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Shogun Assassin
List Price: $19.98
Our Price: $12.99
Your Save: $ 6.99 ( 35% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Animeigo
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5

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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Koch International
EAN: 0737187011290
Format: Color
Label: Animeigo
Manufacturer: Animeigo
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Animeigo
Release Date: 2006-07-11
Running Time: 85
Studio: Animeigo
Theatrical Release Date: 1980-11-11

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Editorial Reviews:

In a time of evil and tyranny, a stone-faced ronin wanders the countryside with his young son (and a weapon-filled baby cart), hunted by the merciless minions of an evil Shogun.

Once a noble samurai, he is now the most feared assassin in Japan, known only as Lone Wolf.

Starring the legendary Tomisaburo Wakayama, Shogun Assassin is perhaps the most famous samurai film in the Western world. Created by editing together the first two Kozure Ookami (Lone Wolf & Cub) films, Shogun Assassin has sliced through pop culture much like the Lone Wolf slices through evildoers, influencing everything from GZA's 1995 Liquid Swords album to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2. A quarter-century after its initial release, it remains one of the most deliriously violent and action-packed films of all time!

Now available for the first time in North America, Academy Award-winnning director Robert Houston's legendary epic has been reconstructed for this official release from new digital transfers of the original Lone Wolf & Cub films.

DVD Features:
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen
Dubbed in English

Bonus Material Includes:
Original Theatrical Trailers
Daigoro's History Lesson
Restoration Gallery
Program Notes



Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Non stop action and loads of gore!
Comment: Shogun Assassin is a visual treat of stylish battles and mass killings. The over the top action does an excellent job of covering the simple story and plot. I only wish there was a bit more depth to the characters.

A samurai warrior named Lone Wolf angers a shogun. Together with his very young son, he evades the shoguns deadly forces. The action scenes are the bread and butter. They consist of lots of sword play. The gore is highly exaggerated with spraying streams of blood. The battles are fierce but not overly long. The soundtrack definitly had its moments.

Fans of action and gore are mostly going to appreciate this the most. The transfer is very good. The picture and sound are on point. Pick this up if you're feeling blood thirsty.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Very stylish, surrealistic shogun, samurai mythical tale
Comment: Shogun Assassin (1980) is a remarkable movie that hasn't aged a
single day, since its release, amazingly. Starring ( the late)
Tomisaburo Wakayama, playing a samurai with the intriguing actress
Kayo Matsuo, the action unfolds in a paradoxical mix of tranquility /
love with brutality / horror.

First, Ogami the samurai begins a long trek with his 5 year old son
in a baby carriage, across rivers, forests, crop fields, and deserts
to an unknown destination, showing extraordinary endurance and
determination all that time.

Next, over the course of many miles, Ogami "Lone Wolf" has to defend
himself against wicked platoons sent to finish him off, fighting off
as well, Ninjas, on a mission to kill for which failing is not an
option, under the penalty of Hara Kiri.

The film is very stylish, the music professional, perhaps slightly
overdoing it with the synth numbers reminiscent of "Safety Dance"
from Men Without Hats, back in 1982, apparently using the same brand
music instrument. The presentation is a great wide-screen.

The surrealism of this picture, in some ways in the tradition of
Salvador Dali, is the case, and somewhat reminsicent of "The Passion
of Darkly Noon"- another work that contains frequent, intense horror.
The only difference are the lethal scenes with blood packs going off
as a result of samurai hand to hand combats.

The benefit of a DVD release, is that the viewers won't have to hear
gasps, screams, shock, yelling that otherwise would apply in a public
theatre, such is the graphic nature of the special effects and the
overall "Mad Max" feel to it.

The action is apparently set circa 1300 to 1500, when gun powder
still wasn't widely used, perhaps set even earlier than that, due to
the lack of crossbows and arrows.

The actors chosen are intentionally ethnic Japanese in order to
better represent accurately the microcosm of this story to the
viewers.

The overall impact of this movie, is that it does constitute a dream
of sorts, a superb surrealism taking spectators in another space and
time, with a crystal clear film to DVD transfer. The downside is that
more than 1 viewer may ahbor the graphic combat scenes. The sets are
very credible, admirably chosen from a stylish, appealing aspect.

It should be noted that the work has 3 sequels to it.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: I think Monty Python stole the Black Knight scene from this movie!
Comment: I actually saw this in a theater when it was originally released to the US. It is apparently a kid show from Japan. It is amazingly bloody and violent! But heck, It is hilarious. The guy and his kid in the cart kill people so good they can't even fall down without a shove. Plus, the woman ninjas proving their abilities cuts up a warrior like a vege-matic. This movie is an honest to gosh classic. I am ordering a DVD immediately! Watch it and tell me Monty Python didn't steal (in a nice way)the Black Knight scene in Holy Grail from this movie.

Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: What a travesty
Comment: I must blame myself for not noticing the disk details indicated the only language listed was English, and no sub-titles. If you truly love Japanese cinema you probably watch it with the english sub-titles on and listening to the original Japanese dialog. It's a simple matter of wanting to hear the sound track the original director created, the actors voices, and all the sounds he put there.
This starts out with a American child's voice doing a voice-over that attempts to bridge the massive cuts this American release inflicted on the story.
To painful to watch I stopped it after the first 15 minutes. Now to decide, to chuck it, or donate to the thrift store?

Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Classic movie !!!
Comment: Very good movie from the original Lone Wolf & Cub films...
...a must for Samurai fans !!!
this dvd edition is the best !!


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