 Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance [IMDB] Japan, 1972 Directed by Kenji Misumi Starring Tomisaburo Wakayama Early last year I finally saw the infamous Shogun Assassin for the first time. In an experience shared with a lot of people, the film had previously existed for me only as a fleeting reference in Kill Bill Vol. 2 - a typical example of Tarantino's flair for introducing new audiences to old films. Only later did I learn that Shogun Assassin was compiled by US actor-turned-director Robert Houston from the first two of a series of six 1970s Japanese samurai films known in English as Lone Wolf and Cub. I loved Shogun Assassin, enough to include it in my book. Having seen Houston's terrific efforts to fashion the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films into something palatable for American audiences, I immediately wanted to track down the original films on DVD. For many years, this had been a real challenge in the UK – happily, it's now easy to pick up a lovingly restored box set which was released in 2009 by Eureka Video. It's a tremendous package which puts some of Japan's most infamous and acclaimed films within easy reach.
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 Martial Arts Gold was a short season of classic Shaw Brothers martial arts films broadcast on Film4 in the UK each Friday from January 15th to February 5th. The films were presented at their original aspect ratio and in their original language, complete with English subtitles. I'll be putting together a review for each film in the season, as well as for the films shown in a second season due in March and April. The season continued with Come Drink With Me on January 29th - here's another belated review. |
