Lady Snowblood

The vengeful assassin Yuki Kashima is portrayed by the legendary Japanese actress and singer Meiko Kaji. Her haunting performance and striking kimono aesthetics heavily inspired later cinematic works, most notably Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

The story follows a woman named Yuki who is born and raised in a prison cell with the sole purpose of enacting revenge for the brutal murder of her family. Trained extensively in the lethal arts by a harsh priest, she systematically hunts down the four criminals who wronged her parents.

Yes, it is widely known that Quentin Tarantino drew massive inspiration from this 1973 Japanese film when creating his two-part revenge epic, Kill Bill. He directly lifted the visual style of Yuki's white kimono and even used the film's theme song, Shura no Hana, in his soundtrack.

Yes, the film is actually a live-action adaptation of a Japanese manga of the same name written by Kazuo Koike, the famous creator of Lone Wolf and Cub. The manga's serialized, blood-soaked revenge narrative perfectly translated to the gritty action style of 1970s Japanese cinema.