Blu-ray Review: Lady Street Fighter

When I expressed the opinion that Wonder Woman is an absolutely terrible film (which it is), I was accused by one guy I know of being a misogynist. His idea was that the movie was good simply because it was directed by a woman and starred a woman, and thus anyone who disliked it must logically also dislike women. (No, this guy was not the brightest person I’d ever met.) I’m glad women are getting more chances to make films, but that factor alone doesn’t necessarily make the resulting films any good. And, hey, decades before Wonder Woman was released, Renee Harmon was writing, producing and starring in her own films. Films such as Lady Street Fighter, which was recently released on Blu-ray in a new 2K transfer. I would like to hear the guy’s opinion of this one.

When the film opens, we see a woman, shirtless, tied to a table. A man is interrogating her, while another man watches, casually drinking and smoking, as if this woman’s beating were a mild form of entertainment. The woman, by the way, is played by Renee Harmon. Another surprising element is that the music playing isn’t the score, but rather comes from the radio next to the seated man, and at one point he changes the station. It’s creepy that he’s playing music while a woman is being tortured and – perhaps accidentally – killed. Odd too is the question that is put to her: “Where is the dog?” It’s a fairly jolting opening.

We then meet Linda (also played by Renee Harmon), who arrives at the airport, a plush dog visible in her bag. It’s not long before men are trying to kill her too. But Linda, who is the first woman’s twin sister, fights back. Meanwhile, an undercover agent is sent to obtain a secret master file, which is supposedly being smuggled out of the country a little bit at a time. Linda calls the undercover agent, arranges to meet him at a club, but then spies two guys outside the club getting into a car, and decides to follow them instead. And soon she is in a gun fight and then a car chase. The undercover cop, who swears he loves Linda, also vows to kill her. And at one point, Linda notices some strange stitching on the plush dog, so tears it open to find a cassette inside. She plays the cassette, which has a message from her sister in which she says she found a tape inside the dog. It’s a little confusing. Apparently, the sister found a cassette inside a plush toy, took it out, recorded a message for her sister on it, then sewed it back inside. All the while, Liz Renay is doing a strip act, and a few men are chanting “Toga, toga, toga.” There are also a couple of karate fights in this film.

The acting is uneven, the plot is clunky, there is some bad dialogue (lines like “Shut up and talk” and “I want your shoes, I want your feet” had me laughing), and occasionally Renee Harmon looks directly into the camera, but in spite of all that (or perhaps because of all that), the movie is fun. There is some strange humor, like that phone-licking bit, and the guy who is burning to death using his last bit of strength to give Linda the finger. And that is some of the stuff that makes this film worth checking out. It is certainly not the usual fare. And I love the cute girl with the leash, that whole bit during the party scene.

Special Features

This Blu-ray contains a commentary track by director James Bryan, moderated by a guy from the American Genre Film Archive. They start by talking about the actor Trace Carradine being invented for this film. James Bryan says Renee Harmon wrote the script around the actors, who essentially paid to be in the film. He also tells the story of Harmon using and smashing her husband’s car for a scene. They do talk about the timeline, the shooting schedule and release dates. It was shot in March of 1975, and released in 1977 (not 1981, as listed on various sites online). Though I do have to wonder about that, as one extra is wearing a Van Halen T-shirt. What year was that logo seen on the band’s first album created? They also talk about Revenge Of Lady Street Fighter, and how it was originally only released in South Korea.

The Blu-ray also includes a collection of trailers for films like Force: Five, Force Four, Zebra Force, The Muthers and Sister Street Fighter.

But the main special feature is actually a second feature film, Revenge Of Lady Street Fighter. This, of course, is the first chance most of us have had to enjoy this sequel to Lady Street Fighter. At the beginning of the movie, Linda’s niece Wanda (who goes by the name Wendy) is with a man at a diner, and Linda enters, bleeding from a stab wound. She hands Wanda her memoirs, telling her that men are after them. But Wanda herself is soon grabbed and blindfolded, and brought to a secret location where agents begin telling her Linda’s story. And that’s when we begin to get footage from the first movie, giant chunks of it. We even get the film’s opening scene, which is about Linda’s twin sister, not about Linda. One shot from the first film is even used twice in this one. Geez. “It gets boring after a while,” one of the agents says. Indeed. What is the point of this film? And what is this revenge promised in its title? Who knows?

This Blu-ray release also includes a booklet with an essay by Annie Choi titled  “Get Out Of Her Way: The Legacy Of Lady Street Fighter.”

Lady Street Fighter was directed by James Bryan, and was released on Blu-ray on August 14, 2018 through American Genre Film Archive and MVD Visual.