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Lady Snowblood 2 (1974)

Dir: Toshiya Fujita.

The time is the early 1900's...the Japanese/Russian war has come to an end, with victory for Japan. Communism has been cast over for Capitalism.

Lady Snowblood is tired, mentally as well as physically. In a superb opening sequence in a graveyard she calmly walks along, slaughtering would be ambushers...face set. Dead inside.

When ambushed for a third time (in the opening 5 minutes!) she gives up. Throws her sword away and let's herself be captured.
Sentenced to death she is being escorted when suddenly her guards are killed and she is taken to the Head of the Secret Police.
There she is told that an anarchist is plotting the downfall of the Government...will she infiltrate his house and help?
She half-heartedly agrees.
But she learns the truth. The 'anarchist' is an honourable man who has proof that the Secret Police and the Governor worked together to fake an anarchist conspiracy, murdered falsely accused people and thus scared the population into electing them to power.

So she turns on her employers, but all does not go to plan....

 

As stated, the opening is packed with gracefully orchestrated sword fights, but what's missing this time around (until the last 2 fight scenes that is, where things get very bloody again) the comic book blood gushing is absent.
In fact there is an even darker feel (at least in plot, if not so much in Lady, who is pretty much cold in this one) to #2 than #1.
An air of tragedy and doom hangs over everything.
Corruption, poverty, lost dreams and lives are mixed with greed and murder. Fun times this is not!

Although there is more plot development in this one, it never gets boring as the setting (we have the Manga drawings and use of B/W stills to set the tale in it's true historical context again) and the characters, especially Lady Snowblood who seems to have bowed out after just these 2 films sadly, are always captivating.

The violence on show is more realistic in #2. The lack of comic book blood is off set by a very nasty torture sequence, a beating and face slicing and a graphic eye impaling.
The violence is raw and harsh.
Only in the 2 end fight sequences (superbly operatic pieces of craftsmanship) move to the familiar hose pipe blood jets and limb loss, although none is as OTT as the first film. And the guns that made brief appearances in the first film have a bigger part here, heralding in a new era, an era that will eventually swallow up the swordsmanship of even Lady Snowblood.

So...not as good as #1, but still a fine movie with some suitably downbeat plot turns, fascinating history, excellent performances and balletic and at times brutal fight scenes.
And of course Lady Snowblood herself.