Lone Wolf And Cub: Sword Of Vengeance

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Kozure Okami: Ko Wo Kashi Udekashi Tsukamatsuru) (1972)

Runtime: 83 minutes

Directed by: Kenji Misumi

Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Fumio Watanabe, Tomoko Mayama, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Asao Uchida

From: Toho

I finally saw this samurai classic again after not having seen it in years. It's still a grand old time. I write all about it below, and note that late tonight I'll have another review: 

On the 8th of this month, I got via Amazon the brand new Criterion Collection release of all six Lone Wolf and Cub movies from the 70's plus the cult favorite Shogun Assassin. I paid less than the 100 dollar MSRP. Amazon screwed up and had a lower price listed and I purchased it at that price; thankfully Amazon honored that price. I'll just say it was even lower than what I would have paid had I purchased it at half price during the twice a year Criterion sale at Barnes & Noble. Yet it took me this long to see a movie from the set. That's me and my quirks.

I had watched this first movie in the series long ago; that and Shogun Assassin are the only movies I've seen before. This entry shows the origins of our anti-hero Ogami Itto, his toddler son Daigoro (w/ very unfortunate haircut), and the wacky wooden baby cart he rides in. He was the official executioner to the Shogun but he is set up by rivals so he is forced to go it alone and be a ronin. Also, we see him get hired to defend a Lord against several rivals. As he is the best with his sword, that is why no one has been able to kill him and in fact, various people are petrified of him.

The Blu does look very good. While it causes some of the special effects to look rather obvious (such as, hanging wires or a hose that is the source of spurting blood), I can look past that and enjoy this over the top journey for what it is. The claret often shoots out with great fury and there's an oddly beautiful moment where you see a body that's just been decapitated do a sort of dance before falling down, all in slow motion and blood spurting out the entire time. It's quality entertainment and it was nicely put together also. You enjoy the artful touches and how the camera moves about as you see all that carnage.


December and the first half of 2017, I should be able to go through the rest of the movies in the set.