This summer, Spectacle presents three incredibly savage, incredibly savory kung fu films that launched the career of martial arts star Sonny Chiba and became landmarks of Japanese exploitation cinema – THE STREET FIGHTER TRILOGY!
Following the crossover success of Bruce Lee (who died the previous year), the mighty Japanese film company Toei decided to gamble on a considerably darker, more nasty brand of martial arts action with an unknown actor as the star. The result was The Street Fighter– a hard-boiled, gore-drenched exploitation classic that spawned an entire franchise of sequels and spinoffs.
Praised by fans as some of the best kung fu films of the era and worshipped by Tarantino for decades, don’t miss this chance to experience grindhouse exploitation at its finest!
Presented UNCUT and in their ORIGINAL JAPANESE LANGUAGE!
And as a special bonus, we’ll have three female-centered kung fu films in our summer midnights programs for an extra dosage of ass-kicking!
*NOTE: The entire STREET FIGHTER TRILOGY will screen as a marathon on SATURDAY, AUGUST 31ST!
THE STREET FIGHTER – 5PM
RETURN OF THE STREET FIGHTER – 7:30PM
THE STREET FIGHTER’S LAST REVENGE – 10PM
THE STREET FIGHTER
Dir: Shigehiro Ozawa, 1974.
87 min. Japan.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
SATURDAY, JUNE 8TH – 10PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 15TH – 10PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 29TH – 10PM
*SATURDAY, AUGUST 31ST – 5PM (part of THE STREET FIGHTER TRILOGY marathon!)
Sonny Chiba IS Tokuma Tsurugi: a high-priced, high-voltage assassin hired by the Yakuza to kidnap the heiress of a deceased billionaire. When his demands are too high, all-out chaos ensues. Shortly thereafter, the body count starts to grow…
A significant shift away from the classic, technical martial arts, THE STREET FIGHTER features numerous sequence of raw, shockingly graphic brawls and battles that garnered the film the first ever X rating solely for violence. Chiba is pure brute force, an anti-hero that acts not out of honor, but for self-satisfaction. But even for a character with zero morals, Chiba’s magnetic personality shines through, lending his mercenary killer a sparkly, devilish demeanor.
A prime cut of juicy 70s kung-fu topped with an X-ray blast to the skull, THE STREET FIGHTER is unadulterated escapism of the bloodiest order.
*WARNING: THE FILM CONTAINS GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE*
RETURN OF THE STREET FIGHTER
Dir: Shigehiro Ozawa, 1974.
79 min. Japan.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10TH – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, JULY 18TH – 10:00 PM
SATURDAY, JULY 20TH – 7:30 PM
*SATURDAY, AUGUST 31ST – 7:30PM (part of THE STREET FIGHTER TRILOGY marathon!)
THE STREET FIGHTER’S LAST REVENGE
Dir: Shigehiro Ozawa, 1974.
80 min. Japan.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14TH – 7:30PM
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23RD – 7:30PM
*SATURDAY, AUGUST 31ST – 10PM (part of THE STREET FIGHTER TRILOGY marathon!)
We conclude with Sonny Chiba channeling James Bond!
The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge takes a turn towards spy film and finds Tsurugi using a fistful of gadgets and masks to battle a sombrero-donned, laser-wielding Mexican bandito!
Featuring pinku legend Ike Reiko!