chaos-rampant Misumi seems ill-at-ease doing a kind of extremely cartoonish and lurid sexploitation film where the emphasis is on Hanzo's 'interrogating' techniques (read forced sex which the victims end up enjoying so much they spill everything he needs to know as a constable - how's that for PC?) rather than anything resembling a samurai movie. That's probably why it verges on the incomprehensible and the experimentations with style and form are as disjointed as the silly script against which they're supposed to work as diversions. In one of the greatest strokes of irony in Japanese cinema, where Misumi failed, Yasuzo Masumura (a director know for more art-house fare) succeeded beyond all expectations in the second entry of the Hanzo series, basically by doing what Misumi opted to avoid: a serioud dark movie. The kind of film Misumi made a career out of.

shark-43 Wow - I have seen many Japanese sword films, many weird sexual exploitation movies but this one - where it combines so many genres (plus a film score that Issac Hayes would be proud of)this film is an oddity but also lots of fun. Hanzo is a tough cop who refuses to follow orders from his superiors. He is tough, he tortures HIMSELF to become even tougher. The actor is a bit pudgy with a double chin but his eyes - he is the real deal. Intense, a real bad ass. Another way he toughens himself up is to slam his own male member with a cane and then have sex with a huge burlap bag of rice (makes me think twice of ordering rice in a Japanese restaurant)- then when he needs to "interrogate" female suspects and/or witnesses - he uses his toughened flesh "sword" to get the women to comply. Strange, weird. The violence goes from clumsy to very real. My film group really liked it.

Golgo-13 Dirtier than Harry, shaftier than Shaft, at least that's what the box claims. Hanzo (the great Shintarô Katsu) is a renegade samurai officer (from hell!) in feudal Japan, dealing with crimes in his own unique way. Not only does he use a variety of bladed weapons with razor skill, he has a mammoth dork; the long arm of the law, if you get what I'm saying. For example, he forces himself on any woman that may have information until they beg him not to stop, willingly spilling all their secrets in the process. One woman (actually, he uses this technique in all three movies) he puts in a net on a pulley and his men raise and lower it onto him…then Hanzo spins it to the left and right! Anyway, I think you get the idea! The combat is bloody but only average in quality when compared to the Zatoichi or Lone Wolf series. The plots are pretty much what you'd expect; corrupt officers, officials, and thieves all commit interweaving crimes that Hanzo refuses to turn his back to. All three have some parts that drag but with the un-PC humor, gory violence, funky 70's style and music, and jaw-dropping content, Hanzo the Razor is quite a curious and amusing trilogy. I believe The Snare was my favorite, closely followed by Sword of Justice.

movieman_kev In the first of a trilogy by famed Director of the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series, Kenji Misumi, Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami (Zatôichi himself, Shintarô Katsu) is an honorable Samurai. He will go after anyone corrupt, no matter how high up in society they are and isn't above rapeing women with his gigantic penis to get them to tell him what he needs to know (don't worry they all end up loving it and begging him not to stop). The training techniques to keep his penis in shape ALONE are worth the price of admission!! And with Hollywood currently being remake crazy, I glad to know that there are some films they wouldn't DARE touch. This film is greatness with it's extremely unPC humor. Plus it has an amazing kitsch '70's soundtrack. thats NEVER bad. The DVD available through HVE entertainment has at the 26 minutes and 13 seconds mark, about 25 seconds of missing audio and at 84 minutes and 15 seconds an uneven jump cut from a few missing frames. But they do mention that before the start of the movie. I'm just glad to have the Hanzo films on DVD at all. I wholeheartedly recommend this film, and the following two.My Grade: B DVD Extras: Merely Trailers for all 3 Hanzo the Razor filmsEye Candy: Both Yukiji Asaoka and Mari Atsumi show their heavy hangers, Mari bares her behind as well