Lone Wolf And Cub: Baby Cart At The River Styx

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (Kozure Okami: Sanzu No Kawa No Ubaguruma) (1972)

Runtime: 81 minutes

Directed by: Kenji Misumi

Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Akiji Kobayashi, Minoru Oki, Shin Kishida

From: Toho

It was about darn time I got back to watching the Lone Wolf and Cub movies. This is pretty awesome, as I explain below: 

Last fall I purchased the Lone Wolf & Cub Criterion set from Amazon and because of a mistake on their part-to their credit they honored that price even after it was fixed to what it should be-I got it in a great deal. I saw the first movie last December and it's just now that I am getting around to seeing the second. The other four and Shogun Assassin, I won't go months between seeing them, I guarantee.

The plot is simple enough: ronin Ogami Itto still is carrying around his toddler son (w/ unfortunate haircut) in a wooden baby cart (or baby buggy if you're reading this in some parts of Europe), and he still has various people after him. This time he has to deal with female assassins-who early on show they are a worthy challenge to Itto-while trying to complete a job where he has to kill a turncoat who will sell the critical secret of a clan that makes indigo dye. The villains don't just use swords but also have some over the top weaponry.

Those that know the cult classic Shogun Assassin, much of the movie is taken from this film; thus, you should know how awesome it is. Plenty of claret is spilled as often you see blood spraying out of just-deceased bodies. There are plenty of action scenes where Itto mows down people and it's all a gas seeing that graphic violence and a bucketful of badass moments. That, a cool score from Eiken Sakurai and some arty moments meant this was a treat from start to finish.

There is a moment about 2/3 in where it turns into Hanzo the Razor for a few minutes, as Itto forces himself on a woman and it's entirely uncomfortable; what the scene is all about is not what you'd expect, although it still may make some want to hit the button to speed up the movie past that moment, and I wouldn't fault anyone for doing so. Even then, I can rate this chanbara classic quite highly as it's awesome for those that love the genre.