THE STREET FIGHTER (1974) – Long before the Street Fighter video games there was this ultra-violent cult film from Japan starring the one and only Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba. Long before Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky and Romeo Must Die, this 1970s grindhouse actioner featured an “x-ray vision” scene of the damage being done to a villain’s skull and brain by a powerful blow from the star.
Sonny Chiba had been a television and movie star in Japan for decades by this point, starring in everything from serious action films to kid-friendly ventures like Invasion of the Neptune Men and The Golden Bat. The Street Fighter, titled Clash! Killer Fist in Japan made Chiba an international sensation.
The iconic Chinese superstar Bruce Lee had passed away by this point, and Japan’s Sonny Chiba was hailed as Lee’s true successor in martial arts cinema, albeit with karate, judo and other skills that differed from Lee’s. There is a degree of truth to such claims, but Sonny was a much darker, grittier figure even if he DOES make the same kind of noises that Bruce made.
The Street Fighter is notorious as the first U.S. film to be tagged with an X-Rating based purely on violence. Chiba’s character Takuma “Terry” Tsurugi is a brooding, bitter man of half-Japanese and half-Chinese background, and he grew up as an outcast due to such a mixed heritage. Hell, he was even imprisoned in an Imperial Japanese concentration camp as a child.
A lifetime of fighting in the streets of Japan has molded Terry into a legendarily hardened and ruthless man who is now a high-priced mercenary badass for hire. He’s not quite a “hero” since this film doesn’t have any, he’s just the main character like Michael Corleone in the Godfather movies.
The Street Fighter begins with Tsurugi being hired to bust out a Japanese gangster before his scheduled execution. Posing as a Buddhist Priest who’s come to the prison to comfort the condemned criminal before revealing his kickass abilities, Terry accomplishes this mission with backup from his lackey/ live-in servant Ratnose. Continue reading
ASSORTED OVERSEAS READERS HAVE REQUESTED CLARIFICATION OF THE NEW YORK CITY “FRAUD” NONSENSE. It doesn’t matter if you like or hate Donald Trump, you have got to be alarmed at the ongoing courtroom travesties that he is being subjected to. 
Rather than recycle the long list of outrageous claims against Trump let me just point out the most blatantly hypocritical one. Remember all the pressure on Trump to reveal years’ worth of tax returns? He did so and NOTHING BAD WAS FOUND! Yet, no other American politicians were called upon to similarly reveal their tax returns even though the overwhelming majority of people in Congress become literal millionaires during their time in office. Why target just one man? Again, because he’s an outsider and not a “made man” in the white-collar criminal fraternity of elected Democrats and Republicans. 
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) – Lon Chaney Senior’s makeup and performance as the title character were envelope-pushing for 1925 audiences. To me this is the ULTIMATE silent horror film. It may sound odd, but in my opinion this movie is the very best cinematic adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel. 
Balladeer’s Blog remains the only site on the web that equally criticizes both elected Democrats and elected Republicans, depending on which party has been committing greater offenses at the moment.
RIPLEY and the other humans in the Alien films are American VOTERS. As we struggle to survive in this dangerous setting we need to stand together against the common threats. And that applies whether a voter considers themselves Independent or Democrat or Republican. Political labels have become meaningless for US as the Neo-Feudalists view all of us as peasants and cannon fodder, anyway. 
Halloween Season is underway here at Balladeer’s Blog! This time around I have so many new readers that I’ll start out with this look at some VERY old horror stories that are basically Halloween versions of the Ancient Science Fiction reviews I write. 
CONCORDIA CONQUERS DIVISION TWO – The NAIA’s CONCORDIA (MI) UNIVERSITY CARDINALS traveled to face the upper-level WAYNE STATE WARRIORS from NCAA Division Two. The Cardinals joined so many other NAIA teams who toppled D2 teams this year in a 24-23 Instant Classic.
HILLSDALE AT HOME – NCAA Division Two’s storied HILLSDALE COLLEGE CHARGERS played host to the NORTHWOOD UNIVERSITY TIMBER WOLVES. The Chargers proved their determination to right this disappointing season, leading the Timber Wolves 17-7 at Halftime before winning it in a 40-18 blowout. 
DOWN GOES NUMBER TEN – Staying in D2 for a moment, the MISSOURI WESTERN STATE GRIFFONS welcomed the number 10 team in the nation – the EMPORIA STATE HORNETS. This was a tale of two Halves, as the Griffons led 24-6 by the midpoint, but then had to hold on by their fingertips to pull off the Upset 34-31. 
ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #58 (February 1976)
Synopsis: Dr. Fate, Flash, Hawkman, Robin, Wildcat, Green Lantern and Dr. Mid-Nite are joined by the Justice Society’s newest members – Power Girl, Earth-Two’s equivalent of Supergirl, and 
AGZCEAZIGULS – Pronounced “Agzceaziguls”, this was a fictional country between Chile and Bolivia. 
I repeat, this grotesque judge UNILATERALLY IMPOSED THIS JUDGMENT WITHOUT ANY TRIAL, JURY OR VERDICT. America’s cesspool of political corruption has stopped caring about even the pretense of legality. More 
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