The Complete Lady Snowblood (Criterion Collection)

One of the first female stars of Japanese swordplay cinema, Meiko Kaji is "Lady Snowblood" (1973), wandering the countryside of 19th-century Japan seeking revenge on the thieves who raped her mother and killed her family. Based on a popular comic book series, this violent action tale was one of Quentin Tarantino's inspirations for "Kill Bill, Vol. 1." And, captured and condemned to death for her deadly rampage, Kaji is given a chance to escape the hangman by going undercover and recovering incriminating documents from a political subversive, in "Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance" (1974). But things get complicated when she falls for the radicals' leader (future filmmaker Juzo Itami). 186 min. total. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: Japanese Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; featurettes; theatrical trailers. In Japanese with English subtitles.