"Actor: Sonny CHIBA"

• Shogun's Samurai | DVD | (23/04/2007) from £8.08   |  Saving you £-0.09 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Directed by veteran Japanese filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku (Tora! Tora! Tora! Battle Royale) and starring one of the greatest martial arts stars Sonny Chiba (Kill Bill: Volume I Street Fighter) Shogun's Samurai is an all out action epic tale of loyalty and betrayal political intrigue battles and spectacular sword fights in true Japanese style. It's Imperial Japan 1624 the current Shogun General Hidetada has died under mysterious circumstances leaving the succession in doubt - his eldest son Lemestsu (Hiroki Matsukata) should succeed but he is disfigured and stammers. His younger brother Tadanaga (Teruhiko Saigo) seems better suited to the role and had the backing of his father before his untimely death as well as most of the powerful lords. A war between the two brothers soon erupts both recruiting not only government officials but also anybody who is looking for one last fight. Meanwhile the Emperor and his courtiers plot behind the scenes to exploit the chaos and return to power and it soon becomes clear that in a winner takes all struggle for power there are no heroes and villains only winners and losers.

• Sonny Chiba Collection - Vol. 2 | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Three great films from the Japanese king of hardboiled ass-kicking Sonny Chiba! Timeslip (aka G.I. Samurai) (1979): A Japanese Army unit is mysteriously transported 400 years back in time to the warring states period of Japanese history and ends up facing an army of Samurai warriors... Golgo 13 (1973): Sonny Chiba stars as the underworld's no.1 hitman in this hardboiled action-packed adaptation of Japan's all-time bestselling manga... The Bullet Train (1975):

• The Bullet Train | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A madman (Ken Takakura) plants a bomb on one of Japan's prestigioss Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Hakata the Hikari 109. Threatening to blow it up unless his demands are met if the train slows below 80km/h it will be destroyed. While the police try to track down the culprit it's up to a heroic train conductor (Sonny Chiba) to find the bomb and disarm it in time... Pre-dating ""Speed"" (and its Korean homage ""Tube"") by almost two decades ""Bullet Train"" is gripping edge of

• Legend Of The Eight Samurai | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A princess whose clan is destroyed by an army of phantom warriors bands together with eight masterless samurai to defeat the ghostly swordsmen. Along the way they learn that a powerful witch is in command of the ghosts and it is she that must be defeated in order to enact their brutal but necessary vengeance... Inspired by the epic 1814 Japanese novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden' by Takizawa Bakin this movie sees 1980s super-producer Hiroyuki Kadokawa and legendary director Kinji Fuku

• The Killing Machine | DVD | (29/08/2005) from £5.38   |  Saving you £7.61 (141.45%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Sonny Chiba stars as real life master Doshin So originator of Shorinji Kenpo who comes to the aid of orphans and a young girl forced into prostitution in post-war Japan. However corrupt authorities are unwilling to allow him to open a martial arts school and the stage is set for a bloody showdown... Regarded by action aficionados as ranking alongside the very finest films cult martial arts hero Sonny Chiba produced during his 70s heyday ""The Killing Machine"" features some of the

• G.I. Samurai | DVD | (21/03/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A Japanese Army unit somehow warps itself 400 years back in time and ends up facing an army of Samurai warriors. Time to send in Sonny Chiba!

• The Resurrection Of The Golden Wolf | DVD | (20/06/2005) from £9.70   |  Saving you £-3.71 (-61.90%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Asakura (Matsuda) is a mild-mannered accountant by day a ruthless killer and thief by night. He rips off millions from a bank only to discover that all the bills are marked. Looking for a way to launder the money Asakura begins a deadly game of seduction blackmail and murder... A classic of Japanese action cinema!

• Sure Death Revenge | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £9.98   |  Saving you £8.00 (114.45%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A gang of wild samurai start terrorising the local peasants and Mondo Nakamura and his band of assassins must team up with eccentric top spinning avenger Bunshichi (Sonny Chiba) to stop them. But the samurai are only the start of the corruption that may lead all the way to the Shogun himself!

• Golgo 13 | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £6.46   |  Saving you £6.53 (50.30%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Sonny Chiba stars as the underworld's no.1 hitman Golgo 13 who is hired to kill a drugs kingpin in Hong Kong. Plans go awry when a competing assassin beats him to the punch and Golgo finds himself hunted by a legion of cold-blooded killers and a vigilant cop Detective Smith (Callan Leung) who will stop at nothing to get his man and bring down the crime syndicate... Chiba protege Etsuko Shihomi (Sister Streetfighter) co-stars as a feisty undercover cop who goes head to head wi

• Yakuza Deka | DVD | (29/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Japanese action superstar Sonny Chiba stars in this exciting and explosive action thriller the first of a series of rarely seen cult gangster classics. Chiba plays undercover cop Hayata who infiltrates two rival Yakuza gangs with the intention of busting their illegal drug operations. He pits one against the other slowly gaining the confidence of both gang bosses. But the operation takes a turn for the worse when Hayata's cover is blown and he's forced to battle both gangs at the

• The Assassin | DVD | (29/08/2005) from £15.24   |  Saving you £0.74 (6.04%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The second entry in the action-packed ""Yakuza Cop"" series veteran director Yukio Noda's The Assassin is a brilliant and irreverent serio-comic action showcase for legendary martial arts hero and Tarantino favourite Sonny Chiba. An undercover cop and respected karate expert Chiba's Hayata is battling to bring to justice the members of two gun-happy Japanese gangs. Posing as a criminal Hayata is hired as a hitman and uses his disguise to bring both sets of criminals to justi

• KILL BILL BD DOUBLEPACK PLAY.COM | Blu Ray | (03/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Kill Bill (2004): Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! In part 1 of Quentin Tarantino's delirious revenge movie Uma Thurman plays 'The Bride', a woman seeking vengeance on those who massacred her wedding party... Inspired by countless Japanese swordplay actionfests (the classic Lady Snowblood among them), yakuza gangster thrillers (offering a cameo opportunity to genre icon Sonny Chiba) and Chinese martial arts movies (hence the knowing appearance of Jackie Chan contemporar...

• The Triple Cross | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Triple Cross is a Japanese crime thriller that follows the bloody aftermath of a heist. Three robbers are double-crossed by new accomplice, Kazuya Kimura, and Kenichi Hagiwara takes the Lee Marvin Point Blank road, tracking him down amid escalating carnage and spectacular car chases. The film is littered with homages to crime classics, from the outlaw lovers of A Bout de Souffle to Hagiwara sporting a nose plaster in recognition of Jack Nicholson's Chinatown. Sonny Chiba is wasted in a supporting role but, given that the movie is being promoted as Reservoir Dogs-meets-John Woo, it's worth noting that Chiba is among Quentin Tarantino's favourite actors and stars in his forthcoming Kill Bill (2003). The Triple Cross (the American title Double Cross is far more accurate) is a well-crafted collection of gangster clichés, but suffers from a very uncertain tone, being pitched uneasily between serious crime drama and tongue-in-cheek comic-book action. Released following the success of director Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (2000) this film from 1992 nonetheless anticipates many of the themes and attitudes of post-Tarantino crime cinema with remarkable prescience. Those who prefer their cinema to recognise civilised values or any sense of morality best look elsewhere. On the DVD: The Triple Cross disc has a 1.78:1 anamorphically enhanced transfer that is slightly soft in many shots, while the night-time scenes, filmed with very high contrast, are overly dark and lack detail in the shadows. The film was released theatrically in Dolby Stereo and though the packaging states 2.0 Dolby Digital the reality is very flat and dull Dolby Prologic mono. Explosions are squibs and gunshots lifeless. For a 1992 action movie the result is lamentable, but at least the subtitles are clear and free of the howlers that plague many comparable Hong Kong films. The DVD also features the original Japanese trailer and eight additional trailers for films on the Tokyo Bullet label. There is a gallery reproducing the original promotional stills, and well-written and reasonably extensive biographies and/or filmographies for five of the cast. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Street Fighter Trilogy Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (24/03/2025) from £24.38   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A