![]() ![]() It’s also the version that introduced most Americans to the series. Shogun Assassin – This is the 1980, English-language edit of the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films.Trailers for each film are also included on the discs with the films. Since the films all run 89 minutes or less, that’s not a problem. ![]() The six films are presented on the first two discs of the set, with three on each disc. ![]() (By the way, Misumi directed the first Zatoichi film.) There’s only so many times an audience can see one man defeat an army of hundreds, after all. White Heaven In Hell is an appropriate ending to the series, but it’s clear that Kuroda is no Misumi. Thankfully the series was short, because by the time the sixth film rolled around, it was clear that it had run its course. Tomikawa’s wide-eyed wonder is as important to the series’ success as Wakayama’s performance. He’s a full character himself – he even gets a sad song when he gets separated from his father in one film. Daigoro is not just an accessory for Itto to carry around. When he cuts people in half, the top half of the body sllooooooBut alongside the violence, there is a great father-son story in the Lone Wolf and Cub films. Itto not only kills people with his sword, but with a Gatling gun in the baby cart. The films also find new ways to kill people and shows complete disregard for the laws of physics. How could anyone forget the topless, tattooed female assassin in Baby Cart in Peril? Or the trio of assassins who each have a different weapon Itto faces in River Styx? Plus, unlike the random town bosses that Zatoichi fights, Itto gets to face progressively more interesting and unforgettable adversaries. Koike, who wrote the first five films, clearly didn’t want to put audiences through the same format in each movie. Itto and his son show character development over time, and the stories are linked to each other. Unlike the Zatochi movies, which can get very repetitive over time, the Lone Wolf and Cub movies have to be seen in sequence. Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell.Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons.Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx.The films were also produced by Wakayama’s brother, the famous Shintaro Katsu, who also played Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman.īack in November 2016, Criterion released all six Lone Wold And Cub films in one, three-disc Blu-Ray box set. The first three films and the fifth were directed by Kenji Misumi, while Buichi Saito helmed the fourth and Yoshiyuki Kuroda directed the sixth. In the span of just three years – from 1972 to 1974 – Tomisaburō Wakayama brought Itto Ogami to life in six films, along with Akihiro Tomikawa as Daigoro. Art by Paul Pope for the Criterion Collection ![]() He uses his mastery of the sword technique Suio-ryu and his ingenious baby cart to kill his targets and enemies. But in the meantime, he takes up the job of assassin-for-hire, insisting that his clients divulge every secret about his target. Itto Ogami and his son, Daigoro, are on the Demon Path in Hell after the Yagyu clan kills his wife and he’s out for bloodthirsty revenge. The best father-son stories don’t usually involve mass murder, but the Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima legendary manga series Lone Wolf and Cub is just that. ![]()
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