MY REVIEW OF 'HANZO THE RAZOR: SWORD OF JUSTICE'

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HANZO THE RAZOR: SWORD OF JUSTICE(1972)
(Directed by Kenji Misumi)

Plot: Hanzo, a law enforcer in feudal Japan whose known for his extreme methods of interrogation, investigates what appears to be corruption in the Government. But what is it? Also known as "Goyokiba".

Review:

Wow, just wow...Just when I think I've seen it all, then comes this strange little samurai flick. Imagine "Dirty Harry" meets "Shaft" meets a samurai flick meets a soft-core porno. I mean, this guy uses sexual torture for interrogation. He just rapes them(with his massive "sword") and threatens to stop, causing them to beg him to keep on going and he does until they spill the beans. What the hell? I guess this should be a warning to you. This movie can be quite offensive. Jeez, I shouldn't have been that surprised. You have Shintaro Katsu as the star(AKA "Zatoichi"), Kenji Misumi as the director(He did most of the "Lone Wolf and Cub" movies) as well as being adapted from a Kazuo Koike manga(of the "Lone Wolf and Cub"/"Lady Snowblood manga)....Yes, you're bound to have something entirely messed up here.

Hanzo, like I said, is about as cool as Shaft yet as intense as Harry Callaghan. We first see him in a cool little scene of him walking, spliced in with a Japanese map. It's difficult to explain, but it is pretty awesome. He walks all coolly to music that also reminds us of "Shaft". I almost expected to hear "He's one bad mother fu-" "Shut your mouth!" in the background. We see he's a law official whose disgusted at how his superiors take bribes and are corrupt in general. He detests the samurai system and lets everyone around him know it. This is especially obvious with Onishi, his direct superior, who constantly bicker with one another.

One day, Hanzo comes across a vagrant who offers some information on an escaped convict known as "Kambe the Killer". Hanzo feigns killing the man and learns that Kambe's investigation was rushed and that it appears someone was protecting him. But why is he in Edo? That's what Hanzo wants to know so he tracts down Kambe's lover and uses sex as a torture. He gives in, begging him to keep on screwing her, and tells him what she knows. What follows is more investigating that I won't get into.

My main problem with "Sword of Justice" is the ending. The plot suddenly turns on its head and we feel nothing has been resolved. The actual ending is pretty well tacked on, with no relevance to the plot whatsoever. To be fair, I think I misunderstood the intent. I believe the story was supposed to truly be about Hanzo's relationship with the justice system, and that the actual plot is simply a device for that. You'd expect the movie to be about Hanzo solving the mystery, but it's not really that. Still, the loose ends feel like they need to be resolved. It's a bold structure, but I'm not sure if I like that.

Furthermore, if you want a chance at liking this movie, you cannot take this seriously. I mean, come on, Hanzo rapes women and they like it. Obviously rape is not like that. A more accurate description of rape is in "Red to Kill", or even "Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades". Rape is a terrible, terrible thing and I'm not sure if I approve of treating it in a jokingly way. But then again, murder is a terrible thing too and I don't get offended when murder is treated in a parodic or absurd way. Also, this movie can cause some of the same issues that "Dirty Harry" did upon its release. Here, the cops do whatever the hell they want without worrying about the rights of criminals. Luckily, this movie takes place in a different time, so it's more in a historical context. Still, know what you're getting into before watching this so you want be offended.

With that said, I think I really did like the movie. Kenji Misumi, an interesting director who seems to constantly make movies that I review, probably is at his most interesting here. The entire "map background" sequences are amazing, and the use of editing to splice in Hanzo is impressive. He is at his most playful and bold, showing the POV of Hanzo's penis as well as the insides of the female genitalia. The movie is actually very stylish and it occasionally dabbles in atmosphere. While the fight scenes are few, they are quite impressive and the pacing is quite strong. This is definitely one of his stronger efforts.

Shintaro Katsu is also at his most interesting in bringing this character to life. He's the complete opposite of Ichi. Ichi is blind while Hanzo burrows his eyes into you. Ichi is playful in his speech while Hanzo is direct and forceful. Ichi uses a sword while Hanzo seems to prefer his Sai or brass knuckles. Ichi is shy when it comes to women while Hanzo is the complete ladies man. While he rapes, Hanzo tells us that cops aren't much different than criminals. I'm not sure if it was social commentary, but we never really find ourselves disliking him. His relationship with the flawed justice system also shows his own flaws. He might see things that aren't really there. In many ways, he's like Rorschach from "Watchmen", except he's sane and likes women. I joked around earlier that the sword of justice is actually Hanzo's penis. I said that as a joke, but the more I think about it, that's probably the case. Hanzo doesn't really use a sword, so....

Shintaro Katsu(Hanzo) completely escapes his Ichi typecast with this role. He's intense, charming and completely enigmatic. Ko Nishimura(Onishi) has wonderful chemistry with Katsu as the magistrate. What I also liked about him is that he isn't one dimensional. Notice at when the baddies bribe him, he refuses their reward? He only caves in when they threaten him. The rest of the cast does fine, but for a sexploitation movie, the women weren't attractive enough. They are all decent looking, but never really that hot.

"Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice" is hard for me to dislike because it's very bold and creative. I loved Misumi's wacky direction, the funky score, and Katsu's unique performance. With that said, the ending is a bit daunting and a lot of people won't appreciate the content. But still, this is probably one of the strangest samurai flicks you'll ever see.

Violence: R worthy. Some parts are actually more graphic than "Lone Wolf and Cub: In Peril", which was the most grueling of that series. Easily one of the more violent movies of its type.

Nudity: I think there are 2 pairs of breasts and the rest is left to our imagination. Even Hanzo's penis, which is almost like a character in of itself, is never explicitely shown(there is a shadow of it though). Still, it's often under the context of an erotic rape scene, so.....

Overall: I shouldn't like "Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice". Hanzo is a fascist, raping bastard who accuses other people of hypocrisy while abusing his power himself. The worst part about it is that he's completely glorified in it all and his raping is closer to seducing. Yet I like it anyway, I guess making it a real guilty pleasure. It's all so crazy and absurd that it's hard to take seriously, yet it's experimental film techniques make it almost admirable. Watch at your own risk.

3/4 Stars

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