Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Witchfinder General 666 Seldom does a film define the term "bad-ass" as it is the case with Shigehiro Ozawa's Japanese Karate-Exploitation classic "Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken" aka. "The Street Fighter" of 1974 starring the almighty Sonny Chiba in his arguably most career-defining role. This stylish and truly brutal flick is positively one of the most ultra-violent martial-arts films ever brought to screen, and it's easily one of the coolest, too.Sonny Chiba shines as the ferocious antihero Tamuka Tsurugi, a hired assassin capable of taking out entire armies with his fists of death. Actually, Tamuka is a dirt-bag beyond the usual antihero-standards. Right in the beginning he rescues a convicted criminal from the gallows. After his client's siblings cannot pay him, he kills the brother and sells the sister into prostitution. Yet, Tamuka has his very own, unbreakable, moral code of honor. After his refusal to take part in the kidnapping a beautiful young heiress (Yutaka Nakajima), members of the mob make an unsuccessful attempt on Tamuka's life - an act which has earned them a mortal enemy...In the US this was the first film ever to be rated X merely for violence. And this truly is an extremely brutal film, even for Japanese 70s exploitation standards - I do not want to spoil the best parts, but I can assure that fans of gory Grindhouse cinema will have the time of their lives. Sonny Chiba is truly outstanding. Ferocious, irascible and without mercy, Chiba is the the ultimate killing machine. When clenching his muscles in order to make a deadly move, he makes creepy noises that are almost capable of making the viewers afraid to be the next to get their asses kicked. I love Bruce Lee flicks, but compared to Chiba, even the most violent ones with Lee seem like harmless comedies. One could not claim that the storyline of "The Street Fighter" is the most elaborate thing ever written, but the incredibly stylish, ultra-violent action, the film's gritty and mean-spirited character and Chiba's overwhelming presence make this a true must-see for anyone even remotely interested in Exploitation and Japanese cinema.The cast includes several familiar faces for Japanese Exploitation fans, such as Fumio Watanbe, who is probably best known for playing the sadistic Warden in the fantastic first two "Joshuu Sasori" ("Female Prisoner Scorpion") films starring Meiko Kaji in 1972, and also had a part in the first of the brilliant "Kozure Ôkami" ("Lone Wolf And Cub") films starring Tombisaburo Wakayama, "Lone Wolf and Cub - Sword of Justice" in the same year. Beautifully Yukuta Nakajima makes a nice female lead, Goichi Yamada is fun as Chiba's sidekick and Masahi Ishibashi is great as his nemesis Shikenbaru, an equally skilled karate-killer. Chiba himself, of course, outshines anybody else in the role of one of the most ferocious antiheroes in motion picture history, and the ultimate killing machine in any Karate-flick. "The Street Fighter" is an awesome, stylish and ultra-brutal viewing experience and nobody who likes Exploitation or Japanese cinema could possibly consider missing it. A true gem; All hail Sonny Chiba!

Cristi_Ciopron I guess I am not the only one to rank THE STREET FIGHTER with the best action movies ever. I have seen it after its sequel, RETURN OF THE STREET FIGHTER, and found it even better. Well, having liked so much the sequel, you can imagine how I enjoyed the original movie! The characters are many, the settings are picturesque and colorful, the pace is fast. The fights are always interesting and spectacular. In this first installment ,they had the guts to maintain Tsurugi as a genuine anti—hero. Shigehiro Ozawa finds the right tone from the very start, handling well the side plots. The score is so dynamic and cool, it's a pity it was not used more in the movie.Tsurugi is a cruel mercenary, a Ronin who deals with a story of revenge, kidnapping and dirty affairs. Tsurugi is employed by a young man and his sister to rescue their brother from the gallows. Tsurugi does the job; his employers turn up to be penniless ,and Tsurugi insists being paid. The man whom he rescued from the gallows seeks to murder him because Tsurugi has had a fight with the former's brother and the brother did loose his life.

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) Sonny Chiba puts the "K" in "Karate", "Kick Up", "Knock Out", and so many other words that is too long to list. In "The Street Fighter", Chiba plays Taguma Tsurugi aka "The Street Fighter". Swift, lethal, effective, and downright bad to the bone. He takes on a lot of bad guys with the simplest blows known to man, no other fighter could match him. However, there's one man who could think can take on and kill the super fighter. Not a chance. Ever villain that took on the Street Fighter met their painfully fast ends at his hands. One fighter gets his voice-box crushed by Terry, and the man who ordered the showdown hates dirty tricks when one of the henchmen shoots the fighter, he killed the gunman. Most villains would laugh at this predicament. What gives? Anyway, this movie is amazing, I heard talks about it, and it was a must see movie! 4.5 out of 5 stars!

MartinHafer If you try to compare this film to non-martial arts films, it surely would not receive a score like 9. However, for the genre, it is an exceptional film as way too many of these martial arts films of the 1970s were so cheaply made and featured the dumbest gimmicks and the most ridiculous fighting that STREET FIGHTER is a welcome relief--even being better than most of the Bruce Lee movies.Originally, this was an X-rated film due to its graphic violence, though today it probably would be rated PG-13 or R--I guess this says a lot about our culture and the type films we are making these days! There is a ton of blood and lots of gouging and ripping out of things such as genitals and throats--making it a movie you still should NOT let your kids see. Plus,instead of the likable and decent hero usually played by Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee, Sonny Chiba plays an amoral jerk who will do anything for money--this is highly reminiscent of the "heros" in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and other Spaghetti Westerns.The film begins with Chiba rescuing a condemned man from execution. The man DID deserved to die, but for the money, Chiba and his dopey sidekick were more than willing to help. However, later, when the same employer wants him to do other jobs but don't want to pay the price he asks, they decide to kill him--after all, they are the Yakuza and they don't want their identities revealed. So, wave after wave after wave of baddies attack Chiba. His martial arts techniques are incredible--we was obviously well-trained and unlike most heroes in martial arts films, he took pains to kill most of his victims--not just punching them but brutally destroying them. However, it also helped that in many cases, the bad guys attacked him one at a time!!! This was reasonably achieved in some cases by having them attack down a path or in an alley, though often they took turns when they all COULD have attacked at the same time--and even the greatest marital artist would not survive this. Hey folks, these are the YAKUZA--Japanese mobsters famed for their brutality--this one at a time stuff just isn't realistic. What I did like, though, was that they did sometimes use guns and Chiba was able to handle this--it wasn't all hand to hand nonsense.Aside from the one at a time problem, the only other minor problem was his fight with nice-guy Master Masaoka. Masaoka was a middle-aged and rather overweight guy but he more than handled Chiba--even though Chiba then went on to kill dozens throughout the rest of the film. Masaoka appeared in the next film as well and none of his techniques look the least bit impressive. So how did he do so well against Chiba? But for the good, there is a lot to like. This is some of the most brutal and skilled martial arts I have seen and it is very realistic due to the blood and because he remembers to kill just about all those who attack him--making Chiba a rare thing in martial arts films--a very smart and pragmatic leading man!!! While not quite as fast as Bruce Lee or artistic as Jackie Chan, Chiba's brutal combination of styles of martial arts is very impressive and hard to dismiss. Lovers of the genre MUST see this film.