Shogun Assassin

I imagine that many Japanese cinema purists look down on Shogun Assassin, viewing it as bastardised art, the film consisting of the juiciest bits from the first two classic Lone Wolf and Cub films edited together and re-dubbed for the US market. I, however, see the film as a fond reminder of the video nasty era when, against the wishes of the BBFC, I proudly owned an ex-rental, big box VIPCO VHS copy of the movie; it was one of the highlights of my collection, a gloriously violent saga that introduced me to the world of unflappable samurais and arterial spray, for which I will be ever grateful.

Of course these days the censors have seen sense and all of the Lone Wolf and Cub movies are available in their entirety on DVD (pristine prints in their original language with English subtitles, no less); but while it's great to see the movies as the filmmakers intended, I still get a kick out of Shogun Assassin's incongruous American voice-over, grimy 80s synth score and erratic editing, elements that take me back to a time when collecting banned movies was a challenge and the viewing seemed more rewarding as a result. As soon as Daigoro's narration kicks in, I'm back in the darkened bedroom of my youth, revelling in all the stylish blood and violence wreaked by super cool rōnin for hire Ogami Itto (Tomisaburô Wakayama), enjoying the fact that I'm sampling forbidden fruit, and it tastes good.

'Shogun Assassin' is actually re-edited footage from two of the early 1970s Japanese Lone Wolf and Cub movies, dubbed into English. The brains behind this idea were Robert Houston, one of the stars of Wes Craven's horror classic 'The Hills Have Eyes', and David Weisman, the writer/director of the Edie Sedgwick cult classic 'Ciao Manhattan'. On paper this really shouldn't have worked, but it does. It not only "works", it's one of the greatest action movies ever made, and a source of inspiration for both John Carpenter and Quentin Tarantino. I only hope that Tarantino's references to 'Shogun Assassin' in 'Kill Bill' introduce it to a whole new audience. Martial arts veteran Tomisaburo Wakayama plays Ogami Itto, aka "Lone Wolf", a samurai who refuses to serve the evil Shogun. After the murder of his wife he hits the road with his young son, who he pushes along in a souped up baby cart. Lone Wolf has one thing on his mind - vengeance. Along the way many assassins and Ninja try to stop him, but he is a relentless one man killing machine. His journey finally leads him to a confrontation with the three Masters Of Death, who are escorting the Shogun's brother. Lone Wolf is one of the coolest figures in action movie history, and the baby cart gimmick really works, especially as his infant son narrates the story. The frequent fight sequences are exciting and very brutal, and there isn't a dull moment in the whole movie. I can't recommend 'Shogun Assassin' highly enough. For me it stands alongside 'Mad Max', 'The Driver', 'For A Few Dollars More' and (the original version of) 'The Getaway' as one of the most entertaining action movies of all time.

Released today, film fans across the world would be throwing copies of Shogun Assassin onto bonfires because technically, it is 100x worse than the type of 'rip offs' that people keep accusing Tarantino of lately. Essentially, Shogun is the first fifteen minutes or so of Sword of Vengeance followed by the majority of Babycart at the River Styx copy and pasted into an 80 minute film, with the addition of bad dubbing and some seriously cool music. But, as it stands, Shogun Assassin was 'made' in 1980 and did the full trip around grind house theatres so it has gained a cult following. So today it is looked back on as classic hack and slash cinema, as Kill Bill will probably be in twenty years time as much as some purists hate to admit it.

Speaking from my current state of mind I would say screw Shogun Assassin and go for the six Lone Wolf and Cub films. Even as a cure for film geeks lust for blood and guts, Shogun Assassin seems kind of strange. I never really understood why Houston didn't c & p some of the much more epic scenes of carnage from Babycart to Hades or Babycart in Peril. Still, the fight with the Hidari brothers (or 'Masters of Death' as they are known in Shogun) is one of the coolest in all six films. John Carpenter later used the brothers as prototypes for his '3 Storms' in Big Trouble in Little China, but if he was 'homaging' River Styx or Shogun Assassin we will probably never know.

Ultimately, Shogun Assassin works in the same way as Kill Bill, as a gateway to grind house cinema for the masses. How many people realise, respect and take advantage of this is where the problems start. Regarding Kill Bill, thousands of people see the films and see them as original without realising their true purpose. But it is difficult to argue that both films are not taking advantage of underseen cinema.

Alas, three paragraphs and I haven't actually said if the film is any good. The truth is, I will probably never watch it again because there isn't much point if you are into the LW & C films. But I won't have been introduced to 70s Japanese samurai 'grind house' cinema, which I regard as the best action genre there is, if it wasn't for Shogun. So I can't say it is rubbish, and to be fair, if you haven't seen LW & C it is far from crap, showcasing some of the coolest fight scenes ever filmed along with some seriously awesome music (which is the main reason I still have love for Shogun). Of course, the dubbing completely ruins Wakayama's performance and the Yagyu female ninja leader is turned into a useless loose end.

But Shogun's existence is important and a godsend is stopping 70s Jap samurai cinema from falling into nothingness in the west. If you don't know samurai cinema, watch Shogun once and you will turn into a nerd like me and become instantly obsessed with Japanese cinema. I would never know and love a lot of the films I do now if it wasn't for Shogun, and for that I hold it in the highest regard. Well, sort of.

This is not an actual movie but a re-edited version of the first couple of Japanese 'Kozure Ôkami' movies, with English voices added to it. Nevertheless this doesn't prevent Robert Houston from giving himself full credit for directing and writing this.

It's not like I hated watching this but it all also seemed pretty pointless to me at the same time. This version got obviously made to aim more toward the American market but that of course just doesn't give you the right to just take a bunch of movies and edit them into one and cash in on it.

This re-editing of course also takes away a lot out of the movie. The storytelling isn't always anything too great now and scenes often too rapidly follow each other, without making much sense. It's like a re-edited version of only the action sequences. Guess it's good for the pace of the movie but there is a reason why Japanese movies are often such slow moving ones. It takes its time to build up the story and put down its characters. This of course just isn't very much the case with this movie.

But even so, this still remains a good watch, due to it's great source material. It's action sequences especially stand out and it's one of those movies with exaggerated fight sequences and squirting blood. The fans of the genre will still get a kick out of it, though they would of course most likely prefer the original movies. This movie really made me want to watch the originals as well, so I guess this movie is still good for something.

7/10

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This film is not for the faint of heart. It's also not extremely realistic, what with blood spurting in all directions at almost every turn. However, it's not intended to be realistic. It's a fantasy ride. It's intended to be entertaining to those who enjoy film making of this genre, and to serve as a vehicle for a hero. And Lone Wolf is a hero of grand stature with a talent for defending himself and his own. And throughout the film, as he's pursued by hired assassins he defends himself and his child with style and brutal grace. Throughout the film, the glorious examples of extreme bloodshed are observed by his young son who accompanies his father... the son narrates the film in a manner that's almost mesmerizing in its effectiveness as events unfold.

This film has some of the most stylish and expressive swordsmanship you're ever likely to see. And throughout the bloody brutality and edged weaponry action there are some examples of the kindest and most humane exchanges you could ever imagine, particularly between father and son... some profound, some humorous, some just simply ordinary.

This film is hard to find and it's almost never seen on pay cable anymore, although Cinemax used to run it on occasion some years ago. However, it's still around in some video rental stores and on some of the auction sites now and then, so if you spot this film somewhere grab it. It's an amazing way to spend an evening, watching Lone Wolf and child take on the world. I looked a long time before I found my copy in an older video rental store that was going out of business and was selling off tapes. I bought it for four dollars... I'd have paid MUCH more for this obscure little gem of a film that was actually edited together from episodes of a Japanese TV series that aired in the early 1970s.

Watch this film with an open mind and with acceptance. It's a journey into furious bloodletting, subtle glory, and profound dignity.