Lady Snowblood is a 1973 movie that follows a young woman seeking revenge on her family’s murderers. From its female heroine to its style, setting and themes of vengeance and redemption, this movie is a clear influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill.
It’s obvious that Lady Snowblood was a huge influence on Tarantino’s Kill Bill. The original features a female assassin out to avenge her family’s murder at the hands of an evil killer group. The idyllic snowy setting, use of animation and stylish flashbacks in Lady Snowblood are directly honored by Tarantino. You can quickly glance the following trailer and figure out which parts of the movie were Tarantino’s favorites.
The movie opens with a cryptic scene that shows Lady Snowblood’s mother struggling to give birth in a prison. We learn that her mother was raped by a group of criminals, who also murdered her husband and son a year prior. She conceives Lady Snowblood solely for her to be raised to exact vengeance. After a long struggle, the mother gives birth and then dies.
We later see a young Lady Snowblood receiving training from a priest and then becoming a dangerous assassin. She finds herself in a destitute village, where she enlists the leader of a beggar group to find the four criminals responsible for her family’s deaths. Eventually, she tracks down three of the four murderers.
Along the way, she is helped by a journalist who publishes sensational articles of Lady Snowblood’s exploits. This leads to a final showdown with Gishiro, who is the most powerful of the remaining criminals.
The film’s second scene establishes Lady Snowblood as a deadly force. She quickly defeats a local crime boss and his three henchmen – using her concealed umbrella sword. We immediately learn Lady Snowblood is coldly efficient and dispassionate. Or in other words, she’s an assassin. The setting is directly reminiscent of Tarantino’s House of Blue Leaves. It’s snowy, serene and if the scene had more time to develop, could probably be considered a beautifully meditative environment.
Meiko Kaji plays Lady Snowblood and she’s a striking actor. You’re immediately drawn to her expressive eyes. She’s a cold-blooded assassin but as the movie evolves, I sensed some weariness. Her sole existence is based on exacting vengeance for her family’s deaths, yet the burden of such acts seems to weigh on her. Towards the end of the movie, her eyes seem accepting of her ultimate fate. It’s almost as though a lifetime of vengeance has emotionally exhausted her. When she crumples to the ground during the movie’s final scene, it’s comparable to an expected and accepted death occurring.
The band of criminals she’s pursuing are sadly underwhelming. Granted, the criminals are much older than Lady Snowblood but they appear lethargic. Banzo is a sad sack case – he’s an alcoholic whose daughter has turned to prostitution for their survival. Okono, the only female in the group, dispatches henchmen to fight Lady Snowblood before easily succumbing to her assassin. This character showed promise, as the actor broadly portrayed her largesse. However, her most significant contribution to the movie is her death scene – as Lady Snowblood cuts her in half while she’s hanging from a noose.
The most interesting of the criminals is Gishiro, who we learn has faked his death once he hears of Lady Snowblood’s mission. Gishiro is discovered through his son’s journalistic exploits and returns boasting of his connections to Japanese high government society. The actor portraying Gishiro is an offbeat but fun mix of machismo mixed with short man syndrome.
Gishiro redeems the group through his bluster and use of disguises. He’s the only formidable member of an aging group. As a whole, they are a bit disappointing – but then again, how can you compete with this shot from their prime?
That is just badass.
(And who knew they did trunk shots back then?)
The final scene of Lady Snowblood is bloody and tragic, yet extraordinarily beautiful. After gaining her vengeance, an emotionally drained Lady Snowblood is attacked by the daughter of Banzo. Here, someone else gains vengeance on Lady Snowblood, which is an ironic but not altogether foreign idea given the circumstances of her birth and life’s purpose.
In a sense, this almost has to happen – given that Lady Snowblood’s life’s work is now complete. Her life in a weird cosmic sense is now over. The primal scream she lets out fascinates me – is that a cry of anguish or relief?
The scene is a huge inspiration for Tarantino’s ending to Volume One of Kill Bill.
Personally, the most stunning feature of Lady Snowblood is the haunting song “Flower of Carnage.” It is simply a gorgeous song – made even more intriguing when I learned that Meiko Kaji is the singer responsible for it. It’s a wonderful ending for both films.
The BEST – Tarantino Before Tarantino….or Something Like That
This movie operates far from your standard samurai story – or at least I suppose that’s the case. At the least, it does some really cool things for the time period. There are plenty of flashbacks in the film but they pulse into the narrative structure without being too distracting. The story is further told through some brief animated sequences. Additionally, the contrasts between light and dark are interesting. The opening prison scene is straight from a horror film while the beach shots and flashback to Lady Snowblood’s family getting murdered boast a bright, atmospheric jolt of light. There’s quite a bit stylistically going on here.
The BEST EVER – This Freaking Shot:
The WORST – That Long Walk on the Beach
It appears to take Lady Snowblood, a badass assassin who butchers anyone in her path, about three weeks to walk a short section of a beach that leads to Matsuemon.
The WORST Part 2 – Matsuemon is Clearly Working for Food
The leader of the scavenger people, Matsuemon has good intentions and sets out to locate Lady Snowblood’s family’s murderers. However, after the search runs dry, he’s clearly just conning people into feeding him.
The WORST Part 3 – Ryurei is in the Friend Zone
I was waiting to see an awkwardly placed scene where Ryurei and Lady Snowblood have a tender, romantic moment. I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to such a scene, but it wouldn’t have been unexpected. It’s not clear what Ryurei’s original intentions are in helping Lady Snowblood – which always means that he’s not exactly approaching things from an altruistic viewpoint.
THE FOX FORCE FIVE RATING – 4/5
This is a captivating movie regardless of the Tarantino connection – although his references are exciting to realize. Meiko Kaji’s presence makes the experience worth it.
