Once more Arrow Video brings out a quality edition of a classic Sonny Chiba film for fans of the actor and Japanese cinema to enjoy. This time around Chiba stars in the title role as the Wolf Guy, the last in line of a family of werewolves who now works as a detective who stumbles into a strange occurrence in the big city.It seems that victims of a mysterious killer end up running down the street screaming about a tiger chasing them. With no one visible they end up ripped to shreds by what appears to be just that, a tiger. Chiba chances upon a victim and begins to look into the case, trying to solve the murders and prevent any more from happening.As the case progresses Chiba finds that there is more going on here than expected. Corrupt government officials, a murdered singer and a plot to capture him to discover the source of his powers by a secret government organization all come into play at one time or another. It should be noted before you check this movie out that Chiba never turns full werewolf like we are used to. Instead as the moon changes his powers of perception and strength increase instead.The film may lose something in translation but that doesn't prevent it from being a fun movie to watch. I've said before that one of the great things about foreign films on disc is that you have the chance to witness the world of cinema through the eyes of another culture. That remains true with this release. That doesn't make it bad but it does help to understand why things are done the way they are.Based on the Manga of the same name, the film has developed a cult following over the years. Unfortunately for fans they've never had a great experience with it since most copies haven't been what many would consider worthwhile. Arrow Video has changed all that with this release, offering a two disc set that includes both the DVD and blu-ray editions of the film. Finally fans can own a copy that allows them to see it in all of its glory.Arrow has also piled on the extras here for fans like they always seem to do. Included this time are a new interview with actor Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba, an interview with director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, a new interview with producer Tatsu Yoshida, a reversible sleeve with new artwork by Wes Benscoter and for the first pressing only an illustrated collector's booklet. All of this make this version the one to have on hand for fans of Japanese cinema, Sonny Chiba and those looking for something different.

Wolf Guy (1975) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Sonny Chiba plays a detective who also happens to be the last member of a family of werewolves. On the force he uses his wolf senses to help solve crimes but the latest group of murders he's trying to solve won't be easy. People are screaming into a madness talking about a "tiger" when the next thing you know their bodies are being ripped apart. It's up to Chiba to try and figure out exactly what's going on.WOLF GUY is a film that pretty much came out of nowhere to me. I'm a fan of Arrow Video so when they announced it most people were scratching their heads as to what it was. If you're looking for downright bizarre and surreal movies then you've got exactly that with this thing. It's part horror movie, part gangster film, part crime, part sci-fi and just about every other genre out there. You've even got long running stretches where the plot deals with syphilis as if this was one of those nutty sexploitation movies from the era! There's a lot going on here but sadly the film runs out of gas before it's over but more on that in a bit. There's still plenty of great stuff on display here so recommending the film is easy. For starters, you get some outrageous and over-the-top gore scenes here that will have any gore hound screaming in joy. The scenes of the bodies being ripped apart and blood spewing everywhere certainly would have gotten the film a X-rating had it been released in America. If you thought Chiba's THE STREET FIGHTER was violence you ain't seen nothing' yet! Of course, Chiba is martial arts master so there are a great number of scenes where he has to battle a variety of men. The stunts are well-done and there's no doubt that they add some extra entertainment value. The film also offers up a lot of nudity and some bizarre sex story lines. As you can tell, WOLF GUY is pretty wild on all exploitation levels. With that said, the film's third act does run out of steam and there's a great stretch of running time where the violence stops. It's really too bad they didn't keep up the pulp level but at the same time there's no question that the film deserves to be better known.

Sonny Chiba plays the only survivor of a clan of werewolves who relies on his feral, full-moon-activated superpowers to solve mysterious crimes. One night, a bizarre and bloody death in the Tokyo streets plunges him into a far-reaching conspiracy populated by crooked politicians, naked women, an invisible phantom tiger, and a shadowy organization known as the J-CIA.Steve Kopian writes, "If you look up WTF in the dictionary, one of the top five definitions will be this film." He is not wrong. While this may not be one of he five most bizarre movies out there, it certainly makes every attempt. And if "weird" isn't your thing, there are also copious explosions and a great deal of gun play and squibs in the later scenes, evincing a definite Sam Peckinpah influence. So, there's that.As author Bryan Senn points out, even though the title is "Wolf Guy", one of the strange things is that Chiba never actually becomes a wolf at all. He has his strength fluctuate based on the lunar cycle, and at its peak he can deflect bullets or even reverse the effects of being disemboweled. But at no point does he howl or even grow the slightest bit of hair.If one person can be blamed for this bizarre mash-up, it must be writer Fumio Kônami (1933–2012). By this point in his career, he had already made a name for himself with "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion" (1972) and "New Battles Without Honor and Humanity" (1974), both of which are available in the United States thank to Arrow Video. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi's first impression upon being given the story was actually, "Is this worth making a movie out of?" Luckily someone said yes.On top of all the awesome visuals, there is an unbelievably funky score that I need to have. As noted in other reviews, it would be great is Arrow (and others) would more frequently add a bonus music disc to their Blu releases. We need more love for the soundtracks, too.For decades the film was presumed lost, and remains tragically little known. Thankfully, Arrow Video has brought it out of the depths and on to Blu-ray. They also give us new video interviews with actor Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba (14 minutes), director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi (10 minutes), and producer Toru Yoshida (17 minutes).

This film is completely demented. It starts with great flourish, violence, gore and excitement with only a hint of just how over the top it will become. There is a semblance of story at the beginning, however, strange and there is a mystery for us to work out and much extreme violence to deal with. As the film progresses, though, it begins to get a little bit silly and gradually story and suspense give way to increasingly stupid and facile action which would not have been out of place in a comic. So stylish at the start it is a crime that in the end bombs are being tossed about in some disused quarry.