Why hasn’t The Street Fighter (1974) gotten a decent DVD/Blu-Ray release yet? You would have thought that after Sonny Chiba’s appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill that some entrepreneurial DVD company would have gotten the rights and put out a special edition DVD to coincide with that two-part film’s release. But so far, no dice. A quick check of Amazon.com and Yesasia suggests that two of the budget-priced versions I own are out of print, save a pretty good one that’s bundled with The Return of the Street Fighter and listed for the low, low price of $3.95!

As with Swordsman (1990), The Street Fighter was one of the earliest reviews I wrote for this site, and I think the style (or lack thereof) probably shows. What the review lacks in serious critical examination of cinematic technique, it more than makes up for in unbridled enthusiasm and largely tongue-in-cheek attempts at humor. If you’ve never seen The Street Fighter, please do yourself a favor and check it out for yourself. It’s not that hard to get a hold of the flick, and it makes for a fun evening’s viewing with the right crowd. Sometimes, watching “cult classics” that you’ve always heard about, but never watched doesn’t always pan out the way you’d hope, but, for me, The Street Fighter is definitely a rewarding Grindhouse experience — lots of laughs, lots of flinching at violent acts, a rockin’ soundtrack, and plenty of WTF? moments. I’m not even kidding when I say you will see things in The Street Fighter that you’ve NEVER seen in an action movie before.

Check out my old LoveHKFilm.com review here, if you’re interested. Here’s a trailer to whet your appetite: