Japan's deadliest hit woman is sent to shut down the mob-run black market in human organs and winds up the reluctant bodyguard to the government's chief witness, the sneering mistress of the head man. The Zero Woman formula is closely followed: gratuitous nudity, soft-core sex scenes, and brutal violence abound. In the precredits kickoff, a mad doctor maniacally cackles while fondling the organs of a dissected corpse until Zero puts a stop to the party games, executing the doctor and his gun-toting associates with cold efficiency. She's less enthusiastic about her babysitting assignment, but true to formula her icy heart is melted by her flirty female charge and they engage in steamy female bonding. Such bliss is short lived for the doomed-to-loneliness Zero Woman, however, as a corrupt politician and the kinky, cross-dressing mob boss plot to remove the witness. Long, lean, sphinxlike Chieko Shiratori makes a fine Zero Woman in this installment. She moves more like a model than a warrior, but her cool intensity gives her the façade of impersonal professionalism. This quirky low-budget video series has never been a bastion of high style or meaningful drama-it's downright cheap, often clumsy, and utterly exploitative-but the sleek austerity, nihilistic edge, and world-weary cynicism continues to contribute to the fascinating mythology with each succeeding chapter. -Sean Axmaker.

This underrated 1964 film directed by Martin Ritt (Sounder, Norma Rae) features Paul Newman in a story influenced by the classic multiple-perspective film Rashomon, with an American spin. Newman (The Hustler, Hud) plays a Mexican bandit in the Old West accused of raping a frontier woman (Claire Bloom), but conflicting stories from the bandit, the woman, her husband, and others soon complicate matters and make finding the truth elusive. Newman has fun with his daring, over-the-top portrayal, and Ritt's socially conscious streak is in evidence here as he investigates whether the truth is left up to whoever defines it. The Outrage is a chance both to see a terrific cast of classic actors and yet another prime example of the influence of great international films. -Robert Lane.

The 1970s were difficult years for the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Following the box-office failure of his 1970 film Dodes'ka-den and an unsuccessful suicide attempt, Kurosawa was unable to find financial backing in Japan, and he made his acclaimed 1975 film Dersu Uzala in Siberia with Russian financing. With only partial Japanese backing for his epic project Kagemusha, the 70-year-old master then found American support from George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, who served as coexecutive producers (through 20th Century Fox) for this magnificent 1980 production-to that date the most expensive film in Japanese history. Set in the late 16th century, Kagemusha centers on the Takeda clan, one of three warlord clans battling for control of Japan at the end of the feudal period. When Lord Shingen (Tatsuya Nakadai), head of the Takeda clan, is mortally wounded in battle and near death, he orders that his death be kept secret and that his "kagemusha"-or "shadow warrior"-take his place for a period of three years to prevent clan disruption and enemy takeover. The identical double is a petty thief (also played by Nakadai) spared from execution due to his uncanny resemblance to Lord Shingen-but his true identity cannot prevent the tides of fate from rising over the Takeda clan in a climactic scene of battlefield devastation. Through stunning visuals and meticulous attention to every physical and stylistic detail, Kurosawa made a film that restored his status as Japan's greatest filmmaker, and the success of Kagemusha enabled the director to make his 1985 masterpiece, Ran. -Jeff Shannon.

Best known for making movies about men and violence, director Walter Hill scored a misfire with this ambitious but ultimately dreary remake of Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic Yojimbo. The story's essentially the same but the setting has been switched to a dusty, almost ghostly Texas town in the 1930s, where two rival Chicago gangs are locked in an uneasy truce. Bruce Willis plays the lone drifter who allies himself with both gangs to his own advantage, working both sides against each other according to his own hidden agenda. The violence escalates to a bloody climax, of course, with Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, and Michael Imperioli as trigger-happy lieutenants in a lonely, desolate war. Fans of gangster movies will want to see this, and, if nothing else, Hill has brought his polished style to a vaguely mythic story. It's far from being a classic, however, and although its action is at times masterfully choreographed, the movie's humorless attitude is unexpectedly oppressive. -Jeff Shannon.

True to its Sega video-game roots, this futuristic 60-minute movie includes a lot of yelling, crashing, and exploding on the way to saving the world. Sonic and his sidekicks are determined to thwart a plan that would turn their Land of the Sky into the equivalent of The Land of Darkness, which lurks beneath the surface (and is obviously the former planet Earth). So they plow through to the center of the planet and the ancient city of Robotropolis (the former New York City?) to do righteous battle. The big question of the day is whether the usually evil Dr.  Robotnik is telling the truth for once or sending the good guys into a trap. The tape's producers suggest viewers be at least 7 years old because of its violence, but the rudimentary nature of the animation will probably make it appealing only to hard-core action fans among the older-kid crowd. -Kimberly Heinrichs.

This 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa is more than a classic: it's a cinematic archetype that has served as a template for many a film since. (Its most direct influence was on a Western remake, The Outrage, starring Paul Newman and directed by Martin Ritt. ) In essence, the facts surrounding a rape and murder are told from four different and contradictory points of view, suggesting the nature of truth is something less than absolute. The cast, headed by Kurosawa's favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune, is superb. -Tom Keogh.

Although best known for his samurai classics, Japanese master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa proved himself equally adept at contemporary dramas and thrillers, and 1962's High and Low offers a powerful showcase for Kurosawa's versatile skill. The great Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy industrialist who has just raised a large sum of money to execute his planned takeover of a successful shoe manufacturer. Fate intervenes when he receives a phone call informing him that his son has been kidnapped, and by unfortunate coincidence the ransom demand is nearly equivalent to the amount Mifune has raised for his corporate coup. A philosophical dilemma emerges when it is revealed that the executive's son is safe, and that it is actually his chauffeur's son who has been taken. What follows is both a tense detective thriller, as the police attempt to track down the kidnapper, and a compelling illustration of class division in Japan-the "high and low" of the title. Far be it from Kurosawa to make a mere thriller, however; this loose adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King's Ransom provides the director with ample opportunity to develop a visual strategy that perfectly enhances the story's sociological themes. The Criterion Collection DVD of this extraordinary film is presented in the original "Tohoscope" aspect ratio of 2. 35:1. -Jeff Shannon.

Mika and Rin don't have anything in common. Except they're dynamite to look at. For instance, Mika fires a huge Magnum. Rin prefers a smaller gun. Mika's looking for the perfect man. To Rin, perfect means breathing. But when the Japanese government learns that a former convict might flee the country with perfect counterfeiting film for US $100 dollar bills, Mika and Rin get the case. They may get off on the wrong foot, but these ladies don't pussyfoot around. Justice has never been this tempting.

A statue of The Virgin has been stolen, and the girls of Police Branch 82 are on the case! When the thief offers them a cut of the ten million to join him, their response is rather pointed - like a knife in the back. Then again, their methods usually lack a certain subtlety. Shooting through a maze of civilians isn't exactly a maxim of law-enforcement handbooks. Neither is their combination of high heels and hair triggers, but as long as they keep the sizzle in their stakeouts, no one will question their results. Handcuffs aren't just for justice anymore.