Beast Fighter: Karate Bullfighter & Karate Bearfighter – Eureka Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Japan, 1975 (Karate Bullfighter, Karate Bearfighter)
Director: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (Both Films)
Cast: Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba, Masashi Ishibashi, Hideo Murota, Mikio Narita, Mas Oyama, Yumi Takigawa, Katsumasa Uchida (Karate Bullfighter), Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba, Masashi Ishibashi, Narumi Kayashima, Hiroshi Kondô, Hideo Murota, Yutaka Nakajima, Mas Oyama, Etsuko Shihomi, Yumi Takigawa, Tôru Yuri (Karate Bearfighter)

Release Date: March 18th, 2024
Approximate running times: 88 Minutes 1 Second (Karate Bullfighter), 87 Minutes 10 Seconds (Karate Bearfighter)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Both Films)
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono Japanese (Both Films)
Subtitles: English (Both Films)
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $49.95

"In Karate Bullfighter (or Champion of Death), a karate tournament is crashed by an enigmatic martial artist calling himself Ōyama (Chiba), who arrives in tattered rags and beats all who dare challenge him. But Ōyama's entrance into the world of karate has unforeseen consequences, and soon he is fighting for far more than sporting victory. Then, in Karate Bearfighter, Ōyama is expelled from the karate community for refusing to pull his punches. With no where else to turn, he takes a job with the yakuza after running into Kimura (Hideo Murota), who Ōyama once knew as a fellow member of the Imperial Japanese Air Service before he turned to a life of crime. Ultimately, though, Ōyama has no more respect for his superiors on the streets than he did in the dojo..." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5 (Karate Bullfighter, Karate Bearfighter)

Here’s the information given about the transfers, "from new restorations of the original film elements by Toei".

Karate Bullfighter comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 33.3 GB

Feature: 27.2 GB

Karate Bearfighter comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 26.1 GB

Feature: 25.3 GB

The sources look great; they are among the best-looking I have seen of Toei’s Sonny Chiba films. Flesh tones look correct, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, and black levels are consistently strong.

Audio: 4.25/5 (Karate Bullfighter, Karate Bearfighter)

Both films come with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Japanese, and both films come with removable English subtitles. Both audio tracks sound clean, clear, balanced, and robust when they should.

Extras:

Extras for Karate Bullfighter include a Champion of Death TV spot (1 minute, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 54 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), alternate opening credits from Champion of Death (2 minutes 14 seconds, LPCM mono English, no subtitles), a video essay by Jonathan Clements titled In Search of the Ultimate Truth (20 minutes 34 seconds, LPCM stereo English with removable English subtitles for Japanese film clips), and an audio commentary with action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Extras for Karate Bearfighter include  a theatrical trailer (3 minutes 2 seconds, LPCM mono Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.

Other extras include reversible cover art, an O-card slipcase (limited to the first pressing), and a 20-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with cast & crew information for both films, an essay titled From Street Fighter to Beast Master: Sonny Chiba in Karate Bullfighter & Karate Bearfighter written by Eddie Falvey, and information about the transfer titled Notes on Viewing.

Summary:

Both films were directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, who also directed the third film in this trilogy, Karate for Life. Other notable films he directed include Wandering Ginza Butterfly, Wandering Ginza Butterfly 2: She-Cat Gambler, Sister Street Fighter, A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse, Wolf Guy, and Karate Warriors.

“Every man has a weakness. He has to fight the coward in himself all of his life." - Matutatsu Oyama

Karate Bullfighter: Oyama shows up at the karate tournament disheveled and dressed in rags. The tournament's promoter offers him a job with the intention of making Oyama into a more respectable person. Drunk one night, Oyama gets into a fight with some thugs, and when he kills their leader, he renounces karate. To make amends for the man he has just killed, he moves out to the country with the man who killed his family, helping them farm. There are those determined not to let Oyama disappear into obscurity; they send assassins after him, forcing his hand. Now with nowhere to go, Oyama returns to settle things once and for all.

Following the success of The Street Fighters, Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba would embark on a trilogy of films based around his mentor, Matutatsu Oyama. The three films are Karate Bullfighter, followed by Karate Bearfighter, and Karate for Life. Matutatsu Oyama worked as a technical advisor on Karate Bullfighter, and he appears briefly in Karate Bullfighter and Karate Bearfighter.

Though based on a real-life person, the protagonist shares many attributes that are in common with Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba’s most celebrated characters. Known for portraying larger-than-life characters, it's no surprise that Sonny Chiba, one of Japan’s foremost action film stars, portrays Matutatsu Oyama. Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba’s on-screen connection to Matutatsu Oyama does not end with this trilogy of films; he portrayed Doshin So, Matutatsu Oyama’s greatest rival, in The Killing Machine.

Though Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba is not as graceful as Bruce Lee or as dynamic as Chia-Hui Liu (Gordon Liu), he more than makes up for these things with his brute force fight scenes that are often over the top when it comes to carnage. That said, his fighting style and on-screen persona perfectly capture the essence of Matutatsu Oyama.

Karate Bullfighter gives Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba a lot to do as an actor; his character spends most of the first half of the narrative mourning the loss of a student, while the latter half is wall-to-wall action where he takes on all challengers. Though action is first and foremost, there is an ample amount devoted to showing his characters' emotional side.

Karate Bullfighter has a few exemplary action set pieces. Notably, there is the scene where Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba takes on a runaway bull, and after he crushes its skull, he rips one of its horns off. In another scene he breaks Coca-Cola bottles with his bare hands, something he had previously done as an actor in Bodyguard Kiba. That said, with quick cuts and expertly choreographed fight scenes, the action sequences are top-notch.

From a production standpoint, there is no area in which Karate Bullfighter does not excel. And though Kazuhiko Yamaguchi's direction is not overly stylish, he lets the protagonist take center stage. It is nevertheless very effective, especially the use of hand-held cameras during fight scenes. The most stylish moments are flashbacks shot in sepia tone. Ultimately, Karate Bullfighter is a vivid retelling of Matutatsu Oyama's story that never fails to entertain.

Karate Bearfighter: After winning a karate tournament, Oyama’s reputation has grown, leading to countless attacks from other karate schools. Down on his luck, his fortune changes when he runs into an old Air Force buddy who offers him a job in the criminal underworld. Oyama encounters and befriends two street hustlers, Kozuro and Sumiko. When Ryudoji, the notorious leader of a karate school, murders Oyama's two companions, Oyama sets out for revenge.

Even though Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba never achieved the international success that Bruce Lee did, he still established himself apart from the rest of the Bruce Lee clones with his brutal fighting style. Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba and Bruce Lee were supposed to make a movie together, but unfortunately, Bruce Lee died before they could start production. The 1990s saw a renewed interest in Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba when filmmaker Quentin Tarantino referenced him in True Romance and Pulp Fiction. Jules Winnfield, a character from Pulp Fiction, quoted the opening monologue from The Bodyguard word for word.

Following the success of Karate Bullfighter, Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba would return for its sequel, Karate Bearfighter. This time around, it focuses more on action than its predecessor, which was more serious in tone. Also, the bad guys have taken things up a notch as they use guns and samurai swords vs. Oyama’s karate. Once again, the fight sequences are exemplary. And just when you thought Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba couldn’t top himself after taking on a bull, he takes on a bear.

Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba’s intense screen persona is what makes his films enjoyable; he is a man of few words who kicks ass and takes names. He delivers an exceptional performance that builds upon his performance as a karate bullfighter. Masashi Ishibashi frequently played the role of a villain. He has worked with Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba on multiple films, notably his portrayal of Tateki Shikenbaru, aka Junjun, in Street Fighter. That said, he has a distinct look, and he always makes for a fantastic villain.

Early on, when Oyama goes along with the deception that a man half his size is the real Oyama, this is one of Karate Bearfighter’s most lighthearted moments. And the scene that follows, where Oyama tells a waitress that he’s a student of the fraud, is another example of humor in Karate Bearfighter. Despite early moments like these, the humor dries up, and things shift more towards a darker tale rooted in revenge. Also, there is a poignant moment when a young boy who Oyama befriended chases the train he’s on and screams ‘Uncle’.

From a production standpoint, Karate Bearfighter is a film that is clicking on all cylinders. The narrative is well-executed, pacing is never an issue, and there is a perfect balance between exposition and action. Also, Kazuhiko Yamaguchi’s solid direction is never flashy; it lets its protagonist be the center of attention. Ultimately, Karate Bearfighter is an excellent successor to Karate Bullfighter.

Beast Fighter: Karate Bullfighter and Karate Bearfighter are exceptional releases from Eureka Video; both films get solid audio/video presentations and informative extras, making them highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer