The American Genre Film Archive continues their mission to bring unseen curios to home video
The American Genre Film Archive, along with their like minded friends at Something Weird and Bleeding Skull, have been opening up their vaults and putting out some incredible fare over the past few months. Their latest is a trashy romp that showcases a memorable leading lady on a journey through James Bryan’s trippy contribution to ‘80s action cinema. This is Lady Street Fighter.
Synopsis:
She makes the bad guys bleed! Written and produced by exploitation demigod Renee Harmon (FROZEN SCREAM) and directed by the legendary James Bryan (DON’T GO IN THE WOODS), this is the story of Linda (Harmon), a tough-as-nails karate cop on the trail of the ruthless scumbags who murdered her twin sister!
From the outrageous fight scenes to Harmon’s incredible outfits, LADY STREET FIGHTER is a joyous blast of no-holds-barred chaos from one of the most important female filmmakers in genre history. Don’t miss the special appearance by Trace Carradine, the most elusive Carradine brother of all!
“Renee Harmon will now be finally recognized as the low budget genius-in-the-rough that she always was,” said LADY STREET FIGHTER director James Bryan. “Her great day has arrived!”
German actress Renee Harmon takes the lead as Linda Allen, a woman out for revenge after her sister’s death. As an undercover agent investigating a mysterious tape connected to the murder, she gets thrown into a ring of corruption involving other agents, a group of assassins, and a underground crime ring. She also finds time to become embroiled in an affair, as well as fit in interludes of fighting…in the street. While the plot sounds fairly familiar, the end product is anything but. A disjointed script and structure fragments the tale, with pieces put together nonsensically at times and scenes that just run on. Things are usually played straight but occasionally venture into accidental spoof territory. Whether you’ll find this awful or fascinating is down to your own personal tastes. Amidst all this is a fairly solid action romp, with scenes tackled with gusto and a nice variety of fight sequences that give the film a little impetus.
Harmon is a presence for sure. Her action sequences are pretty admirable, but is an awkward lead, with a thick accent and clumsy delivery in her non-native tongue, and a seriously misguided attempt to make celery sexy. Harmon also wrote and produced the picture, and one of the strongest aspects of this release is how it puts her overall contributions into context, rather than just what you see on screen. Together with collaborator/director James Bryan, Lady Street Fighter feels a great little time-capsule into ‘70s LA. It’s a lo-fi exploitation film, strongest when it embraces action, infused with a palatable sense of sleaze.
The Package
As mentioned in previous AGFA reviews, their aim isn’t to overly process and alter the films they release, but to clean up and preserve a sense of authenticity from the source. This new digital transfer is a 2K scan of the only 35mm theatrical print in existence that just happened to be in the possession of the American Genre Film Archive. The Blu-ray transfer has variable quality throughout its runtime; at its best, the film shows good detail with an authentic grain and color palette, at worst the the coloration leans toward blue, darker scenes lose some definition, and some damage to the print is still evident in scratches, breaks, etc. For genre fans, it’s a fitting presentation for the film. Special features are:
- Commentary track with director James Bryan and the AGFA team: Director Bryan has built up quite the catalogue of genre fare and along with the AGFA folks discusses his past features as well as the film at hand. Nice amount of banter and context provided, as well as infectious enthusiasm for film in general.
- Street fightin’ trailers from the AGFA vaults: Collection of kickass trailers, quite a blast to sit through.
- Liner notes by Annie Choi of Bleeding Skull: A very enjoyable read. A piece that puts Harmon and Bryan’s enthusiasm for, and place within, the genre into better perspective.
- Bonus Movie: REVENGE OF LADY STREET FIGHTER (1990), the unreleased sequel to LADY STREET FIGHTER — preserved in 2K from the original 35mm camera negative: The direct sequel to the main feature, and one that is built on a huge amount of recycled footage from it’s forebear. It makes even less sense, if you’re into that sort of thing, but AGFA’s continued inclusion of a “partner film” or B-side to the release is always appreciated.
- Reversible cover art: Original poster art, or a new images, the choice is yours!
The Bottom Line
Lady Street Fighter is certainly an acquired taste. When the action is flowing, it’s a sleazy action romp. When the narrative kicks in, the film becomes a disjointed, befuddling affair, but there’s certainly enough weirdness to help you along the way. As with previous releases, AGFA shows an applaudable reverence for the film at hand and backs it up with an admirable transfer and a fine assortment of supporting materials.
Lady Street Fighter is available on Blu-ray from August 14th, 2018.
About AGFA
The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Austin, Texas. AGFA exists to preserve the legacy of genre movies through collection, conservation, and distribution. Formed in 2009, AGFA focuses on outlaw exploitation movies that were produced from the 1960s through the 2000s. From manic hicksploitation epics to bloodthirsty shoestring goreblasts, each title in AGFA’s collection is a celebration of culture that should never be forgotten. Housing over six thousand 35mm film prints and trailers, our non-profit archive counts among its board members and advisors Alamo Drafthouse founders Tim and Karrie League, filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson, Anna Biller, Frank Henenlotter, and Nicolas Winding Refn, musician RZA, exploitation film savior Lisa Petrucci, and genre film superheroes Zack Carlson, Kier-La Janisse, and Lars Nilsen.
