15 Most Underrated Samurai Films Of All Time
8. Lady Snowblood: Blizzard From The Netherworld (1973)
An arterial-spurting B-Movie based on a manga series of the same name, Toshiya Fujita’s Lady Snowblood has since become a cherished cinematic gem. It tells the story of Yuki’s (Meiko Kaji) bloody tale of vengeance as she seeks out those responsible for murdering her father and assaulting her mother, who conceived Yuki while in prison.
After years of intense training, Yuki is ready to become the angel of wrath she was born to be, dispatching her targets in an elegantly bloody fashion.
Of course, this Criterion classic has also made its mark on contemporary cinema. It was a major influence for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, which contained numerous visual nods to the violent samurai flick. It even features a song performed by Snowblood’s Meiko Kaji.
And if you can’t get enough of Snowblood, there's also a sequel subtitled Love Song of Vengeance, which was also released in 1973.