Shogun Assassin (1980)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Robert Houston

Writers:

Robert Houston (writer)
Kazuo Koike (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 November 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure

Tagline:

The legend of lone wolf and cub continues!

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...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Ninja | Death | Japan | Splatter

Cast

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)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

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

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.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Voice of Daigoro: I guess I wish it was different. But a wish is only a wish.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 2: The Deuce (2006) (V)

Flying blades

The hero in this Eastern action flick is not a sword fighter - he´s a human killing machine! The fighting sequences in this film are very short at all, because none of his enemies really seems to have a chance to defeat him. "Lone Wolf" kills armies of ninjas, soldiers and outlaws what causes a higher body count than any Rambo movie has got... The violence and the gore in "Shogun Assassin" are extremely high: there are splitted heads and rivers of blood, so the fans of those amusing Jackie Chan-movies should stay far away!!! Otherwise director Robert Houston has created a fantastic menacing atmosphere what´s quite matching to the dark revenge-story.

7/10