Born Sadaho Maeda, Japanese actor and martial artist Shin’ichi “Sonny” Chiba would be one of the more prolific action stars of his era. From early work on tokusatsu programs to English-language performances in Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) and Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Chiba’s catalogue of work runs the absolute gamut. In June 2024, Eureka Entertainment released a two-disc/two-film restoration of the first two films in the Masutatsu Ōyama Trilogy, Karate Bullfighter (1975) and Karate Bear Fighter (1975). These films are a recreation of the life of Chiba’s mentor and founder of Kyokushin-style karate, Masutatsu Ōyama and also an adaptation of a manga (Karate Baka Ichidai) based on Oyama’s life. With the restorations as the focal point, the two-film collection features very little on disc, but enough to offer a starting point for Chiba fans and newbies alike.
Center: Sonny Chiba as Masutatsu Ōyama in KARATE BULLFIGHTER. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
In 1949 post-World War II Japan, Masutatsu Ōyama (Chiba) seeks to shift the perception of karate from the reduced form more similar to dance allowed under Allied occupation back toward its origins in harnessing and honing of strength. As each attempt to change minds goes poorly for Ōyama, he slowly finds himself on the outs with the karate circle at large, despite being the strongest fighter in Japan. In 1951, Ōyama continues to try to prove himself, yet finds himself falling in with an old friend as a bouncer for his club. But when Ōyama missteps and his strength proves once more to be too much, he must journey to a place where he can truly learn what it means to be strong.
Sonny Chiba as Masutatsu Ōyama in KARATE BULLFIGHTER. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The following restoration review is based off of review copies provided by MVD Entertainment Group, but only the discs. As we cannot offer thoughts on the included O-card slipcase, artwork, booklet, and disc case, check out the following Eureka Entertainment unboxing video to get a look at what we cannot discuss.
What we can talk about is how great both of these films look. Both films, Bull and Bear, possess improved detail, range of color, and clarity. For a sense of how the film used to look, you can always check out the original theatrical trailers which are included with their respective discs. The press materials state that Toei provided original film elements that Eureka used for the restoration and the source material was clearly well cared for or, at the very least, was protected so that Eureka’s restoration could shine. There’s very little visible noise in the frame, there is good healthy grain, and appropriate dynamic color whether for a flashback scene or “present day.” Both films can be viewed either with the original Japanese mono audio track (which is how this reviewer enjoyed the films) or a commentary track with Mike Leeder (Fearless) and Arne Venema (Royal Warriors & Yes, Madam! Location Video), though only Bullfighter has an optional English-dubbed audio track. Regarding the Japanese mono audio tracks, each are clear and crisp with the dialogue well balanced against the score. It’s very easy to understand who’s speaking and what they’re saying, making the already fairly simplistic films (certainly straight forward) easy to follow in all the run-ups to various fisticuffs.
The features, however, are less thrilling.
As mentioned, there’s a single commentary track for each film on their respective disc, as well as the original theatrical trailer. For Bear Fighter, that’s it. That’s all you get. With Bullfighter, there’s a 20-minute visual essay by A Brief History of the Martial Arts author Jonathan Clements titled “In Search of the Ultimate Truth,” in which the character of Ōyama is explored through the real person’s various artistic representations with a strong focus on the three films in the trilogy. If you’ve yet to watch Bear Fighter, hold off on the video essay until after so that you don’t get a few of the narrative elements spoiled for you. There’s also an alternate opening credits sequence and tv spot for Bullfighter under one of its other titles, Champion of Death. It’s not much nor is it partially in-depth, but for fans of Chiba or these films, that may be enough to warrant excitement.
Sonny Chiba as Masutatsu Ōyama in KARATE BEAR FIGHTER. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
In general, however, it’s difficult to recommend these films. The scripts are sparse and repetitive across both films at their core. Chiba’s Ōyama is an absolute bastard with very few redeeming qualities (not that we necessarily have to love the protagonist, but when these films have him rape a woman and then claim to love her (Bullfighter) and have her dote after him for an entire film (Bear Fighter), it gets quite gross). And while they play within the historical record as responses to the Allied occupation’s weakening of Japanese karate, the film’s themselves don’t necessarily stand as a refutation of why it should be different. As an adaptation of a person’s life, there’s no visible or recognizable value in the stories told across these two films that clearly argue why Ōyama’s life is worth exploring at all. He’s presented as a figure who is only pleased when violent, always on the down slope due to the ways in which violence creeps into his life, and only briefly considers that his choices are what have left him with nothing to show for the title of best karate fighter in Japan. Granted, the fights themselves are impressive for the era and demonstrate, even now, why Chiba himself is an engaging watch; yet there’s very little within the films as a whole that make revisiting these stories something worth doing.
A scene from KARATE BEAR FIGHTER. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
For Chiba completionists, I see the appeal as Karate for Life (1977) is available either with the first two films as a 3-DVD collection or as part of Shout! Studios’s The Sonny Chiba Collection, Vol. 2 set that released November 2023, meaning that either you can get the films together in 480p or separately in 1080p. To that end, in terms of restorations alone, fans are going to be happy. They might want for more, but the presentations are such that one can easily recommend them, even if they might not recommend the films themselves.
Beast Fighter Special Features:
- Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by JJ Harrison
- 1080p presentations of both films across two Blu-ray discs, from new restorations of the original film elements by Toei
- Original Japanese mono audio
- Brand new feature length audio commentaries on both films by action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
- “In Search of the Ultimate Truth” – Brand new video essay by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of the Martial Arts (20:34)
- Original theatrical trailers
- Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Eddie Falvey
Available on Blu-ray June 25th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Beast Fighter webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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