Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma

In this, the second in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, ronin Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) and his son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) continue to wander the land as assassins for hire, all the while keeping an eye out for members of the nasty Ragyu clan, who want them dead.

When the wealthy Awa clan approach Itto, offering him 500 gold pieces to kill a man who might be able to ruin them financially, he accepts; in order to complete his mission, he must face many dangers, including a team of vicious female warriors, and the highly skilled Hidari brothers, also known as the Gods of Death.

Baby Cart at the River Styx sees director Kenji Misumi delivering a breathtaking sequel to his excellent Sword of Vengeance. Like a Japanese Sergio Leone, he once again uses extreme close-ups, rapid zooms, sparing use of a haunting soundtrack, and superbly choreographed violence to continue his epic tale of a man and boy on a gore-spattered journey through 'hell'.

From the opening scene in which Itto quickly dispatches of two Yagyu clansmen, through to the stunning climax which sees Lone Wolf and Cub battling the Hidaris in a desert, this film is a stunning and often beautiful display of carnage. Battles take place in complete silence, with the vanquished always taking a second or two before they fall to the ground, blood gushing from their wounds. Daigoro also gets in on the act, activating spring-loaded blades in his cart to slice off the feet of the enemy. Misumi's handling of these scenes is superb, with some great use of innovative and ground-breaking visual techniques (one great fight scene has images superimposed onto each other to give the action a surreal and dreamlike quality).

But it's not all mindless violence. There are occasional moments of tenderness too, with the close bond between father and son displayed in a couple of notable scenes: Ogami gently bathes Daigoro, with one hand on his sword in readiness for trouble; and Daigoro nurses his injured father back to health, trading his jacket for food.

My only gripe with Baby Cart at the River Styx is that the film is often very dark, and it was extremely hard to see what was going on, particularly during the many night scenes. Whilst this may be due to my DVD being a bad transfer, it did affect my enjoyment of the film (I had to re-watch the gory dismemberment of one unfortunate shinobi at the hands of the female ninjas with my TV's brightness and contrast whacked right up), which is why I give it slightly less than Sword of Vengeance—7.5/10 (although I have to round my rating up to 8 for IMDb, which technically puts it on a par with the first one).

I thought the first movie was extremely grim. This one had a more thoughtful approach. I like that Lone Wolf confronted the sword woman five times. It was interesting that each confrontation was different, and that he spared her life. She was sworn to kill him but respected him, and had compassion for his son, when she could have tried to kill the boy. There were nuances as to their code of honor, their obligations, and their personal morality.

There were a couple of funny moments relating to the little boy and his participation in the various battles. The use of the boy for some humor was a plus.

The fighting scenes were mostly good, but not as good as the Zatoichi movies which I love and have seen them all. The bloody effects were pretty bad in some scenes, as the injured (killed) samurai sometimes started bleeding many seconds after they were stabbed or sliced. In one scene, Lone Wolf impales two guys at the same time. One of them immediately starts spraying lots of blood from his wound. The other guy gets a trickle of blood dripping out. It would have been more impressive if the double-impalement lead to double sprays of blood.

Several heads were sliced open, and the last one looked like a venus flytrap popping open, and there were no brains, eyes, or other material visible, it looked totally silly. Then a single spray of blood shot straight up into the air from the middle of the head. Laughable and really bad special effects.

Otherwise, the film was pretty good. It had a lot of action, some good story lines, and some humor.

Disgraced former executioner Ogami Ittō continues his brooding storm through the Japanese countryside, his three-year-old son Daigoro along for the ride in a booby-trapped carriage. Now some distance into their march to vengeance, the pair have drawn so much notoriety that they risk ambush and assassination at every turn. It's not paranoia, either: Ogami dispenses with blade-wielding enemies at nearly every chapter break, downing at least two-dozen men and women before the film is through. The opportunity isn't abused. In true poppy '70s samurai fashion, each challenger (or cluster of challengers) wears a distinct identity and a unique fighting style, like a colorful garden of deadly blossoms. They all bleed day-glo red, though, often in a towering arc of spray that paints landscape and fallen comrade alike. In Baby Cart at the River Styx, for the first time, we see vulnerability from the master swordsman and a little headstrong personality from his young child. We also see uncertainty from a prominent rival, another first, and restraint in the midst of a bloodlust. Some of the fighting is a little awkward, and the formula is threatening to wear thin, but overall this represents a wonderfully stylish, entertaining continuation of the journey that was so well-established in the first film. An excellent genre-definer.

I can hardly find the right words to adequately praise the brilliance of "Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma" aka. "Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx". The "Kozure Ôkami" cycle is, simply put, THE greatest samurai saga ever brought to screen, and this second entry to the cycle is (along with the fifth) arguably the most brilliant of all six films. Director Kenji Misumi outdoes himself once again with this masterpiece, and the great Tomisaburo Wakayama is again incomparably brilliant in the role of his life as Ogami Itto. The lone Wolf Ogami Itto returns with his only son Daigoro, on their journey on the 'path to hell'. His expertise is once again put to the touch, as he is both hired as an assassin, and has a whole group of assassins set on himself by the despised Yagyu clan...

The entire "Kozure Ôkami" cycle ranks high among my personal all-time favorites, and "Baby Cart At The River Styx" is my personal favorite of them all, for a variety of reasons. The enemies Ogami Itto has to compete with are one of these reasons. The Lone Wolf and his son have to stand up against a group of female ninjas lead by Yagyu Sayaka (Kayo Matsuo) as well as three assassin brothers called the 'Masters of Death'. The fighting sequences and stylish bloodshed are among the most awesome ever brought to screen, the film is absolutely stunning from the very beginning, the atmosphere is incomparable, and the score is ingenious as in the first film. Ogami Itto's son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) has grown a bit, and learned to talk (but hardly ever does), since the first film. Daigoro is, as far as I am concerned arguably the greatest child-character ever in a film. The father-son relationship of Ogami Itto and Daigoro is one of the great aspects of the 'Ôkami' films, and makes these ultra-violent Chambara-highlights heart-warming at times. Daigoro's role has become more active in this second entry to the series, and he even actively engages in some of the crafty tricks in his father's fights. Tomisaburo Wakayama is again brilliant in the lead and the rest of the performances are also great, especially Kayo Matsuo is excellent as ninja-lady Sayaka, and so are the three 'Masters Of Death'.

"Lone Wolf And Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx" is pure perfection in every aspect. The performances and characters, the incomparable atmosphere and locations, the brilliant score and photography, the stunning swordplay,... there is not one single aspect about this film that is not brilliant. I have seen too many films to come up with a list of all-time favorites, but if I ever was to make such a list, this second entry to the brilliant 'Okami' series would definitely be in the top 10! An incomparably brilliant masterpiece of blood-soaked swordplay-cinema, "Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma" is essential for every true lover of film! 10/10!

Another winner in the BABY CART series (but honestly, I can't find too much fault in any of the films in this set of "classic" films...) and personally my favorite single entry...

This one has the Lone Wolf and his Cub still enjoying the "misadventures" of samurai-for-hire, and of course their quest for vengeance against the Yagyu clan that initially betrayed them. Some intriguing enemies in this one includes a band of female ninjas and the "Gods Of Death". There is also the requisite side story of Itto's "hit of the day"...

This one has some pretty fast-and-furious fight scenes and is probably the most action packed of the series. Again, like the other entries, good acting, great sets and costumes, beautiful camera-work, and the almost magical but extremely unorthodox "chemistry" between father and son are not to be missed. Highly Recommended 9/10