Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ohki

A shogun master turns against lone wolf, his faithful head-cutting samurai servant. Lone wolf is forced into battle against the shogun, the shogun's son, and a host of shogun ninja warriors....

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87% liked it

7,520 ratings

R, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Robert Houston

Release Date: November 11, 1980

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DVD Release Date: July 11, 2006

Stats: 762 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (762)


  • September 29, 2009
    It's a great film if you're feeling lazy but I urge you to watch the Lone Wolf and Cub series instead, as it was intended.
  • October 8, 2008
    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...( read more) 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.
  • August 11, 2008
    this is so quintessential campy gore galore- I like the ending, and the soundtrack -ha.
  • March 31, 2008
    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...( read more) ninja women ambush Lone Wolf. He swiftly kills them]
    Voice of Daigoro: Three hundred and forty... five.

    This is an awesome samurai film that has been formed from several films originally made in Japan, only to be brought over to America, cut and dubbed to have become a violent classic samurai film for western audiences.

    The story surrounds a lone samurai, a ronin, who travels around with his son in a cradle, only to be constantly attacked by warriors enlisted by a shogun who wishes him to be dead.

    This lone samurai is known as Lone Wolf and is one of the most skilled samurai who has ever lived of course. His blade easily kills almost any one he crosses, and the cradle his son travels in also functions as a weapons storage.

    This movie is about 80 minutes long, and is packed with action. And the action is great. It is very stylized, clearly having influenced later films, namely Kill Bill Vol. 1, with the way the blood splatters all over. This film is also responsible for influencing a wide range of media including the rap group The Wu-Tang Clan.

    The whole film is very enjoyable, even the dubbing, which I usually don't like, but here it is perfectly fitting.

    Master of Death: [his jugular fatally slashed] Your technique is magnificent. When cut across the neck, a sound like wailing winter winds is heard, they say. I'd always hoped to cut someone like that someday, to hear that sound. But to have it happen to my own neck is ridiculous.
  • September 28, 2007
    While a sort of 'Greatest Hits' of the first two 'Lone Wolf and Cub' movies, this really captures the samurai movie feel. Raw, violent, excessively bloody and just sooo damn cool. After this you gotta watch the 6 Lone Wolf films. Cinematic greatness for the strong of stomach. Unm...( read more)issable. And if you've seen Kill Bill Volume 2, this is the movie 'The Bride' watches with her daughter at the end. A fitting reference. Great stuff!
  • October 28, 2009
    waaaaaaauuuu pelicula de samurai y muy gore
  • September 21, 2009
    Thin i need a better cut of this film?? it was allover the place. but swords rock!
  • August 22, 2009
    A fun movie full of gore, death, and samurai sword fights spanning in many locations. Its was pretty funny throughout. There were some awesome scenes, particularly the first beheading in slow motion, that was truly awesome! Also there is some amazing cinematography thats so beaut...( read more)iful. Like I said before, it's got its funny points too. It's a classic revenge movie that should be seen by everyone. It true what it says on the movie cover: It's impossible to make a body count. Classic!
  • August 12, 2009
    Meticulously re-edited, re-scripted, rescored, and English-dubbed version of the original Baby-Cart at the River Styx: swords enter bodies at the most imaginative angles; a body count is impossible; all records are broken for bloodletting.
    The action scenes are especially...( read more) well-done, from the one-on-one sword duels to the Wild Bunch-style Ogami Itto vs. everybody battle from start to the end.
  • August 3, 2009
    in mic fights i swing swords and cut clown. shit is too swift to bite, you record and write it down. i flow like blood on the murder scene, like a syringe on some wild out shit to insert a fiend. but it was yo out the shop stolen art, catch a swollen heart from not rolling smart....( read more) I put mad pressure on phony whack rhymes that get hurt, shit's played like zodiac signs on sweatshirts.

Comments


  • maruschk
    July 12, 2008
    This was mentioned in Kill Bill 2.
    So, naturally, I have to see it.

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Shogun Assassin : Watch Free on TV


Shogun Assassin Trivia


  • From which movie did Gza take samples for his album 'Liquid Swords'?  Answer »
  • In Kill Bill Vol.2 what movie does Beatrix Kiddo's daughter want to watch?  Answer »
  • Which of the following does John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China have in common with Robert Houston's Shogun Assassin?  Answer »
  • In Shogun Assassin, how does "Lone Wolf" kill Lord Corrando (the Shoguns son)  Answer »

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