extract the information he needs. A man who will rape a woman to get what he needs from her. A man who attaches a steel penis to his own in order to…Uh, okay. But the point is, that the filmmakers combined every exploitable element they could into the production and the result (while not for everyone) is disturbingly unique and compelling. Home Vision Entertainment has capitalized on the Samurai craze in Region 1 to present the entire HANZO THE BLADE saga (all 3 films) in one awesome box set. For this review we examine the second entry in the series, HANZO THE SNARE.

HANZO: THE SNARE includes an impressive cast including actress Kazuko Ineno, known for her roles in genre fare like THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA (1969), A SOUL TO DEVILS (1971), and JIGOKU (1979). Keizo Kanie, the Japanese actor who portrays Hanzo’s reluctant aide, can be seen in such productions as THE DEMON (1978), ANGEL GUTS: RED CLASSROOM (1979), and SURE DEATH REVENGE: WE WILL AVENGE YOU (1985). HANZO THE SNARE benefits from the presence of character actor Shin Kishida, whose resume includes such Toho epics as ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO (1970), LAKE OF DRACULA (1971), and THE RESSURECTION OF GOLDEN WOLF (1979). The film also features film veteran Hosei Komatsu as one of the chief bad guys; Komatsu appeared in DOUBLE SUICIDE (1979), FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION JAILHOUSE 41 (1972), and THE JAPANESE GODFATHER (1977). Let’s not forget about genre great Toshio Kurosawa (who plays Hanzo’s sword-wielding rival) from THE YAKUZA PAPERS (1974), RESSURECTION OF THE WILD BEAST (1969), and even appeared in the Shaw Brothers international hit, THE WATER MARGIN (1972). And in keeping with the exploitative nature of the film, Shintaru Katsu hired Yasuzo Masumura to direct HANZO: THE SNARE. Masumura has a history of exploitation fare including RED ANGEL (1966), BLIND BEAST (1969), and THE HOT LITTLE GIRL (1070).

As Hanzo the Blade pursues some fugitives, he crosses paths with Lord Okubo and his entourage of bodyguards. Lord Okubo is the high-ranking Minister of Finance for the village, while Hanzo is merely a medieval law enforcement officer. As the two have a war of words, Hanzo insults his superior and refuses to apologize. Lord Okubo’s top dog swordsman promises to kill Hanzo when they next meet. Meanwhile, Hanzo captures the two fugitives he was chasing, and recruits them as his henchmen (he gives them a choice, serve him or die). These two gangly types inform Hanzo of a woman’s body they discovered by a river. Hanzo must do his duty and investigate the young woman’s death. After examining the corpse, he determines that she died during an abortion attempt. Hanzo heads for the local priestess who is known for performing abortions—and though she admits to performing these forbidden deeds, she claims she did not perform the procedure to the now-dead woman. Instead she incriminates the local Convent. Hanzo then heads for the nearest Shrine and confronts the head Nun. She denies all charges and Hanzo employs his steel member to torture the corrupt Nun. After extracting a confession from her, Hanzo must gather clues and evidence, if he is to solve the mystery of the young woman’s death. It won’t be easy however, as Lord Okubo unleashes his army of assassins to destroy Hanzo the Blade!

Home Vision presents HANZO :THE BLADE with a newly restored, 16x9 enhanced widescreen transfer that really does justice to the artful cinematography. Except for a scratch or two and some minor grain, you’d never guess this film was shot in 1972 . The image exhibits excellent depth and detail. Colors are fully saturated making those violent moments appear even more bloody. The black levels are strong and anchor the color spectrum nicely. The bright white English subtitles are faithfully rendered and easy to read. The soundtrack is Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. Don’t expect the type of fidelity from today’s studio efforts, but the Japanese language soundtrack here offers great moments of sword battles, heated confrontations, and gushing blood (and flying organs). The only complaint I have with the movie is the over-synthesized score. I would have much preferred an orchestral score by the likes of Akira Ifukube or one of his fellow composers. Though I don’t dig the music, technically it integrates well with the sound mix. The Japanese dialog emanates clearly from the center channel. The soundtrack is free of hiss and distortion. There really are no extras on the disc with the exception of trailers for SWORD OF JUSTICE, THE SNARE, and WHO’S GOT THE GOLD. There is, however, detailed Liner Notes by Patrick Macias and Michael Raine.

Though Yasuzo Masumura is certainly no Akira Kurasowa, his exploitative style meshes with the absurd pulp elements of the Hanzo universe, ensuring that cult fans certainly have something to crow about with the release of Home Vision’s discs. Who would imagine that a squeaky clean company like Home Vision would put out a HANZO THE BLADE box set including all 3 films fully re-mastered and restored! Okay, even though I’m not a big fan of the music and I acknowledge that the discs are a little light on the extras, but I never expected HANZO: SWORD OF JUSTICE, HANZO:THE SNARE, and HANZO: WHO’S GOT THE GOLD to get such a pristine, legit treatment on Region 1 DVD. One other problem I have with the disc is that Home Vision states that Shintaro Katsu is Hanzo the Blade; which is false it’s his brother Tomisaburo Wakayama. Other than these small problems, the Home Vision’s HANZO THE BLADE collection is highly recommended to martial arts mavens, Asian cinema purists, and cult film enthusiasts.

                                              Rating (out of 5):

-  Tony Mustafa