The Great Chase: Limited Edition – Neon Eagle (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 1975
Director: Norifumi Suzuki
Writers: Masahiro Kakefuda, Takeo Kaneko
Cast: Etsuko Shihomi, Hisako Tanaka, Mach Fumiake, Bin Amatsu, Masashi Ishibashi, Yôichi Numata, Shôhei Yamamoto, Naoyuki Sugano, Fujika Ômori, Tôru Yuri, Torahiko Hamada, Eiji Gô, Fumio Watanabe

Release Date: July 21st, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 83 Minutes 3 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Japanese
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $39.99

"See! Singing lady wrestlers! Drug running, whip-wielding nuns! A blow-dart-spewing assassin dressed like a Native American for no reason! A Nazi-loving Catholic bishop/drug lord who sports a ratty bear suit to assault kidnapped girls! Witness! Etsuko (and her no-doubt underpaid double) do truly perilous and death-defying stunts! Hear! An absolutely banging funk-jazz soundtrack that propels the whole movie along at a breakneck pace!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "2K restoration."

The Great Chase comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 29.5 GB

Feature: 23.5 GB

The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Japanese with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; the dialogue comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. This track sounds great range-wise.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an image gallery with music from the film playing in the background (posters/stills), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 56 seconds, DTS-HD mono Japanese with removable English subtitles), an interview with film critic/historian Tatsuya Masuto (19 minutes 17 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Japanese with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with Chris Poggiali and John Charles, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to 2000 copies), and a 12-page booklet (limited to 2000 copies) with an essay titled Norifumi Suzuki: King of Comedy written by Nathan Stuart.

Summary:

Norifumi Suzuki directed The Great Chase. He’s known for Tokugawa Sex Ban, The Lustful Shogun and His 21 Concubines, School of the Holy Beast, The Killing Machine, Star of David: Hunting for Beautiful Girls, and Roaring Fire. He also directed several films in the Girl Boss and Terrifying Girls' High School film series.

A racecar driver named Shinobu Yashiro is recruited by the Japanese secret service, who wants her to use her unique set of skills to infiltrate and bring down a drug cartel.

Etsuko Shihomi is a name anyone familiar with 1970s Japanese action cinema knows. She was a protégé of Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba, and she would ultimately become the female equivalent to him. Compared to other actresses in Japanese action films, her skill level was so superior that she had no rivals. Etsuko Shihomi delivered many memorable performances in films where Shin’ichi ‘Sonny’ Chiba was the star. However, she proved that she could hold her own as a lead when given the opportunity, as exemplified by her role in The Great Chase.

When we are introduced to Shinobu Yashiro, she is riding high after winning a prestigious race. She is approached by the Japanese secret service not only because of her skill set but also because the case they are working on is connected to her father, who was framed and sent to prison, where he died. This personal connection adds a layer to her character, who always believed her father was innocent, and now she has the opportunity to avenge him by clearing his name and bringing those responsible to justice.

The Great Chase is a film that gives Etsuko Shihomi so much to work with. Not only does she get to showcase impressive stunt work and exceptional fighting skills, but also her character is a master of disguise who appears as a man, an old cleaning woman, and a nun. Cast opposite of Shinobu Yashiro is a colorful gallery of villains, like a compulsive gambler, a man who breaks boulders with his head, a man who throws cards that slice through things, a knife thrower, an Indian that blows darts, and a man who wears a gorilla suit as part of his sexual fetish. That said, all around, the performances are outstanding.

Norifumi Suzuki was truly one of the most gifted filmmakers working in 1970s Japanese cinema. There was no genre that he shied away from, and by the time he was done, his films always had a uniqueness to them that set him apart from his contemporaries. In The Great Chase, Suzuki creates a unique blend of genres, incorporating melodrama, elements of exploitation such as T&A, graphic violence, and action sequences that consistently surpass expectations.

The narrative does an excellent job fleshing out characters and building momentum to an exemplary action-packed finale. Though all of the action set pieces are phenomenal, The Great Chase saves its best for last, in a sequence where Shinobu Yashiro hangs from an aerial tramway while the bad guy tries to get her to fall from a great height. Composer Masao Yagi (Terrifying Girls' High School: Women's Violent Classroom) delivers a solid score that’s in line with the funky scores that so many 1970s Toei action films had. Another strength of The Great Chase is its use of classical music during its most shocking moments. Ultimately, The Great Chase stands out as an exceptional action and exploitation film, making it one of the highwater marks of Etsuko Shihomi's career.

Neon Eagle gives The Great Chase an excellent release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a trio of informative extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer