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 Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx More at IMDbPro »Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma (original title)

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Road of Six Paths and Four Lives Continues, 24 October 2001
Author: marquis de cinema from Boston, MA

Kozure Okami:Sanzu no Kawa no Ubaguruma/Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) is made up of a few episodes from graphic novel series. One part of story is loosely based on an episode called EIGHT GATES OF DECEIT. The sub plot involving the masters of death is inspired by THE FLUTE OF THE FALLEN TIGER. The part where Daigoro is used as bait to lure out Ogami Itto is based on another episode known as EXECUTIONER'S HILL. The bits and pieces from the different stories are sown together to form an exciting samurai flick.

First few minutes produce a stunning sequence of action mis-en-scene. Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) is the best of the six film series because of complex character development, interesting story, and outstanding action sequences. The Chimes heard by Ogami Itto and his son, Daigoro during early moments of film are a reminder for them of their painful past. Humorous moment occurs when an owner of a hotel inn takes in Itto and son(Lone Wolf gave him gold pieces to watch over) after thinking of not taking them in moments earlier. There is a brilliant 360 to 180 degree pan of the camera that features an effective tight close up to display expressions of intuition from faces of Ogami Itto and Daigoro.

Places a little more focus into the code and demeanor of Ogami Itto than Part One. Ogami Itto as the Lone Wolf lives by Meifumado as a way towards restoring his family name while at the same time take revenge on the Yagyu clan. Ogami Itto kills without emotion yet a shed of humanity is somewhere within his soul. He is an action character of three dimensional depth that is rare for an action picture. Ogami Itto intriques me as a character of graphic novels and for this instance film because of his strong paternal presence.

Introduces some tough female ninja assassins that Lone Wolf & Cub have to go up against. They seem to be untouchable after dispatching a volunteer of the Kurokuwa group until the female warriors face off with Ogami Itto. Ogami Itto is one tough and determined opponent as the female ninja assassins find out when the majority of this group but one is killed off. The face off between Ogami Itto and Sayaka, the leader of the female assassin group successfully played by Kayo Matsuo has a surreal feel to it. Ogami Itto walking through a path of bodies with a baby cart that has a vegetable stuck in the middle front is a nice comic touch.

The confrontation between Lone Wolf & Cub and the Shogunate's Kurokuwa Ninja group is a combo of artful violent imagery and brilliantly smooth editing. This moment flows smoothly in a way that is hypnotic to the eye and mesmerizing to the brain. Although the scene does have it share of graphic violence, there is never a crude feel in the action as at moments in Sword of Vengeance(1972). Fantastic use of cuts and dissolves to make this moment one of the best action scenes from the first two films. The cinematography used in the action moves with graceful steps.

Lone Wolf and Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) really gets at the heart of the story with its complex father/son relationship. The father/son relationship of Itto and Daigoro is what has made the Lone Wolf & Cub stories for so many people. Ogami Itto and Daigoro are tied together by an unbreakable bond that is indescrible in words. The bodily expressions tell more about the relationship of Ogami Itto and Daigoro than any sentence could ever do. An example of this notion happens when the leader of the Kurokuwa Ninja threatens to kill Daigoro is Itto does not give up.

The graphic violence is much higher here than in Sword of Vengenace(1972). The violent battle scenes of BCATRS stir around with stylistic expression. Maybe not as artisticly refined as in samurai films by Akira Kurosawa, but the violent battle scenes at least never feel bland or boring. I can see where filmmakers like John Woo got their influences when I watch the battle scenes of LW&C:BCATRS(1972). The graphic violence in part two and the other films in the series must have played an important influence on the bloody violence in Lucio Fulci's gothic chillers.

Ogami Itto and Daigoro follow a path of blood and corpses that is steeped in tragedy. In living by Meifumado, they are as one who hold a future that is bleak and hopeless. Only when they completely destroy the Yagyu Clan can the Lone Wolf and Cub return to a path of a hopeful future. For Daigoro, dying in the well would have been more merciful than living to an unknown future. Daigoro represents the good, kind side of Ogami Itto whom without would just be cold blooded and ruthless. The tragic path of the two is an element that is fascinating.

The most formidable opponets of Ogami Itto are the Bentenri brothers from part two. The duel between the brothers and the God of Death in the sandy desert is Leonesque. The head splitting moment is the creme de la creme of the duel. Tomisaburo Wakayama for this moment reaches the larger than life heights of Toshiro Mifune. Breathtaking samurai duel with excellent scenery that would have made Sergio Leone proud.

The actors who play the Masters of Death give their characters an unique quirk to make the Bentenrai brothers fascinating villains. One of the actresses(Michie Azuma) who plays a female ninja assassin would have a more substanical role as topless female assassin in Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart in Peril(1972). Part One and Part two of LW&C use identical imagery. Better directed than the first film with fewer slow moments. Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) stays true emotionally to the graphic novel that the film is based on.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Pure Blood-Soaked Brilliance - A Highlight Among Highlights, 17 March 2008
10/10
Author: Benjamin Gauss from Salzburg, Austria

I can hardly find the right words to adequately praise the brilliance of "Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma" aka. "Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx". The "Kozure Ôkami" cycle is, simply put, THE greatest samurai saga ever brought to screen, and this second entry to the cycle is (along with the fifth) arguably the most brilliant of all six films. Director Kenji Misumi outdoes himself once again with this masterpiece, and the great Tomisaburo Wakayama is again incomparably brilliant in the role of his life as Ogami Itto. The lone Wolf Ogami Itto returns with his only son Daigoro, on their journey on the 'path to hell'. His expertise is once again put to the touch, as he is both hired as an assassin, and has a whole group of assassins set on himself by the despised Yagyu clan...

The entire "Kozure Ôkami" cycle ranks high among my personal all-time favorites, and "Baby Cart At The River Styx" is my personal favorite of them all, for a variety of reasons. The enemies Ogami Itto has to compete with are one of these reasons. The Lone Wolf and his son have to stand up against a group of female ninjas lead by Yagyu Sayaka (Kayo Matsuo) as well as three assassin brothers called the 'Masters of Death'. The fighting sequences and stylish bloodshed are among the most awesome ever brought to screen, the film is absolutely stunning from the very beginning, the atmosphere is incomparable, and the score is ingenious as in the first film. Ogami Itto's son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) has grown a bit, and learned to talk (but hardly ever does), since the first film. Daigoro is, as far as I am considered, arguably the greatest child-character ever in a film. The father-son relationship of Ogami Itto and Daigoro is one of the great aspects of the 'Ôkami' films, and makes these ultra-violent Chambara-highlights heart-warming at times. Daigoro's role has become more active in this second entry to the series, and he even actively engages in some of the crafty tricks in his father's fights. Tomisaburo Wakayama is again brilliant in the lead and the rest of the performances are also great, especially Kayo Matsuo is excellent as ninja-lady Sayaka, and so are the three 'Masters Of Death'.

"Lone Wolf And Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx" is pure perfection in every aspect. The performances and characters, the incomparable atmosphere and locations, the brilliant score and photography, the stunning swordplay,... there is not one single aspect about this film that is not brilliant. I have seen too many films to come up with a list of all-time favorites, but if I ever was to make such a list, this second entry to the brilliant 'Okami' series would definitely be in the top 10! An incomparably brilliant masterpiece of blood-soaked swordplay-cinema, "Kozure Ôkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma" is essential for every true lover of film! 10/10!

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A combination of intelligent plot and blood spurting action. A winner!, 17 February 2000
Author: Sadsack-3 from Preston, England

It was this film that converted me to the joys of blood spattered gory Japanese epics. The action is amazing - each fight scene a gem. The main characters take everything so calmly that I began to see Blues Brothers-esque deadpan humour in some of the more gruesome sequences. Watch this film with your friends so you can all scream at the TV each time a fight kicks in. It worked for me.

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An improvement over the first film in the series., 4 January 2011
8/10
Author: planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The Lone Wolf and Cub series was co-produced by Shintaro Katsu--the same man who played the lovable Zatoichi in so many films. While there are clear similarities between the two series, the Lone Wolf and Cub series will not be mistaken for the Zatoichi films because they are clearly much more adult and more morally ambiguous. In the first Lone Wolf and Cub film, I was actually rather put off by this. The rapes, excessive violence and an unlikable main character made this tough viewing for me--especially when I would have been just as happy with yet another Zatoichi type film. Fortunately, while this second installment is still clearly an adult film, it has been toned down in some ways and was a lot more enjoyable to me. Now when I say 'toned down', I am referring to the main character. He is less an anti-hero and more decent in this film. In one scene it appears as if he's going to rape a woman but has no apparent intention to do this. Also the enemy are clearly bad and it was easy to root for Ogami Itto in his two major conflicts.

The film begins with the clan who is trying to destroy Ogami approaching a group of rather intense female ninjas for their help. In this initial scene, I was stoked--the women seemed nuts and practically were killing machines--a nice match-up for the film. Bizarrely, however, these insane killers turned out to be amazingly easy for Ogami to defeat--and as a result it seemed anti-climactic. Fortunately, another plot appeared involving three super-macho assassins and the secret that might destroy a clan. When the clan hires Ogami to kill the three and the man who is trying to betray his clan you can understand Ogami's need to kill them--and it sets up a great finale.

Be forewarned that although this movie has less nudity and is in some ways tamer than the first film, it clearly surpasses it in blood. I have never seen a Japanese film with more blood spraying in all my life--and this includes the super-bloody Zatoichi film made by Beat Takeshi a few years back! Oddly, some of the killing and gore was done by Ogami's tiny son in this installment!! As a result, you'd only be insane if you showed the film to kids--even if there are no rapes and the leading man is less of a jerk. No, this is an adult-oriented film--and an extremely bloody and entertaining one at that.

By the way, if you like to see mistakes, watch the bathtub scene. During this scene the water level goes up and down repeatedly--indicating it was pieced together (poorly) from several takes.

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Even more entertaining than the first movie., 19 April 2010
9/10
Author: Boba_Fett1138 from Groningen, The Netherlands

This probably is the best and most entertaining movies out of all the Kozure Ôkami movies. If you already thought that the first movie was action packed, wait until you see this one.

It's not just more action filled or entertaining but it's also a better done film as well. The directing and cinematography and all, all seems better in this movie. There are some great looking and wonderfully done sequences and I'm not even talking about the fight sequences then.

The movie is basically non-stop entertaining action in which Ogami Itto takes on more bad guys and gals than ever before. He is still as skilled as ever, so often it doesn't take more than one strike with his sword to kill off his opponent. It doesn't mean the fights are boring though. Far from it really. They are greatly choreographed and very over-the-top. It's amazing, the innovativeness they came up with at times. Of course there also still is plenty of blood in this one, when blood sprays out of every wound that gets inflected in this movie.

Great entertaining fun!

9/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Another fine outing for Lone Wolf and Cub., 18 September 2007
8/10
Author: BA_Harrison from Hampshire, England

In this, the second in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, ronin Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) and his son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) continue to wander the land as assassins for hire, all the while keeping an eye out for members of the nasty Ragyu clan, who want them dead.

When the wealthy Awa clan approach Itto, offering him 500 gold pieces to kill a man who might be able to ruin them financially, he accepts; in order to complete his mission, he must face many dangers, including a team of vicious female warriors, and the highly skilled Hidari brothers, also known as the Gods of Death.

Baby Cart at the River Styx sees director Kenji Misumi delivering a breathtaking sequel to his excellent Sword of Vengeance. Like a Japanese Sergio Leone, he once again uses extreme close-ups, rapid zooms, sparing use of a haunting soundtrack, and superbly choreographed violence to continue his epic tale of a man and boy on a gore-spattered journey through 'hell'.

From the opening scene in which Itto quickly dispatches of two Yagyu clansmen, through to the stunning climax which sees Lone Wolf and Cub battling the Hidaris in a desert, this film is a stunning and often beautiful display of carnage. Battles take place in complete silence, with the vanquished always taking a second or two before they fall to the ground, blood gushing from their wounds. Daigoro also gets in on the act, activating spring-loaded blades in his cart to slice off the feet of the enemy. Misumi's handling of these scenes is superb, with some great use of innovative and ground-breaking visual techniques (one great fight scene has images superimposed onto each other to give the action a surreal and dreamlike quality).

But it's not all mindless violence. There are occasional moments of tenderness too, with the close bond between father and son displayed in a couple of notable scenes: Ogami gently bathes Daigoro, with one hand on his sword in readiness for trouble; and Daigoro nurses his injured father back to health, trading his jacket for food.

My only gripe with Baby Cart at the River Styx is that the film is often very dark, and it was extremely hard to see what was going on, particularly during the many night scenes. Whilst this may be due to my DVD being a bad transfer, it did affect my enjoyment of the film (I had to re-watch the gory dismemberment of one unfortunate shinobi at the hands of the female ninjas with my TV's brightness and contrast whacked right up), which is why I give it slightly less than Sword of Vengeance—7.5/10 (although I have to round my rating up to 8 for IMDb, which technically puts it on a par with the first one).

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2 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
The Second (And My Personal Favorite) Of The BABY CART Series, 8 February 2006
9/10
Author: EVOL666 from St. John's Abortion Clinic

Another winner in the BABY CART series (but honestly, I can't find too much fault in any of the films in this set of "classic" films...) and personally my favorite single entry...

This one has the Lone Wolf and his Cub still enjoying the "misadventures" of samurai-for-hire, and of course their quest for vengeance against the Yagyu clan that initially betrayed them. Some intriguing enemies in this one includes a band of female ninjas and the "Gods Of Death". There is also the requisite side story of Itto's "hit of the day"...

This one has some pretty fast-and-furious fight scenes and is probably the most action packed of the series. Again, like the other entries, good acting, great sets and costumes, beautiful camera-work, and the almost magical but extremely unorthodox "chemistry" between father and son are not to be missed. Highly Recommended 9/10

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6 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Stunning Movie, 24 April 2004
Author: Rob from United Kingdom

I found Babycart in a sale and it had two other movies with it. The reason I bought it was because it had a special cover that indicating it had something to do with Kill Bill and it did. They were three films that had the biggest influence on Kill Bill so I thought it must be good but I didn't expect it to better. When viewing it I was watching how real films about samurai films were made and what they were like and they were more than I could have ever expected. The use of silence in some of the fight scenes were great but at first I thought it was really strange and didn't have a clue what was going on and I was saying every swear word in the dictionary of swearing then my Fiancée brought me back down to earth and said that she once read that samurai attacks in completely silence so it's enemy isn't aware of his moves which was the reason the film was like this and my thought straight away was `Clever Buggers'. It's because if you haven't grown up watching films like this and you are quite oblivious to what samurai films like this and Shogun Assassin are about you see them as a ray of sun shine into you're life because you are being introduced into this new genre which you never ever knew anything about which is always nice.

I was taken into this film from the start and was just amazed by how influential these kind of films have been for so many years and when you watch them you will see why.

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0 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
The pinnacle of the baby cart movies, 24 February 2004
10/10
Author: stephen goodhand (steve-goodhand) from bounremouth, england

Watch this film and whole set of baby cart films. River Styx is both stylistic and packed with action. The Gods of Death are perfectly evil and cool. The opening of film sets the pace and style, with lone wolf ninja encounter. The female ninja clan are sexually sadistic, show the highest qualities of female empowerment.

This film is great cinema, well shot, edited and runs smoothly. Highly enjoyable, with a great mise en scene, every frame has meaning and every scene has value.

Once you buy this film you will want all Kenji's films, including the great blind swordsman films.

For action and style River Styx is hard to beat.

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2 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Best of the series., 11 June 2005
9/10
Author: ZombieKilla81 from Hawaii, USA

I love the entire 6 part series, but this one is my personal favorite with it's grand collection of action, emotion and gory dismemberment.

Time has passed since the Yagyu clan framed Ogami Itto as a traitor and murdered his wife, but the wandering assassin is as determined as ever. The Yagyu clan is active as well in seeking to eliminate the former Shogun executioner; they enlist the aid of one of the clans sects, the Asuki Yagyu women, to kill Itto and his son. At the same time, Ogami has just accepted a job to assassinate dye maker.

Arguably the bloodiest of the series, but also the most methodical. Story elements are presented in slow, stiff dialogue exchanges, only to be off-set by quick, bloody bursts of violence. Much of the film is silent as well, there is very little talking for the whole picture. Once swords are drawn, however, the movie becomes a whole other beast entirely; the action is fast, it's gory, and it's ever so fun to watch.

Story wise, this one doesn't do much for the overlapping plot of the series. Despite clashing yet again with the Yagyu clan very little is resolved on that front. It ends pretty much were it started, but while the story lacks a grander scale, it makes up for it with interesting characters and a well told (if ultimately unimportant) side story involving the dye maker hit. Inparticular, the three 'Gods of Death' are a nice addition; Ogami's fight with them is the best of the series in my opinion.

Nothing much to say on the technical front, it's no better or worse then any other film in the sub-genre. Sound, lighting, direction, acting are all sufficient enough to get the job done.

A classic of samurai film and another hardy addition to a great series.

9/10

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