thinker1691 Across the centuries in far off Japan, there's a series of films which I must admit I never gave much notice to. Here is one which caught my attention. It's called " The Razor " and are you in for a sober awakening when you see it. It's the story of an usual 'Lawman' assigned to a district in Japan. His name is Hanzo (Shintaro Katsu) or 'The Razor.' Although I learned there are several chapters in the series, this one is called "The Snare." Each segment explains he is a officer, but one has to be careful to apply it to our hero as he administers the law according to his own sense of morality. He is ill tempered with both his superiors and constituency. His boss considers him a loose cannon and is essentially correct as all classes within his jurisdictions are fearful of him. When on a case, few things prevent him from investigating all aspects. The corrupt nobility as well as low life thugs are fair game. The women of his cases have heard of his reputation and fear not only his steel, but also his personal sword as he uses both with incredible dexterity. The rich and powerful decide they cannot buy him, and employ their own reputable Samuri called "The Snake" (Magobei Onishi) to stop his investigation. Now Hanzo will face a skilled sword as dangerous as his. The film, the cast and story may have a long way to go before it measures up to American standards, but while watching it, little of that matters as we follow our hero as he assaults, kidnaps, tortures, kills and rapes his way to justice. A far cry from the usual, but a Classic non-the-less. Not recommended for the squeamish or easily offended. *****

MartinHafer Warning: This is one of the most amazingly adult and disturbing films I have seen in a very long time! Despite it appearing on The Independent Film Channel, the content is far more adult than what you'd normally see on this cable channel. Don't say I didn't warn you!! I am a huge fan of the Zatoichi series, so it's not surprising that I decided to watch the first Hansho the Razor film. However, instead of playing a combination of a ronin (a master-less traveling samurai) and social worker like Zatoichi, here in Goyôkiba, Shintarô Katsu plays a policeman with very, very, very unorthodox methods---very, very, very ADULT and unorthodox methods. I was shocked to see that the nice character he once played was now into sadomasochism and spends much of his time torturing himself and doing amazingly brutal things to his penis in order to turn it into a...well,...a....super-penis, of sorts. If this wasn't disturbing enough, the reason for this (other than the fact he has found a way to masturbate that's MORE disturbing than auto-erotic asphyxiation) is that he uses his super-member to rape women as he questions them about crimes or pumps them for information (no pun intended). And, to play into the age-old rape myth, the ladies being brutalized by this all have immensely pleasurable climaxes and give themselves totally to this sicko cop.Considering how offensive and sick the first film from the series was, it's actually pretty surprising I watched this second installment from the series. I guess part of me wondered if the other Hansho films could be as gross and sick as the first one. Well, while Hansho is still a very sick puppy, he rapes fewer and the film isn't as explicit as the first one. Now this isn't saying much, as it's still a very adult film with themes that should disturb people. Oddly, however, as I read through the comments, people seemed to like that this cop rapes women "who have it coming"! This film has two plots that intersect. The first involves a temple which has been turned into a brothel by a government official. Instead of the usual Shinto nunnery, here the place is filled with ladies who have been drugged and are abused in all sorts of sadistic ways. While Hansho has no jurisdiction here, like Dirty Harry, he jumps right in because of his own sense of justice. However, as this justice involves taking the mistress of the nunnery captive and torturing and then raping her, he's an especially violent guy--far more than Clint Eastwood's character ever could have been. Naturally, however, the lady comes to love and need Hansho because he is apparently such a stud. A great message to tell the audience--torture and rape someone and they'll be your friend for life!!! Later, Hansho is sent to defend a local mint from attack. While this seems like a totally different plot, the government official who sends him is the same one who ran the brothel AND this new assignment also calls for a rape--though the lady who is victimized seemed like she was innocent. Oh well, it's all in the line of duty! While still a sick movie and it's obvious that Shintarô Katsu is getting way too fat for this role (as evidenced by his bloated figure and his wearing the unsexiest underwear in the history of film), it's not as overtly explicit as the original and there is some decent martial arts action. Still, in hindsight I probably should have just changed the channel.

lastliberal It is hard to believe that this film was made in 1974 as it mirrors the circumstances of the US in the last 16 years. The abortion rate under Clinton's Presidency was lower than under the Bush administration. Why the difference? Read the quote above. If the poor can't buy rice, they don't have more children.This all comes out as Hanzo (Shintarô Katsu) is investigating the death of a woman after an abortion. This investigation leads him Monk-style to a Temple where young girls are sold to wealthy businessmen for torture and rape, with an abortion business on the side. He captures the Priestess and tortures her before using the Hanzo technique to get her to talk.His investigation is delayed while he is assigned to find Japan's greatest thief, who rapes and murders his victims. The thief is heading toward Hanzo's village. he hides in the mint to snare him. While there he manages to gather further evidence against the person benefiting from the Temple.A big showdown with many dead at the hands of his sword, and both thieves are captured in fine Hanzo fashion.Can't wait for the next adventure.

Witchfinder General 666 When I first saw the Japanese Exploitation highlight "Gôyokiba" aka "Hanzo The Razor - Sword Of Justice" (1972) it became an instant favorite of mine. I was therefore more than excited to see the sequels, and after a long search, I finally found them recently. The first "Goyokiba" was already brilliantly crude and as politically incorrect as it gets, and I therefore was surprised that this first sequel "Goyôkiba; Kamisori Hanzo jigoku zeme" aka. "Razor 2: The Snare" is even sleazier. Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami, brilliantly played by the immortal Shintaro Katsu, is an incorruptible Samurai-constable in feudal Japan, who despises corruption and the spoiled aristocracy, and loves to insult his superiors... The 'Hanzo' films have a wonderfully crude, sexist and incorrect humor that must be the nightmare of moralists and feminists (in case they have no sense of humor). Hanzo, who, aided by his two assistants, regularly submits to self-torture in order to improve his own torture skills, interrogates female suspects by raping them. And they immediately fall for him, due to his enormous sexual powers and his huge penis, which he trains in grotesque rituals. After "Sword Of Justice", genius director Kenji Misumi, who had also directed Shintaro Katsu in some of the "Zatoichi" films, went on to direct the (even more brilliant) "Kozure Ôkami" ("Lone Wolf And Cub") films starring Katsu's equally great brother Tomisaburo Wakayama. Yasuzo Masumura therefore replaced Misumi in the director's chair for the sequel, and he sure did an outstanding job. "The Snare" is even sleazier than the first Hanzo flick, and a lot gorier. While it is maybe just not quite as comical as the first film, it features even more perversions and weird fetishes, sleazy tortures and quite a bit more gore. Shintaro Katsu, one of my personal favorite actors is once again brilliant in the role of Hanzo 'The Razor' Itami. Katsu does not play Hanzo, he IS Hanzo, one of the coolest (anti-)hero characters ever. The film is full of eccentric characters, and supporting cast is also great. The film, which has a cool, funky score (not quite as funky as in the first, but still), delivers loads of wicked sleaze, stylishly bloody carnage with crafty secret weapons, and a sort of humor that is about as crude and brilliant as it gets. "Razor 2: The Snare" is brilliant Chambara-Sleaze and pure Exploitation-Gold that no lover of Cult-cinema could possibly afford to miss!