Shogun Assassin
Encyclopedia
Shogun Assassin, known in Japan as , is a jidaigeki
film made for the British and American markets and released in 1980. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo
.
Shogun Assassin was edited and compiled from the first two films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, using 12 minutes of the first film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
(Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru or Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent), and most of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
(Kozure Ōkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma or Wolf with Child in Tow: Perambulator of the River of Sanzu). Both were originally released in 1972
. There were six films in all in the series. These in turn were based on the long-running 1970s manga
series, Lone Wolf and Cub
, created by the writer Kazuo Koike
and the artist Goseki Kojima
.
The project was directed by Robert Houston
and his partner David Weisman
, a protégé of Andy Warhol
and director of Ciao! Manhattan
(1972). A fan of the original Kozure Ōkami films, Weisman had obtained the rights for $50,000 from the American office of Toho
Studios. The film was distributed by Roger Corman's
New World Pictures to the grindhouse
movie circuit in the United States, and then later as a video cassette from MCA/Universal Home Video. When released in the United Kingdom by the Vipco video tape label in 1983, Shogun Assassin's extreme violence almost caused it to be banned by the Home Office
. Vipco played this for publicity in the cover art of their 2000 release on DVD, which was stamped "Banned since 1983!"
The title character, Ogami Ittō, is played by Tomisaburo Wakayama
, brother of the producer, Shintaro Katsu
, who is known for playing Zatoichi
in a series of 26 films starting in the 1960s.
. The film, being compiled from separate stories, uses a much-simplified version of the situation. For instance, any mention of clan war is gone and the opponent Retsudo is simply called "The Shogun."
The filmmakers hired deaf lip readers to help compose dialogue to match the lip movements of the original Japanese actors, and filled in the narrative gaps by adding voice-over narration by Daigoro, performed by the 7-year-old son (Gibran Evans) of Shogun Assassin's poster illustrator, Jim Evans
. American actress Sandra Bernhard
and director (and former radio actor) Lamont Johnson
provided voices in the dubbed edition.
(former lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders) co-wrote a new musical score with producer W. Michael Lewis. The electronic music was performed on a Moog
Modular synthesizer
system at Wonderland, Lindsay's private recording studio. (The performance is credited to "The Wonderland Philharmonic".) However, certain music portions from the original Kozure Ôkami films are still part of the soundtrack.
; Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage, which is the fourth film in the Baby Cart series, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
; Shogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls Of Gold, which is the dubbed version of the fifth film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
; and Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell, the dubbed version of Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell
, the sixth and final film in the series.
's classic album Liquid Swords
(produced by RZA
). In addition, the film is invoked in Kill Bill Volume 2
(for which RZA provided original music) in the end scenes where the protagonist
and her daughter watch it as a bedtime story.
Also, a line from "Shogun Assassin" was sampled
in Cage's "Agent Orange" on his 2003 album Movies for the Blind
.
of The New York Times
, wrote "Shogun Assassin... is as furiuously mixed up as What's Up Tiger Lily? the classic that Woody Allen
made by attaching an English soundtrack to a grade-Z Japanese spy movie. Aside from the little-boy's narration, however, the movie's not much fun once you've gotten the picture, which is that of a tubby, outcast samurai wandering the length and breadth of Japan, pushing an antique baby carriage that contains his tiny, remarkably observant son."
Stuart Galbraith IV of DVD Talk
said, "A radical reworking of not one but two Japanese movies combined into a single action-filled extravaganza, Shogun Assassin floored audiences with its dream-like, poetic action and pressure-cooker bloodletting."
J.C. Maçek III of WorldsGreatestCritic.com wrote, "Shogun Assassin as a product of artistic and stylistic films, is an artistic and stylistic film itself, with the dubbing (which includes even the voice of Sandra Bernhard
) working as a genre-setting asset rather than a liability. This keeps the cartoonish, yet somehow still deadly, mood that penetrates each reel. In that this film was a huge influence on later works (like Kill Bill
), it's safe to bet that you've got geysers of blood shooting from every wound and plenty of dismemberment and painful-looking slashes."
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
film made for the British and American markets and released in 1980. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo
AnimEigo
AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. The company was founded in 1988 in Ithaca, New York by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams, III. It is now based in Wilmington, North Carolina, and run by Natsumi Ueki, Robert's wife...
.
Shogun Assassin was edited and compiled from the first two films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, using 12 minutes of the first film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is a 1972 film directed by Kenji Misumi, the first in a series of six Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.-Plot:Set in Japan during an...
(Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru or Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent), and most of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx is the second in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by...
(Kozure Ōkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma or Wolf with Child in Tow: Perambulator of the River of Sanzu). Both were originally released in 1972
1972 in film
The year 1972 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Avanti!, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet MillsB...
. There were six films in all in the series. These in turn were based on the long-running 1970s manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
, created by the writer Kazuo Koike
Kazuo Koike
is a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist and entrepreneur.-Biography:Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series....
and the artist Goseki Kojima
Goseki Kojima
was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Kojima was born on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income....
.
The project was directed by Robert Houston
Robert Houston
Robert Houston is an American actor and filmmaker from California. Robert first became known for his character Bobby in Wes Craven's 1977 horror classic The Hills Have Eyes. He directed the samurai epic Shogun Assassin in 1981. Robert also wrote and directed a few more mainly independent films in...
and his partner David Weisman
David Weisman
David Weisman is a film producer, author, and graphic artist who is most noted for his films Ciao! Manhattan and Kiss of the Spider Woman...
, a protégé of Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and director of Ciao! Manhattan
Ciao! Manhattan
Ciao! Manhattan is a 1972 American avant garde film starring Edie Sedgwick, one of Andy Warhol's Superstars. Although not a documentary, the film centers around a character very closely based on Sedgwick, and deals with the pain of addiction and the lure of fame.-Film overview:Written and directed...
(1972). A fan of the original Kozure Ōkami films, Weisman had obtained the rights for $50,000 from the American office of Toho
Toho
is a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
Studios. The film was distributed by Roger Corman's
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
New World Pictures to the grindhouse
Grindhouse
A grindhouse is an American term for a theater that mainly shows exploitation films. It is named after the defunct burlesque theaters located on 42nd Street in New York City, where 'bump n' grind' dancing and striptease were featured.- History :...
movie circuit in the United States, and then later as a video cassette from MCA/Universal Home Video. When released in the United Kingdom by the Vipco video tape label in 1983, Shogun Assassin's extreme violence almost caused it to be banned by the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. Vipco played this for publicity in the cover art of their 2000 release on DVD, which was stamped "Banned since 1983!"
The title character, Ogami Ittō, is played by Tomisaburo Wakayama
Tomisaburo Wakayama
, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 17th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies.-Biography:...
, brother of the producer, Shintaro Katsu
Shintaro Katsu
, born Toshio Okumura was a Japanese actor, singer, producer, and director...
, who is known for playing Zatoichi
Zatoichi
is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist . This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios and actor...
in a series of 26 films starting in the 1960s.
Editing
Shogun Assassin was dubbed into English whereas the originals are in JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. The film, being compiled from separate stories, uses a much-simplified version of the situation. For instance, any mention of clan war is gone and the opponent Retsudo is simply called "The Shogun."
The filmmakers hired deaf lip readers to help compose dialogue to match the lip movements of the original Japanese actors, and filled in the narrative gaps by adding voice-over narration by Daigoro, performed by the 7-year-old son (Gibran Evans) of Shogun Assassin's poster illustrator, Jim Evans
Jim Evans (artist)
Jim Evans born sometime in the 1950s, sometimes known as T.A.Z., is an American painter, printmaker, and Creative Director who was a contributing figure in the visual art movement known as underground comics...
. American actress Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of...
and director (and former radio actor) Lamont Johnson
Lamont Johnson
Lamont Johnson was an American actor and film director who has appeared in and directed many television shows and movies. He won two Emmy Awards....
provided voices in the dubbed edition.
Soundtrack
Mark LindsayMark Lindsay
Mark Lindsay is an American musician, best known as the singer for the group Paul Revere & the Raiders.-Biography:Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon and was the second of eight children...
(former lead singer for Paul Revere and the Raiders) co-wrote a new musical score with producer W. Michael Lewis. The electronic music was performed on a Moog
Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...
Modular synthesizer
Moog modular synthesizer
Moog modular synthesizer refers to any of a number of monophonic analog modular synthesizers designed by the late electronic instrument pioneer Dr. Robert Moog and manufactured by R.A Moog Co...
system at Wonderland, Lindsay's private recording studio. (The performance is credited to "The Wonderland Philharmonic".) However, certain music portions from the original Kozure Ôkami films are still part of the soundtrack.
Sequels
AnimEigo has released four sequels: Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death, actually the third film in the Baby Cart series, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to HadesLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades , is the third in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his...
; Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage, which is the fourth film in the Baby Cart series, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril , is the fourth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by...
; Shogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls Of Gold, which is the dubbed version of the fifth film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Land of Demons is the fifth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son,...
; and Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell, the dubbed version of Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell is the final entry in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young...
, the sixth and final film in the series.
In popular culture
Several audio clips from Shogun Assassin are used on rapper GZAGZA
Gary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
's classic album Liquid Swords
Liquid Swords
Liquid Swords is the second solo studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member GZA, released November 7, 1995, on Geffen Records. Recording sessions for the album began mid-way through 1995 at producer RZA's basement studio in Staten Island New York...
(produced by RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
). In addition, the film is invoked in Kill Bill Volume 2
Kill Bill Volume 2
Kill Bill Volume 2 is a 2004 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the second of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart. Kill Bill was originally scheduled for a single theatrical release, but with a running time of over four hours, it was...
(for which RZA provided original music) in the end scenes where the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and her daughter watch it as a bedtime story.
Also, a line from "Shogun Assassin" was sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
in Cage's "Agent Orange" on his 2003 album Movies for the Blind
Movies for the Blind
Movies for the Blind is the debut album of American rapper Cage. Released by Eastern Conference Records on August 6, 2002, the album peaked at #12 on the Heatseekers chart, #14 on the Top Independent Albums chart, #58 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #193 on the Billboard 200...
.
Critical reception
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, wrote "Shogun Assassin... is as furiuously mixed up as What's Up Tiger Lily? the classic that Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
made by attaching an English soundtrack to a grade-Z Japanese spy movie. Aside from the little-boy's narration, however, the movie's not much fun once you've gotten the picture, which is that of a tubby, outcast samurai wandering the length and breadth of Japan, pushing an antique baby carriage that contains his tiny, remarkably observant son."
Stuart Galbraith IV of DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
said, "A radical reworking of not one but two Japanese movies combined into a single action-filled extravaganza, Shogun Assassin floored audiences with its dream-like, poetic action and pressure-cooker bloodletting."
J.C. Maçek III of WorldsGreatestCritic.com wrote, "Shogun Assassin as a product of artistic and stylistic films, is an artistic and stylistic film itself, with the dubbing (which includes even the voice of Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of...
) working as a genre-setting asset rather than a liability. This keeps the cartoonish, yet somehow still deadly, mood that penetrates each reel. In that this film was a huge influence on later works (like Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
), it's safe to bet that you've got geysers of blood shooting from every wound and plenty of dismemberment and painful-looking slashes."