Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

I've always wanted to read these manga, so to find out that there is *six* Lone Wolf and Cub movies was an amazing find!

This first live action movie tells their backstory and how they ended up wandering Japan as Lone Wolf and Cub. Sure, its a hokey '70s style movie with blood shooting 7 feet into the air, but the story is solid, and the action fun to watch. I'm thrilled I found all six to watch, so I can get my samurai mode on! 7/10.

Sword of Vengeance is the first film in a series about a noble samurai and his son fallen from grace through a conspiracy, and now under a constant fear of death by assassination. This movie by itself is a fine example of how a more modern, 'slasher' style Samurai film and 'old' values like honor and '1-good-Samurai-defeats-army-of-bad-Samurai' can be put together to make a solid, entertaining film. The later films are sometimes better, sometimes worse than this movie, but I found all of them to be very entertaining and worthwhile.

If you like to see some classic Samurai action, check out the whole serie of six films. Years later they took all the juicy bits out of the first four films and stitched them together to form the film 'Shogun Assassin', a film I suspect made for export to western countries: Less story, more blood.

My knowledge in Japanese samurai films is a bit narrow, but I'll take the chance to draw a parallelism between east and west cinema that could sound blasphemous or stupid to somebody who knows more about it. But I suppose, if westerns had John Ford as a traditionalist filmmaker and Sergio Leone as a revolutioner who shattered that sanitized and mythic image and made it dirty and unheroic, I could apply that same logic to samurai films of Akira Kurosawa and then to what Kenji Misumi accomplished in this first chapter. I guess that shallow explanation could serve a newcomer to picture what kind of brilliant and bloody action film they'll find here. also judging from the bloody fight scenes its clear where Tarantino got his influence for his Kill Bill films.

Like many fans, my first exposure to the world of badass warrior Ogami Itto (and son) was through Shogun Assassin, an infamous 'video nasty' that was compiled from the 'best bits' of the first two movies in the Baby Cart series, 'Sword Of Vengeance' & 'Baby Cart At The River Styx. A stylish blood-drenched epic, Shogun Assassin piqued my interest enough to make me seek out the entire Baby Cart series (comprising of six films, made between 1972 and 1974).

Sword of Vengeance introduces us to protagonist Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama), whose job, as Second for the Shogunate, is to execute the enemies of the Shogun, should they fail to commit seppuku (ritual suicide). After his wife is murdered, Itto is framed for treason by the nasty Yagyu clan (who wish to take his coveted position as Second). Now a Ronin—a samurai without a master— he takes to the road working as an assassin for hire, accompanied by his young son Daigoro, who rides in a booby-trapped wooden cart. Together, they are known as Lone Wolf and Cub.

With superbly choreographed fight scenes, wonderful cinematography, a terrific soundtrack, and a great central performance from Wakayama, this is an unmissable piece of samurai cinema. Itto is the Japanese equivalent of Clint Eastwood's 'man with no name': a cool-headed, tough-as-nails, and honourable character who is sparing with his words, and who only acts with violence when necessary (but always with devastating results).

A lethal force with his sword (and also with the variety of weapons secreted about Daigoro's cart), Itto cuts a swathe through all who are stupid enough to challenge him. A quick flash of his blade, and his enemies are either minus a limb or two, or spouting a geyser of blood from a fatal wound.

Sword of Vengeance is a prime example of cool, gritty and stylish 70s cult cinema. Watch it, and be cool by association.

Tomisaburo Wakayama is Lone Wolf and Akihiro Tomikawa is Cub, his three-year-old son. Together they wander around Japan, the youngster in a baby carriage with a sign noting that child and expertise are for hire. It turns out, via a long flashback, that he used to be the executioner for the Shogun. Then the evil Yagyu seized that office and he was supposed to kill himself. So he went rogue and is now wandering around Japan, dealing with prostitutes, madwomen, thieves and the occasional Yagyu ninja.

Anyway, in this one, he trundles Cub to a hot spring for a vacation. It's run by desperate criminals who try to intimidate him. They don't. Eventually, we can be assured, assassins will show up and there will be a colorful bloodbath.

For people who like lots of fake blood amidst some great cinematography, and Japanese acting stoically bizarre, it's just what the audience ordered.