Lady Snowblood

“Always colorful, here Fujita’s scenes of beautifully composed bloodshed appear positively Sirkian.” –Katie Rife, A.V. Club

Gory revenge is raised to the level of visual poetry in Toshiya Fujita’s stunning Lady Snowblood. A major inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga, this endlessly inventive film, set in late nineteenth-century Japan, charts the single-minded path of vengeance taken by a young woman, Yuki (Meiko Kaji), whose parents were the unfortunate victims of a gang of brutal criminals.

Yuki exhibits samurai traits, but she stands out because she is a woman. “Female warriors were uncommon in Japanese cinema in 1973, and absolutely unheard of during the Meiji period, when women in Japan had no voting privileges or official political power,” writes Russ Fisher of IndieWire. Fujita creates a wildly entertaining action film of remarkable craft, an effortless balancing act between beauty and violence.

After Hours is the best films you never saw on the big screen (or maybe you did) from late-night cult classics to foreign favorites and even summer blockbusters on weekends. Please note that unclaimed pre-ordered tickets will be sold to the rush line 30 mins after showtime.

Check out the rest of our After Hours program!