A young man searches for his family and finds himself embroiled in crimes, hijinks, and Sonny Chiba in Roaring Fire. The 1981 film, directed by Norifumi Suzuki, is set for release on Blu-ray in the first wave from Toy Robot, Arrow Video’s new imprint.
In my recent review of Shogun’s Ninja, another Toei martial arts film directed by Norifumi Suzuki and starring Sonny Chiba and Hiroyuki Sanada, I criticized the weird tonal incongruities, which made for a bit of a misfire (but an overall good flick), an oddity. Upon its release, Toei had noted this as well (well, 45 years ago, so beat anyone watching the Arrow disc to the punch by decades) and reconfigured for the next attempt to make Sanada a new start in Asian action-comedy cinema. Roaring Fire was the result. Written by Shinsuke Inoue, Masakazu Shimura, & Norifui Suzuki, Roaring Fire was a far more consistent and straight-up entertaining wild ride.
I mean wild. Roaring Fire is delightfully odd with a sense of high-flying adventure. The sort that runs like “yes, and…” and “you know what would be cool?” and Sonny Chiba responds, “yes, it would, I’ll choreograph it now.” Dozens of ninjas showing up in a graveyard for a hilarious chase that involves a ridiculous series of increasingly large bicycles? A fight in and around a pool with legendary wrestler Abdullah the Butcher, with two brief moments of bewbs? (Of course this moment is when my wife walked into the room.) Adventures with a cute monkey? Fighting on the top of buses? Nazis? A Japanese Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS cosplay? Some random boxer in an underground fight? A blind woman kicking ass? Sonny Chiba sporting a giant mustache as a ventriloquist and magician? All of that and more!
As said in Shogun’s Ninja, Hiroyuki Sanada, known to today’s audiences for John Wick Chapter 4, the new Mortal Kombat movies, Shogun, and so many others, has a purposely Jackie Chan quality, coming out of Chiba’s Japan Action Club. He’s scrappy; the fun in his body movement is heightened for environmental action and comedy, chasing all around Kobe and in Hong Kong. Designed by Chiba and JAC, the action has plenty of wire-fu (with the wires still clearly visible) in the absolutely silly, over-the-top action-comedy extravaganza. Sanada shows a flair for slapstick and quick-paced comedy, clearly enjoying himself, and he plays the dramatic bits very well, just as he does to earn that Emmy for Shotgun and worldwide recognition now (see the special features to hear about his London Shakespeare work, for example).
I have failed ot mention what the plot is up to this point. Working with his dad on a Texas ranch, Joji Hibiki has the farming life. But as his dad dies, he reveals a secret: Joji is not his son! He was stolen from a rich Japanese family, leaving a twin brother and a sister without him. With his pet monkey, he returns to Japan to meet his family. His brother was just murdered by gangsters, but he meets his blind sister and rich uncle, becoming part of the family. Too bad his uncle is a crime lord, setting off a power struggle among various forces. It gets a bit too complicated and involves a lot of running around with weird choices, but the muddle is fine enough to capture all those awesome, energetic moments. This is absolutely a time when I shrug off plot notes. It serves enough.
Raging Fire is ridiculous fun. Directed with energy by Norifumi Suzuki, and with a great lead in Hiroyuki Sanada, and Sonny Chiba hanging about, it’s a wild ride of a martial arts film. As one of the first releases for Toy Robot, the new Arrow imprint, it sets the label’s tone with a splash.
The Packaging
Toy Robot puts Roaring Fire on a single-disc Blu-ray, its first release in the format along with Guyver 2. The disc image is a close-up of Sanada. It fits within a Blu-ray case with 3 poster cards. The clear case shows a double-sided sleeve. The same image appears on both sides, but one is in Japanese, and the other is in English. Toy Robot has a removable Obi-strip with disc information attached.
The Presentation
The disc starts with a series of trailers for other Toy Robot releases this month, namely the tentpole Masters of the Universe 87. The visuals look alright. Not particularly clear, but works well enough. Roaring Fire is the sort where there isn’t a great source, so gotta work with what’s there. In a flurry of action, it sometimes gets fuzzy, but overall it has the look that matches the film’s style: fun, if a bit cheaply made, martial arts film. The audio is available in original Japanese with English subtitles.
The Features
All features are new to this release
Commentary
Brian Bankson gives a very fun talk, bridging from Shogun’s Ninja to Roaring Fire and the continuing shift in Japanese cinema, how it all came together, and the who’s who (which share a lot with Shogun’s Ninja). Listening to both of those commentaries back to back was like déjà vu. Banksos gets into the script’s “yes” and clearly enjoys the film’s wild nature. In English.
Fire-storm!
Japanese film critic Akihiki Ito gets into Sonny Chiba. Of course, with a huge career of international renown, it’s hard to do in 23 minutes, but Ito gives what he can around the time of this film and the Japanese Action Club. Wonderful appreciation. In Japanese.
A Roaring Success
James Mudge of easternkicks.com gives a wonderful, energetic appreciation of the film. (20m)
Wrestling with Fire
Hell yes! Chris Lines, a wrestling critic and film writer, tells us all about Abdullah the Butcher and his wild career (what famous pro-wrestler doesn’t have a great story?) (17m)
A Buffet of Comedy and Action
Critic Clement Rauger, who we just saw on Shogun’s Ninja, adds further fun by digging into the details of the film (or the secrets the packaging claims).A total joy!
In French. (25m)
Final Thoughts
Roaring Fire is a roaring success in action oddity, going big and goofy in the right ways. Hiroyuki Sanada is a great lead and it’s always great to have Sonny Chiba about. For one of its initial titles, Toy Robot does well to set the brand. The features are fantastic and the movie is ajoy.