Lone Wolf & Cub: White Heaven in Hell

Lone Wolf & Cub: White Heaven in Hell (Kozure Okami: Jigoku E Ikuzo! Daigoro) (1974)

Runtime: 83 minutes

Directed by: Yoshiyuki Kuroda

Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi, Goro Mutsumi, Daigo Kusano

From: Toho

I FINALLY watched all the films in the franchise box set that Criterion released back in 2016. That is the six movies Toho made plus the awesome American edit known as Shogun Assassin. To copy and paste what I wrote during the review for the fifth movie back in late 2023:

“Back in ’16 I purchased the Criterion set that was a new release at the time from Amazon because they made a mistake and listed it for I believe 40 bucks when it should have been 100. I jumped on that and thankfully they honored that price, which was fixed by the time the set was received. Slowly, the first four movies plus Shogun Assassin were reviewed; for no good reason, the last two films never got watched. I really enjoyed all of them, so about darn time, right?”

Well, there was a further delay but now they’ve all been reviewed and sometime next week a list will be posted of all those reviews; most were written when I had far fewer followers than I do now. This finale is solely devoted to the conflict in the first film: Ogami Itto has final standoffs against the Yagyu Clan, i.e. the SOB’s that murdered his wife. For those unaware, the series has Itto as a samurai badass who wanders feudal Japan w/ his baby (then toddler) son Daigoro in a wooden baby cart which I’ll say is pimped out as it features a multitude of weapons.

The final film isn’t my favorite in the franchise. There’s supernatural nonsense involving people who can burrow through the ground-the climatic final showdown is absurd, although at least unforgettable due to its snowy backdrop and the unexpected detail that there’d be dozens of foes skiing. There’s also some horror elements that at least felt fresh, along with other interesting locations beside the snowy landscape.

Otherwise, White Heaven in Hell was largely what I expected, including the visceral violence where people are stuck in the top of the head with daggers and more than once, blood literally sprays out of a body. The pacing wasn’t the quickest in the franchise, but alas. At least there’s a nice score that at times is rather funky; good on you, Kunihiko Murai.

That purchase of the box set was a wise one; it has and will be used as something to put on for background noise or to see specific bloodletting. The second (Baby Cart at the River Styx) is the best but all are well worth seeing.