IMDb > Shogun Assassin (1980)

Shogun Assassin (1980) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   3,333 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Robert Houston
Writers:
Robert Houston (writer)
Kazuo Koike (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Shogun Assassin on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 November 1980 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Adventure more
Tagline:
The legend of lone wolf and cub continues! more
Plot:
Long ago there was a great samurai warrior who served his Shogun honorably. The Shogun however grew paranoid as he became more and more senile... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Legend Of Drunken Master, Iron Monkey, Hero and Zatoichi Blu-ray Reviews
 (From Collider.com. 19 September 2009, 5:29 PM, PDT)
Anime DVD Review: ‘Samurai Champloo’ The Complete Collection
 (From BuzzFocus.com. 19 September 2009, 4:00 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Choose the sword and you will join me... more (80 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Tomisaburo Wakayama ... Ogami Itto
Kayo Matsuo ... Supreme Ninja
Minoru Ohki ... Master of Death
Akiji Kobayashi ... Master of Death
Shin Kishida ... Master of Death
Akihiro Tomikawa ... Daigoro (as Masahiro Tomikawa)
Lamont Johnson ... Voice (voice)

Marshall Efron ... Voice (voice)

Sandra Bernhard ... Voice (voice)
Vic Davis ... Voice (voice)
Lennie Weinrib ... Voice (voice)
Lainie Cooke ... Voice (voice)
Sam Weisman ... Voice (voice)
Mark Lindsay ... Voice (voice)

Robert Houston ... Voice (voice)
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
86 min
Country:
Japan | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
New Zealand:R18 (re-rating) | Australia:R | Singapore:R21 | UK:(Banned) (1984-1992) | UK:18 (video rating) (1992) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:R | Norway:18 (video rating) (1984) | Norway:(Banned) (video) (1986) | New Zealand:(Banned) (1982-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted
Company:
Baby Cart more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Mark Lindsay (former lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders) co-wrote the music with W. Michael Lewis. The performing credit is listed as "The Wonderland Philharmonic." "Wonderland" refers to the house that Lindsay lived in at one time. However, music cues from the original "Kozure Ôkami" films are also used. more
Quotes:
Master of Death: [his jugular fatally slashed] Your technique is magnificent.
[voiceover]
Master of Death: When cut across the neck, a sound like wailing winter winds is heard, they say. I'd always hoped to cut someone like that someday, to hear that sound. But to have it happen to my own neck is ridiculous.
[dies]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Dung che sai duk (1994) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
19 out of 23 people found the following comment useful.
Choose the sword and you will join me..., 13 February 2001
Author: dr.gonzo-4 from The Projection Booth

I had heard a lot about this movie for quite some time but was never able to get my hands on it. If you have ever listened to The Gza/Genius album "Liquid Swords", it contains several soundbites from the film including the opening commentary by Daigoro(Cub). SHOGUN ASSASSIN is actually a re-released, dubbed version of the first two "Lone Wolf and Cub" films that came out from Japan in the Seventies. When I finally attained a copy of it and watched it, I was comepletely blown away. This has got to be hands down the best samurai/ninja film ever to grace the United States.

Enter Ogami Itto, aka Lone Wolf, a man who served his shogun well as the royal executioner. Until one day when the Shogun killed his wife and framed him, which sent him on a dark path of vengeance. So begins the story of Lone Wolf and Cub, a father and his little boy who travel from place to place as assassins for hire and are always watching out for the Shogun and his ninja army. Anyone who gets in their way are quickly sliced and diced by Lone Wolf's sword and a wooden baby cart rigged with all sorts of crazy weapons.

The action sequences are breathtaking, much like Kurasawa's but with ten times more blood. Blood that doesn't just pour, but spurts everywhere like a hose. Ultimately I couldn't help being moved by the story: a father and his son and their eternal bond in vengeance. This is just one of those cult films that you pray at night about, hoping that someday they re-release it in theaters or make a new film just like it. There are six films total in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series that are avaible uncut on VHS and hopefully soon, on DVD.

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Rated R question agentmccool27
going to see on the big screen moviefreakest
Kill Bill reference pisses me off. dstalker34
UK Boxset out 16th November 2009! BatmanFan1990
Liquid Swords JPC_whutwhut
Movies like this. 777ismyname
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