02-07-2025, 12:22 AM
Karate Bullfighter (1975) aka Champion of Death
Like Fighter in the Wind ( http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/s...p?tid=8294 ) this is based on a manga Karate Baka Ichidai which is based on the life of a Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate who killed over 50 bulls in unarmed combat, 3 of which were slain with a single blow.
Chiba was a direct pupil of Oyama and he really shows off his stuff here. His Karate is sharp and strong. It’s a strangely told story in ? acts. Act 1 Oyama challenges the status quo of Karate calling its tournaments just dance. He wins the national championship but the destroys the trophy in disgust. Then he rapes a virgin English translator who later becomes his life love outside of karate (and she’s down with it). Act 2 Oyama takes on a pupil who goes bonkers and attacks a dojo, gets jailed, breaks out of jail, and then when surrounded by cops, gets shot to death, leaving Oyama to question the meaning of karate. Act 3 Oyama kills a rampaging bull in the street. I didn’t know blood spurted like that when you chop off a bull’s horn. Act 4 Oyama kills a gangster in self defense, but ridden with guilt, he helps the gangster’s widow and son farm. Act 5 Oyama goes back to the dojo that offended him and kicks everyone’s ass. There’s more but I won’t belabor the point.
Despite the rape courtship and the innocent bull killing and the gangster family forgiving Oyama for killing their man right after he finished serving time, it’s a watchable film. Chiba gives a decent emotional performance albeit a heavy handed one. It’s shot well and the sets and costumes are sufficient. Overall it moves along at a steady pace, parsed with some decent karate fights for the 70s.
I’m eager to see the next two installments.
Seen on the Internet Archive https://archive.org
Like Fighter in the Wind ( http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomForum/s...p?tid=8294 ) this is based on a manga Karate Baka Ichidai which is based on the life of a Mas Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate who killed over 50 bulls in unarmed combat, 3 of which were slain with a single blow.
Chiba was a direct pupil of Oyama and he really shows off his stuff here. His Karate is sharp and strong. It’s a strangely told story in ? acts. Act 1 Oyama challenges the status quo of Karate calling its tournaments just dance. He wins the national championship but the destroys the trophy in disgust. Then he rapes a virgin English translator who later becomes his life love outside of karate (and she’s down with it). Act 2 Oyama takes on a pupil who goes bonkers and attacks a dojo, gets jailed, breaks out of jail, and then when surrounded by cops, gets shot to death, leaving Oyama to question the meaning of karate. Act 3 Oyama kills a rampaging bull in the street. I didn’t know blood spurted like that when you chop off a bull’s horn. Act 4 Oyama kills a gangster in self defense, but ridden with guilt, he helps the gangster’s widow and son farm. Act 5 Oyama goes back to the dojo that offended him and kicks everyone’s ass. There’s more but I won’t belabor the point.
Despite the rape courtship and the innocent bull killing and the gangster family forgiving Oyama for killing their man right after he finished serving time, it’s a watchable film. Chiba gives a decent emotional performance albeit a heavy handed one. It’s shot well and the sets and costumes are sufficient. Overall it moves along at a steady pace, parsed with some decent karate fights for the 70s.
I’m eager to see the next two installments.
Seen on the Internet Archive https://archive.org
Shadow boxing the apocalypse