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lady STreet Fighter (1981) - Blu-ray Review

5 beers

Fuck the rules of feature filmmaking!  When you are having this much fun, who needs character development?

In the upside down world of cult cinema (where the absolute worst the film, the more it appeals to film freaks) there’s no doubt that Lady Street Fighter is the reigning Queen Supreme.  Who else could lick a telephone’s receiver and turn on a man?  And don’t you dare cross her.  She’s on a mission to kill and it isn’t being dictated from God, Blues Brothers.  This is an assignment of vengeance.

"Co-starring Trace Carradine (but not really, check the lawsuit), Lady Street Fighter builds its dynasty on a dollar-sized budget.  The film is shoddy and hokey and all sorts of fun."


 

Lady Street Fighter is about Linda Allen (Renee Harmon) and her mission to seek revenge upon the bastards that tortured and killed her sister.  The opening few minutes of the film cover this murder.  It is intense.  A woman is stripped and beaten, repeatedly hit until she is a wet and limp mess of flesh.

And then Allen arrives on the scene.  It’s Los Angeles, California and she is all sorts of pissed off.  You wouldn’t know it by seeing her in her blazing outfits, though.  She’s stylized and all sorts of silky smooth.  Off-screen, too.  Harmon's antics – one involving using her husband’s car for a fiery crash and then returning it to him afterwards – prove that she was a passionate (if not unstable and fierce) filmmaker.  Shit gets done around her.

And Lady Street Fighter, with glorious straight-forward scenes of Kung-Fu knocks and kicks, lives again thanks to AGFA’s new 2K scan from the only surviving 35mm theatrical print.  This transfer is legit, giving viewers the best possible look at the film. {googleads}

This is a revenge film so brutal and so hysterically awful at certain points (thanks to the dub and the already awful acting) that one would certainly be forgiven for walking away from any talk about its greatness.  I mean, they couldn't even afford a microphone to bother with recording the dialogue.  Who needs it then?!  Except there's one thing that makes this impossible to shrug off.  This film and its filmmakers, director James Bryan (Don’t Go into the Woods) and his collaborator/star Harmon (Frozen Scream), are so passionate about their film that they damn near burn it and everything in their way right down to the ground in order to make it work.  They made six films together; this one is their best worst film but their partnership is serious.

Co-starring Trace Carradine (but not really, check the lawsuit), Lady Street Fighter builds its dynasty on a dollar-sized budget.  The film is shoddy and hokey and all sorts of fun.  These filmmakers have nothing to lose and everything to gain and, with little room for following a plot or acting, the film is hilariously all over the place.  It bucks when it ought to bend and then, with breaks all over the place, the whole thing comes crashing down due to a forbidden romance between a killer and an FBI Agent.  Oh, lordy. 

lady STreet Fighter (1981) - Blu-ray Review

Throughout its brief running time of 72 crackling minutes, we are teased and taunted.  Sex parties fill the screen.  Characters come into focus only to disappear for long stretches minutes later.  There’s chanting and praising and “Toga! Toga! Toga!” shouts but Allen remains unfazed.  When she isn’t giving oral to a stalk of celery, she’s leaping over the bad men’s heads, karate chopping her way to the top of this bloody heap of limbs and kicked asses.

When Lady Street Fighter has your number, you best pick up the phone and start talking.  OR ELSE!

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lady STreet Fighter (1981) - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
73 mins
Director
: James Bryan
Writer:
Lawrence D. Cohen
Cast:
Jody McCrea, Renee Harmon, Trace Carradine
Genre
: Action | Crime | Comedy
Tagline:
She makes the Good Guys Happy...She makes the Bad Guys Bleed!!! She gives Good Kung Fu!
Memorable Movie Quote: "I owe you this one, Shorty."
Theatrical Distributor:
IFI/Scope III
Official Site:
Release Date:
February 27, 1981
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
August 14, 2018
Synopsis: She makes the bad guys bleed! Written and produced by exploitation demigod Renee Harmon (FROZEN SCREAM) and directed by the legendary James Bryan (DON’T GO IN THE WOODS), this is the story of Linda (Harmon), a tough-as-nails karate cop on the trail of the ruthless scumbags who murdered her twin sister!

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lady STreet Fighter (1981) - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: AGFA
Available on Blu-ray
- August 14, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English
Audio:
English: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

AGFA's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen Blu-ray transfer looks as good as it can.  The film was produced sometime between 1975 and 1981 and, yeah, it shows.  The images aren’t crackling in the least bit, but fans of the movie can’t really complain.  The image is cleaned up and fills in the shadows quite nicely.  Edges aren’t always strong.  That is to be expected, though, as this is filmmaking on a dime.  Also included is the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track, which is nice to have, presenting the music and the wonky, dubbed lines with gusto.  Turns out, the production was so cheap, they couldn’t even afford a microphone to record the dialogue with.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • Talking with the AGFA crew, the entertaining commentary provided by director James Bryan is pretty damn awesome.  Lots of stories and humor throughout.

Special Features:

AGFA provides fans with the 1990 sequel, Revenge of the Lady Street Fighter, which fans will certainly appreciate.       It has been scanned in 2K and is followed by street fighting trailers and a booklet with information about the movie.

  • Revenge of the Lady Street Fighter (1990)
  • Trailers

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lady STreet Fighter (1981) - Blu-ray Review

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