Review of Shogun Assassin (1980) by Alexander F — 25 Jun 2007

This western release is actually two films cobbled together, and has enjoyed notoriety because of it's "video nasty" reputation. There is a lot of blood, but the violence is comparatively cartoon-like (although the scene involving the female assassins proving their worth is rather grim!) It has some nice imagery, and there is actually a modicum of sensitivity in the relationship between the samurai and his son but it does suffer from it's schizophrenic roots; some scenes make little sense and the narrative is sporadic.

It's good, but I'd much rather see both films individually in their original format.