Shogun Assassin

I loved this movie but I couldn't even begin to explain why. On paper it is terrible. The movie is made with bits of footage from other movies. It's dubbed. The story line is basic and irrelevant to why I like the movie. Not a great start and yet, once I started watching it, I couldn't stop.

I used to listen to Wu Tang CDs when I was a kid and the Genius GZA album Liquid swords borrows a bunch of lines from this movie. I always thought they were cool but I didn't know they came from this movie.

The part that is hard to explain, is that my wife, who doesn't like martial arts flicks or gore, also liked this movie.

This isn't the kind of movie that you see by accident on TV. You'll probably have to buy it on DVD to see it. I waited for it to be on Netflix but eventually gave up and ordered a copy for $10.

I'm glad I did. This movie inspired other movie makers and despite its age, it is very cool from start to finish. I promise you won't get bored. People talk about how the footage from taken from other movies but it is the new sound track that is added that makes it special and deserving of being judged as a movie in its own right.

It ends very suddenly and I wasn't 100% satisfied with where they left it but in general, its and entertaining experience that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to movie fans. In a world where it is hard to find something different, sometimes you have to look to the past to find something new.