The Series (4/5 - Avg)

    I have wanted the Street Fighter and Sister Street Fighter series' on Blu-ray since Blu-ray began. The Street Fighter sequence starring Sonny Chiba will make its U.S. Blu-ray bow next month via Shout! Factory, however, this month it is Arrow's turn to shine with their new and fantastic Sister Street Fighter Collection release. The collection contains the 3 official films in the Sister Street Fighter saga Sister Street Fighter, Sister Street Fighter - Hanging by a Thread, and Return of the Sister Street Fighter. It also contains the similar, Sister Street Fighter - Fifth Level Fist.    That film takes series star Etsuko Shiomi and puts her in a similar template to the prior 3 films, but gives her a new character to play.

    The Sister Street Fighter films basically follow a basic outline. In the first film Shiomi plays Li Koryu whose brother is an agent looking to bust up some drug syndicates in Hong Kong. He is kidnapped, and she goes on the search for him. The second film Hanging by a Thread sees Shiomi again playing Koryu, however, this time she is for a friend who has gotten involved with a jewel smuggling ring, who smuggles precious jewels in the asses of women, and then surgically remove them.

    The third film Return of the Sister Street Fighter sees Koryu searching for another acquaintance who has been forced into slavery by gold smugglers. This film sees her hunt and kick the ass of those involved. However, in this one Koryu ends up fighting in a marital arts tournament to get at the person who has done the kidnapping.  The fourth film in the collection Sister Street Fighter - Fifth Level Fist sees Shiomi return, but this time as Kiku Nakakawa, who again seeks out revenge against smugglers who have done her wrong.

    The Sister Street Fighter is a perfect example of 70's Japanese Grindhouse Martial Arts films. All 4 of these films are pretty solid.  The first film is a classic in its own right and sees Shiomi pairing up with the Street Fighter himself, Sonny Chiba in a pairing that certainly had and has martial arts die-hards cheering. The rest of the films offer the same action packed thrills, but I found myself partial to the third film (Return...), which features excellent action, in a tightly paced package.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    Arrow Video presents the Sister Street Fighter series in a set of 2:35:1 1080p AVC encoded transfers. For those of us who are used to public domain transfers of these films, this set is almost a revelation. The films retain a very natural film like texture with stable colors and excellent detail. 

    Audio is handled by a Japanese mono track across the 4 films and another LPCM mono track in English for the original dub of Sister Street Fighter.   The tracks here sound quite solid without any apparent issues.

Extras (3.5/5)

    There are interviews with series co-star Sonny Chiba, director Kazuhiko Yamagushi, and screenwriter  Masohiro Kakefuda. An original English R-Rated version of the original film. Isolated score, trailers, and more.

Overall

    The Sister Street Fighter series is a long overdue Blu-ray release that contains 4 excellent  action packed martial arts films from the genres golden period. The Blu-ray from Arrow looks and sounds amazing, with a solid extras slate. This release comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.