Hanzo the Razor: The Snare (1973)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Excellent but underrated film

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Across the centuries in far off Japan, there's a series of films which I must admit I never gave much notice to. Here is one which caught my attention. It's called " The Razor " and are you in for a sober awakening when you see it. It's the story of an usual 'Lawman' assigned to a district in Japan. His name is Hanzo (Shintaro Katsu) or 'The Razor.' Although I learned there are several chapters in the series, this one is called "The Snare." Each segment explains he is a officer, but one has to be careful to apply it to our hero as he administers the law according to his own sense of morality. He is ill tempered with both his superiors and constituency. His boss considers him a loose cannon and is essentially correct as all classes within his jurisdictions are fearful of him. When on a case, few things prevent him from investigating all aspects. The corrupt nobility as well as low life thugs are fair game. The women of his cases have heard of his reputation and fear not only his steel, but also his personal sword as he uses both with incredible dexterity. The rich and powerful decide they cannot buy him, and employ their own reputable Samuri called "The Snake" (Magobei Onishi) to stop his investigation. Now Hanzo will face a skilled sword as dangerous as his. The film, the cast and story may have a long way to go before it measures up to American standards, but while watching it, little of that matters as we follow our hero as he assaults, kidnaps, tortures, kills and rapes his way to justice. A far cry from the usual, but a Classic non-the-less. Not recommended for the squeamish or easily offended. *****

Warning: This is one of the most amazingly adult and disturbing films I have seen in a very long time! Despite it appearing on The Independent Film Channel, the content is far more adult than what you'd normally see on this cable channel. Don't say I didn't warn you!! I am a huge fan of the Zatoichi series, so it's not surprising that I decided to watch the first Hansho the Razor film. However, instead of playing a combination of a ronin (a master-less traveling samurai) and social worker like Zatoichi, here in Goyôkiba, Shintarô Katsu plays a policeman with very, very, very unorthodox methods---very, very, very ADULT and unorthodox methods. I was shocked to see that the nice character he once played was now into sadomasochism and spends much of his time torturing himself and doing amazingly brutal things to his penis in order to turn it into a...well,...a....super-penis, of sorts. If this wasn't disturbing enough, the reason for this (other than the fact he has found a way to masturbate that's MORE disturbing than auto-erotic asphyxiation) is that he uses his super-member to rape women as he questions them about crimes or pumps them for information (no pun intended). And, to play into the age-old rape myth, the ladies being brutalized by this all have immensely pleasurable climaxes and give themselves totally to this sicko cop.Considering how offensive and sick the first film from the series was, it's actually pretty surprising I watched this second installment from the series. I guess part of me wondered if the other Hansho films could be as gross and sick as the first one. Well, while Hansho is still a very sick puppy, he rapes fewer and the film isn't as explicit as the first one. Now this isn't saying much, as it's still a very adult film with themes that should disturb people. Oddly, however, as I read through the comments, people seemed to like that this cop rapes women "who have it coming"! This film has two plots that intersect. The first involves a temple which has been turned into a brothel by a government official. Instead of the usual Shinto nunnery, here the place is filled with ladies who have been drugged and are abused in all sorts of sadistic ways. While Hansho has no jurisdiction here, like Dirty Harry, he jumps right in because of his own sense of justice. However, as this justice involves taking the mistress of the nunnery captive and torturing and then raping her, he's an especially violent guy--far more than Clint Eastwood's character ever could have been. Naturally, however, the lady comes to love and need Hansho because he is apparently such a stud. A great message to tell the audience--torture and rape someone and they'll be your friend for life!!! Later, Hansho is sent to defend a local mint from attack. While this seems like a totally different plot, the government official who sends him is the same one who ran the brothel AND this new assignment also calls for a rape--though the lady who is victimized seemed like she was innocent. Oh well, it's all in the line of duty! While still a sick movie and it's obvious that Shintarô Katsu is getting way too fat for this role (as evidenced by his bloated figure and his wearing the unsexiest underwear in the history of film), it's not as overtly explicit as the original and there is some decent martial arts action. Still, in hindsight I probably should have just changed the channel.

I am a huge Shintaro Katsu fan. He is mostly famous for portraying Zatoichi the blind swordsman in literally dozens of films and television episodes. Katsu is probably one of the greatest actors that ever lived and is absolutely the best action flick icon of all time. Hanzo the Razor is a fairly drastic departure from Zatoichi in many respects. Yeah, both both series of films are Samurai flicks and great ones but the characters and feel is very different. Zatoichi is basically a nice guy...sure hes a gambler, killer, bum, and woman chaser but he actually feels badly after he dices up a horde of bad guys. Hanzo is a lawman...a very dedicated lawman who will literally stop at nothing to do his job. He makes Matt Dillon look like Barney Fife. The Hanzo films are extreme to an outrageous degree. The blood flows like Niagara Falls, Hanzo has no problem torturing folks during interrogations, he does his own autopsies using mostly his fingers, and he his pretty much a rude jerk to everyone he encounters. During the course of this film Hanzo allows himself to be buried alive in order to infiltrate the bad guys' compound, he battles ninjas, hordes of thugs, a satanic witch giving abortions, evil nuns, corrupt government officials, macho samurai, and a gang of gnarly mass murdering thieves.If all else fails....threats, torture, insults, etc. Hanzo rapes any woman who withholds information (including the good ones!!???) It seems that Hanzo's reproductive appendage is so enormous that any female will spill her guts to receive more of Hanzo's "pleasure" torture. Also nicknamed the "razor", our hero is the envy of all the other men in town....not to mention the most feared.If you like Samurai flicks and you want something bloody, lurid, and featuring Shintaro Katsu you can't go wrong here. Not for the squeamish or easily offended...not hardly!!! I liked it but even I must say there were numerous scenes where I found myself thinking....you got to be kidding me...he didn't just do THAT????A real can't miss for fans of Shintaro Katsu or Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman. While Hanzo the Razor is not the friendly blind guy it is fascinating just the same.

This installment of the HANZO trilogy has all the samurai swordplay and rape torture that we've come to expect from our renegade officer - and it's all turned up a notch in THE SNARE...This one starts with Hanzo's attempt to close down a mystical abortion practitioner - and leads to a convent that offers up it's girls for S&M play to the highest bidder. Finally Hanzo's adventures lead him to a mission to bring down a notorious thief, and also a high-ranking and greedy Treasurer who's cutting gold for his own ends.THE SNARE has all the elements that SWORD OF JUSTIC had, it just lays it on a little thicker. More swordplay, more sleazy sex and rape interrogation - basically all the good stuff made a little heavier. Definitely recommended for the series fan, or for anyone who digs martial-arts/samurai/pinky-style films - 8.5/10