Shogun Assassin (1980)

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  June 1, 2011

  fb100000145236770

  Big up to my boy Joe Paul for recommending this to me. I think I may have heard of it, but I had never seen it. This movie is clearly a big influence on a lot of movies and filmmakers. I mean you can clearly see things that "Kill Bill" took from this. From the geyser blood to... read more the revenge themes, it was way ahead of it's time. What impressed me most was that this movie was made in 1980, and isn't dated at all. It holds up very well. The story is universal, the performances are strong. I loved the music and especially the little boys narration. Great watch!

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  April 28, 2011

  fb100001581602053

  It's one of the coolest movies ever made. Bloody amazing.

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  November 18, 2010

  animegirlaya

  The shogun assassin in my books proves to be the best Americanized adaption of anything. Although there's not much of a differences between lone wolf and cub and this. The shogun assassin is just built by using the first 10 minutes of the first movie and then sticking it into the... read more second as well as dubbing and shooting a lot more graphic killing scenes and new music. The film really just works as a Japanese western about the shogun a man killing to avenge the death of his wife. Or otherwise it is an Exploitation film.
  
  Long ago there was a great samurai warrior who served his Shogun honourably. The Shogun however grew paranoid as he became more and more senile. The Shogun sought to destroy all those who might stand to oppose his rule, and so he sent his ninja spies to the samurai's home. The ninjas failed to kill the samurai, but did kill his beloved wife. From then on, the samurai swore on his honour to seek out the Shogun and avenge the death of his love. The samurai roams the countryside with his toddler son taking on mercenary work for money until the final battle with the Shogun's three Masters of Death.
  
  I got to hand it to them they did a much better job then anyone would think for an Americanized adaption. Lone wolf and cub as well as the manga's will still be always the best Japanese's Exploitation westerns ever made.
  
  90% for story like I said it's brilliant for an Americanized version.
  
  80% for acting and dubbing but still all good.
  
  80% for special effects there somewhat better then Lone wolf and cub but there newly shot though.
  
  90% for characters there awesome and amazing the shogun is still my favourite.
  
  80% for everything else. The music in my opinion isn't as good as lone wolf and cub.
  
  All I can say is watch if you can find
  
  Keiko's score 90-100

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  September 29, 2009

  SirPant

  It's a great film if you're feeling lazy but I urge you to watch the Lone Wolf and Cub series instead, as it was intended.

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  August 12, 2009

  deano

  Meticulously re-edited, re-scripted, rescored, and English-dubbed version of the original Baby-Cart at the River Styx: swords enter bodies at the most imaginative angles; a body count is impossible; all records are broken for bloodletting.
  The action scenes are especially... read more well-done, from the one-on-one sword duels to the Wild Bunch-style Ogami Itto vs. everybody battle from start to the end.

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  October 8, 2008

  matertenebraum

  I've seen quite a few hack'n'slash samurai movies, and I've also seen quite a few serious samurai films, but this is hands down the funniest movie ever made concerning sword swinging super men! If you have only heard about this one, then you have no idea what you are missing! The... read more only movie that can match its intensity (action-wise) is the Road Warrior. See this one at all costs! And yes, I am aware of the actual series of "Baby Cart" films, but they are not really as strong as this American Tour-de-force of editing.

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  March 31, 2008

  DrZeek

  Voice of Daigoro: When we're on a mission, I keep count of how many ninja my father kills. He says not to keep count, only to pray for their souls. But if I don't keep count, I don't know how many souls to pray for. So I keep count. So far it's three hundred and forty-two.
  [three... read more ninja women ambush Lone Wolf. He swiftly kills them]
  Voice of Daigoro: Three hundred and forty... five.
  
  This is an awesome samurai film that has been formed from several films originally made in Japan, only to be brought over to America, cut and dubbed to have become a violent classic samurai film for western audiences.
  
  The story surrounds a lone samurai, a ronin, who travels around with his son in a cradle, only to be constantly attacked by warriors enlisted by a shogun who wishes him to be dead.
  
  This lone samurai is known as Lone Wolf and is one of the most skilled samurai who has ever lived of course. His blade easily kills almost any one he crosses, and the cradle his son travels in also functions as a weapons storage.
  
  This movie is about 80 minutes long, and is packed with action. And the action is great. It is very stylized, clearly having influenced later films, namely Kill Bill Vol. 1, with the way the blood splatters all over. This film is also responsible for influencing a wide range of media including the rap group The Wu-Tang Clan.
  
  The whole film is very enjoyable, even the dubbing, which I usually don't like, but here it is perfectly fitting.
  
  Master of Death: [his jugular fatally slashed] Your technique is magnificent. When cut across the neck, a sound like wailing winter winds is heard, they say. I'd always hoped to cut someone like that someday, to hear that sound. But to have it happen to my own neck is ridiculous.

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  January 31, 2008

  skactopus

  Classic samurai film. It is easy to see the influences that this film has on many other films being released years and years later.

  Unlike many other classic kung fu style movies, this film puts more emphasis on the story rather than the martial arts action. That's not to say

  ... read more that this film lacks action. In fact, there is just as much action in here as in many other martial arts films. The Japanese style is just a little different from the Chinese. In this film you get the quick hack and slash battles rather than the long drawn out kung fu fights. While this isn't a huge disappointment, the quick kills just aren't as visually pleasing as a well choreographed kung fu sequence. Of course, people have different tastes, so this style of action may be all you desire.

  The actual plot is pretty simple, but for a movie like this it seems really deep. The narration by the kid is great and the cinematography is quite good. There are only a few parts that are a little boring.

  You may have heard about the banning of this movie. When you watch this, you will known why. This film is not afraid to hold back on anything. You have violence that is still comparable with movies released decades later. Blood shoots out all over the place and body parts are sliced and diced. Heck, this film even has nudity.

  The acting isn't anything special. All I have to say is that it is similar to most other kung fu classics. As far as the characters go, Kayo Matsuo plays a beautiful female ninja and the three storms, I mean masters of death, are entertaining to see.

  If there is a samurai film to see in your lifetime, this should be one to consider. Definitely an influential film.

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  June 26, 2007

  garyX

  This western release is actually two films cobbled together, and has enjoyed notoriety because of it's "video nasty" reputation. There is a lot of blood, but the violence is comparatively cartoon-like (although the scene involving the female assassins proving their worth is rathe... read morer grim!) It has some nice imagery, and there is actually a modicum of sensitivity in the relationship between the samurai and his son but it does suffer from it's schizophrenic roots; some scenes make little sense and the narrative is sporadic. It's good, but I'd much rather see both films individually in their original format.

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  March 3, 2012

  KLFilmmaker

  Nice ultra violent little samurai film.

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• Tomisaburo Wakayama as Lone Wolf
• Masahiro Tomikawa as Daigaro the Son
• Kayo Matsuo as Supreme Ninja
• Shin Kishida as Masters of Death
• Lamont Johnson
• Marshall Erwin Efron
• Sandra Bernhard
• Lennie Weinrib
• Mark Lindsay Chapman

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

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