The Executioner Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

The Executioner Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 2, 2023

In one of the supplements Arrow Video has aggregated for its Sonny Chiba double feature of Executioner films, commentators Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow mention that the first time ninjas appeared in a Western feature film was in the 1967 James Bond opus You Only Live Twice, but the popularity of that film may have been at least partially responsible for the glut of ninjas characters who would soon start populating global cinema. Some of those films may have contributed to star Sonny Chiba's own popularity, though that said, it would probably be hard to try to stuff either Executioner film neatly into a "ninja pigeonhole", though Chiba's character of Ryūichi Koga does supposedly have that kind of training. Poggiali, Walkow and some other talking heads in various supplements also get into the mad dash to find the "next Bruce Lee" after Lee so unexpectedly and tragically died at such a young age, and that while there were any number of "pretenders", including another kinda sorta mini-glut, this time of performers with supposedly similar names, according to some of these analysts Sonny Chiba might arguably be considered as the true heir to the Lee legacy. Kind of interestingly in that regard, and at least in terms of mass recognition by audiences, Chiba's first successes were in television, at least a bit like Lee for American audiences in particular vis a vis the short-lived television adaptation of The Green Hornet. Chiba had the same kind of clean cut good looks that Lee also offered, but he had a somewhat more feral, menacing presence at times that allowed him to play anti-heroes as often as stalwart straight and narrow types. Both of the Executioner films exploit not just Chiba's remarkable athleticism in any number of martial arts related scenes, but they also rely on the tried and true trope of a band of quasi-mercenaries, some with questionable pasts, working together, in a plot device that may remind those on this side of the pond of everything from The Dirty Dozen to The Expendables .

For reviews of the two films in this set, please click on the following links:

The Executioner Blu-ray review

The Executioner II: Karate Inferno Blu-ray review

The Executioner Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality of each film is assessed in the above linked reviews.

The Executioner Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality is assessed in the above linked reviews.

The Executioner Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Arrow has packaged both of the Executioner films on one disc with the following supplements:

• Audio commentary on The Executioner with Chris Poggiali and Marc Walkow


• The Karate King (HD; 29:51) is an enjoyable overview of Sonny Chiba's life and career.


• Teruo Ishii Filmography (HD) offers a series of text pages with film data points.


• Trailers

  The Executioner (Japanese Version) (HD; 2:40)

  
  

  The Executioner (English Version) (HD; 1:53)

  
  

  The Executioner II: Karate Inferno (HD; 2:25)

• Image Galleries

  The Executioner Image Gallery (HD)

  
  

  Karate Inferno Image Gallery (HD)

Additionally, Arrow provides its typically nicely appointed insert booklet, this one including an essay by Mark Shilling in addition to technical information and production credits. The keepcase sleeve is reversible. Though I don't see it listed on the back cover, the keepcase also includes a folded double sided mini poster with the first film's key art on one side and a larger reproduction of this release's cover on the other. Packaging features a slipcover.

The Executioner Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While it's fun to have both Executioner movies available in one set, my hunch is few will think the second film is the equal of the first. Still, both offer a really fun assortment of characters, and Chiba is both appealingly athletic and kind of self deprecatingly funny. Technical merits are generally fine (see the individual reviews for specifics), and the supplements very enjoyable. Recommended.