Adapted from the action manga by Ikki Kajiwara, the Bodyguard Kiba movies were another series in a long line which were starring vehicles for arguably the most charismatic actor on Japan at the time, one Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba. Having made a steady stream of movies since 1959 for TOEI, working with directors such as Kinji Fukasaku and Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (who would later direct the Sister Street Fighter movies ), it was time for Sonny Chiba to make his first step into a fully fledged martial arts feature.
Having already earned his black belt in Kyokushin Karate in 1965 this seemed like a natural progression for him to make in terms of the type of picture he was making at the time, hi-octane b-Features that leaned towards the sleazier side of cinema, teetering on the edge of Pinky Violence movies, but never quite taking it over that threshold. Bodyguard Kiba changed that and a direct correlation from these two titles to the series that would solidify his legendary status even to this day, The Street Fighter movies.
Having already worked with Director Ryuichi Takamori on such movies as Yakuza Deka and Yakuza Wolf, both Bodyguard Kiba movies would be released in 1973, shooting back to back and only being linked by the actors, even though the majority were playing different roles in each title. And also trying to entice the local audience by adopting a more Hollywood influence, Bodyguard Kiba shows a darker, grittier side to Sonny Chiba, one that would define him for the rest of his career.
At this juncture it is worth pointing out that included on the first disc is the US cut of the first Bodyguard Kiba movie, just called The Bodyguard, which contains the infamous “Ezekiel 25:17” scroll at the start of the movie, something that obviously left an impression on one Quentin Tarantino.
Each film plays to Sonny Chiba’s strengths, the first a more righteous character out to fulfil his duty and protect the one that has hired him, even if they become morally bankrupt themselves, whereas the follow up shows a character in the throws of desperation as someone recently released from prison desperately seeking to work, even if it means working for “the bad “.
Sonny Chiba shines through every scene, oozing cool and menace everywhere he goes. The guys want to be him and the ladies want to be with him, and who can blame them, because he has it all. And that’s the thing with these movies, they aren’t great art, but they don’t have to be, because when you have such a characteristic lead, everything else becomes secondary. This may also be seen as a detriment due to the lack of in depth story and character, everything geared towards shifting Kiba from one action scene to the next, bad guys being bad because they are bad and ladies swooning because they can’t contain themselves around him, but this is no different to what a franchise like James Bond would become when Roger Moore took over the licence to kill with Live and Let Die.
Eureka Entertainment once again present a plethora of treats, ranging from interviews and trailers, all wrapped in a wonderful 1080p print. If you’ve seen any of the previous Eureka Entertainment Sonny Chiba releases and enjoyed them, then this won’t present anything new, but this isn’t a bad thing, it’s never a bad thing when it comes to Sonny Chiba.
Bodyguard Kiba 1 & 2 is out now on Eureka Blu-Ray
