Review of Shogun Assassin (1980) by Will D — 06 Sep 2011
For many people, this was their first taste of the Babycart series. Looking back now those movies are mainstream, it's unfair to compare them to Shogun Assassin.
The movie itself joins excerpts from the first two movies and is redubbed, re-edited and re-scored for a Western audience. While that may sound like it's downplaying much of the cultural references, the story structure remains faithful, but the movie feels completely different with the way it was reassembled:
The moody electronic score, the monologues of Daigoro, and the technique of assembling scenes that feature or build up to dramatic action sequences closer, give a whole new feeling to the movie. The emphasis on defeating many strong warriors is reminiscent of El Topo.
Overall, if you like English dubbed martial arts movies, you'll like Shogun Assassin. But personally it doesn't matter whether you see this first or the first two Lone Wolf and Cub movies. They're all entertaining in their own way.
This review of Shogun Assassin (1980) was written by Will D on 06 Sep 2011.
Shogun Assassin has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
