6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
After a friend of hers is murdered, Koryu travels to Japan to his missing cousin, who has disappeared into the Japanese underworld.
Starring: Etsuko Shihomi, Yasuaki Kurata, Eiichi Kikuchi, Rin'ichi Yamamoto, Masashi IshibashiForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 29% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This film is available as part of
Sister Street Fighter Collection.
As if “proof” were needed that female superheroes are a phenomenon to be reckoned with, simply witness the incredible box office returns of
2017’s
Wonder Woman and the current (as this review is being published)
explosion of Captain Marvel. While it’s arguable as to whether she
really
fits into the standard mold of a “superhero”, the character who sports the name of Li Koryu in the first three Sister Street Fighter films was
literally kicking butt long enough ago that Cathy Lee Crosby had just made her debut in a
television
movie version of Wonder Woman, one which would soon kinda sorta
go
on to series with Lynda Carter in the title role, and any lingering memories of Captain Marvel were of a, well, male. As Sonny
Chiba gets into in an enjoyable interview included as a supplement with this set, star Etsuko Shihomi was felt by some “experts” not to be “curvy”
or “feminine” enough looking to become a star, but Chiba had been immediately struck by Shihomi’s ability to execute virtually any stunt presented
to her — instantly. And it is Shihomi’s physicality that helps to energize at least the first three films in this set (Sister Street Fighter: Fifth
Level Fist is a “sequel” in name only, despite also starring Shihomi. The first two films were released some years ago at the dawn of the Blu-
ray age in a double feature that
my colleague Ken Brown wasn’t particularly impressed by in the technical department. Arrow is now offering those same two films, to my eyes
looking much better than on the BCI disc, along with the two later follow-ups.
All four films in the Sister Street Fighter collection are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet offers the following brief and pretty generic information on the transfers:
The four films in the Sister Street Fighter series are presented in their original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and with their original mono sound. All four films were remastered in high definition for this release by Toei Company, Ltd.Return of the Sister Street Fighter offers some of the best saturation in the set, with reds being especially impressive throughout the presentation. There are still a few fluctuations in color temperature, with, to cite one example, the reds of the credits looking spot on, but a few moments in the opening sequence having a slightly dirtier, browner appearance. Slight skewings toward brown can be seen at several junctures throughout the presentation. There are some very evocative blue tones that pop extremely well in some of the nightclub scenes. There appear to have been deliberate choices employing soft focus and/or diffusion filters in a few shots (kind of humorously more of men than women), and so clarity and sharpness are understandably variable. As with the second film in particular, some darker scenes are at least relatively lacking in shadow definition and fine detail levels. Grain generally looks nicely resolved, but does spike noticeably in those same darker moments.
The Return of the Sister Street Fighter features a perfectly serviceable LPCM Mono track in Japanese. Once again, the kind of proto-disco music reverberates with energy, and the patently unreal sound effects also generally sound fine, if at times a little boxy (some of the high frequency effects can sound just a tad "phase-y" at times). Dialogue is cleanly rendered throughout the presentation, and unlike the second film, there's no distortion.
Arrow has packaged this release with the first film on one disc and the other three on a second disc, and so there will probably be some more
"generalist" supplements on the first disc in particular which contain content linked to some of the films on the second disc. Therefore, the score
above reflects the total package, rather than extras limited in scope to any given particular film.
Disc One
- R Rated Version (1080p; 1:21:13) is a censored English language version which it's stated was the only version available in English speaking territories for 30 years. This comes with a text card warning that film elements could not be located for this version, and so a number of standard definition inserts, typically in moments where English text is utilized (as in the credits) are utilized which are noticeably more ragged looking than the bulk of the presentation.
- U.S. Trailer (1080p; 2:35)
- German Opening Titles (1080p; 2:11)
- German Trailer (1080p; 2:35)
- Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread (1080p; 19:26)
- Return of the Sister Street Fighter (1080p; 10:15)
- Sister Street Fighter: Hanging by a Thread (1080p; 2:44)
- Return of the Sister Street Fighter (1080p; 2:57)
- Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist (1080p; 2:57)
While "practice makes perfect" and may account for Shihomi's apparent ease throughout this third entry, you can kind of feel the energy starting to drain out of the enterprise, despite some nicely staged combat scenes, simply because things are so repetitive. This transfer boasts some of the most impressively saturated palettes in the Sister Street Fighter set, which may help to offset any narrative deficiencies.
(Still not reliable for this title)
女必殺五段拳
1976
女必殺拳 危機一発
1974
女必殺拳
1974
Satsujin ken 2 / 殺人拳2
1974
5 Masters of Death
1974
Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin / 南少林與北少林
1978
Goliathon / Xing xing wang
1977
Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms
1978
The Fall of Ako Castle / Akô-jô danzetsu / 赤穂城断絶
1978
The Executioners of Death / Hong Xi Guan
1977
Five Fingers of Death / Tian xia di yi quan
1972
1978
Fists of the White Lotus / Hong Wen Ding san po Bai Lian Jiao / Hung Man Ding sam por Bak Lin Gau / 洪文定三破白蓮教
1980
E ke / 惡客
1972
She diao ying xiong zhuan di san ji / Se diu ying hung juen dai sam jaap / 射鵰英雄傳第三集
1981
She diao ying xiong zhuan xu ji / Se diu ying hung juen chuk chap / 射鵰英雄傳續集
1978
Akakage: 3-D Adventure Movie / Tobidasu Boken Eiga: Akakage / Ninja Scope: The Magic World of Watari / 飛び出す冒険映画 赤影
1969
A Slice of Death / Shao Lin ying xiong bang / 少林英雄榜
1979
Duo qing jian ke wu qing jian / 多情劍客無情劍
1977
Dong kai ji
1975