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:

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

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:

Voice of Daigoro: When we're on a mission, I keep count of how many ninja my father kills. He says not to keep count, only to pray for their souls. But if I don't keep count, I don't know how many souls to pray for. So I keep count. So far it's three hundred and forty-two.
[three ninja women ambush Lone Wolf. He swiftly kills them]
Voice of Daigoro: Three hundred and forty... five.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ultraviolet (2006)

I've seen quite a few hack'n'slash samurai movies...

I've seen quite a few hack'n'slash samurai movies, and I've also seen quite a few serious samurai films, but this is hands down the funniest movie ever made concerning sword swinging super men! If you have only heard about this one, then you have no idea what you are missing! The only movie that can match its intensity (action-wise) is the Road Warrior. See this one at all costs! And yes, I am aware of the actual series of "Baby Cart" films, but they are not really as strong as this American Tour-de-force of editing.