Plot:
Fresh off his triumph killing a bull barehanded in the aptly titled Karate Bull Fighter, Sonny Chiba returns as a renegade martial artist who runs afoul of the violence-hating head of a fighting academy, then becomes the bodyguard for a mobster, only to turn on his boss. Like all pacifists, the head of the karate school inevitably reveals himself to be a deranged sex fiend who kills one of Chiba's friends during an attempted sexual assault. Chiba gets revenge by seriously injuring the offending teacher, and later befriends the wide-eyed son of an injured drunk. To raise money for the boy's family, Chiba agrees to delve back into the shadowy world of inter-species bloodshed by going one-on-one with a big old bear. Chiba kills the bear with his bare hands, then finishes his mission of vengeance, taking another bold stand against pacifism by killing the fighting academy head's brother.
Key scenes:
The film opens with Chiba putting the smackdown on a bull as rambling narration explains that he was expelled from Japan's Karate Circle, forcing him to seek "the true art of karate by himself," adding, "he was trying to make his fists the world's strongest." When the karate academy head's brother takes over the school, he illustrates just how much its attitude towards violence has changed by beating the crap out of all of his students for no discernible reason beyond blind rage. Also, there's some hot man-on-bear violence.
Can easily be distinguished by:
It's the movie where Sonny Chiba fights a bear.
Sign that it was made in 1977:
Chiba's look during his high-rolling bodyguard days—long sideburns, big sunglasses, a flashy white suit with a matching long coat—can only be described as "Late Elvis."
Timeless message:
Never trust anyone who speaks out against violence.
Memorable quotes:
The goody-two-shoes head of the karate academy self-righteously informs Chiba, "A fight that ends in blood is out of date. Karate is a clean sport to help young men grow up strong."
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