Shogun Assassin (1980)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Everett J

  
  Big up to my boy Joe Paul for recommending this to me. I think I may have heard of it, but I had never seen it. This movie is clearly a big influence on a lot of movies and filmmakers. I mean you can clearly see things that "Kill Bill" took from this. From the geyser… More
  Big up to my boy Joe Paul for recommending this to me. I think I may have heard of it, but I had never seen it. This movie is clearly a big influence on a lot of movies and filmmakers. I mean you can clearly see things that "Kill Bill" took from this. From the geyser blood to the revenge themes, it was way ahead of it's time. What impressed me most was that this movie was made in 1980, and isn't dated at all. It holds up very well. The story is universal, the performances are strong. I loved the music and especially the little boys narration. Great watch!

• Kevin C

  
  It's one of the coolest movies ever made. Bloody amazing.

• Keiko A

  
  The shogun assassin in my books proves to be the best Americanized adaption of anything. Although there's not much of a differences between lone wolf and cub and this. The shogun assassin is just built by using the first 10 minutes of the first movie and then sticking it into the… More
  The shogun assassin in my books proves to be the best Americanized adaption of anything. Although there's not much of a differences between lone wolf and cub and this. The shogun assassin is just built by using the first 10 minutes of the first movie and then sticking it into the second as well as dubbing and shooting a lot more graphic killing scenes and new music. The film really just works as a Japanese western about the shogun a man killing to avenge the death of his wife. Or otherwise it is an Exploitation film. Long ago there was a great samurai warrior who served his Shogun honourably. The Shogun however grew paranoid as he became more and more senile. The Shogun sought to destroy all those who might stand to oppose his rule, and so he sent his ninja spies to the samurai's home. The ninjas failed to kill the samurai, but did kill his beloved wife. From then on, the samurai swore on his honour to seek out the Shogun and avenge the death of his love. The samurai roams the countryside with his toddler son taking on mercenary work for money until the final battle with the Shogun's three Masters of Death. I got to hand it to them they did a much better job then anyone would think for an Americanized adaption. Lone wolf and cub as well as the manga's will still be always the best Japanese's Exploitation westerns ever made. 90% for story like I said it's brilliant for an Americanized version. 80% for acting and dubbing but still all good. 80% for special effects there somewhat better then Lone wolf and cub but there newly shot though. 90% for characters there awesome and amazing the shogun is still my favourite. 80% for everything else. The music in my opinion isn't as good as lone wolf and cub. All I can say is watch if you can find Keiko's score 90-100

• Anthony L

  
  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.

• Dean M

  
  Meticulously re-edited, re-scripted, rescored, and English-dubbed version of the original <i>Baby-Cart at the River Styx</i>: swords enter bodies at the most imaginative angles; a body count is impossible; all records are broken for bloodletting. The action scenes are… More
  Meticulously re-edited, re-scripted, rescored, and English-dubbed version of the original <i>Baby-Cart at the River Styx</i>: swords enter bodies at the most imaginative angles; a body count is impossible; all records are broken for bloodletting. The action scenes are especially well-done, from the one-on-one sword duels to the <i>Wild Bunch</i>-style Ogami Itto vs. everybody battle from start to the end.

• Cassandra M

  
  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… More
  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.

• Aaron N

  
  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… More
  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. 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.

• Justin Y

  
  Classic samurai film. It is easy to see the influences that this film has on many other films being released years and years later.<p>Unlike many other classic kung fu style movies, this film puts more emphasis on the story rather than the martial arts action. That's not… More
  Classic samurai film. It is easy to see the influences that this film has on many other films being released years and years later.<p>Unlike many other classic kung fu style movies, this film puts more emphasis on the story rather than the martial arts action. That's not to say that this film lacks action. In fact, there is just as much action in here as in many other martial arts films. The Japanese style is just a little different from the Chinese. In this film you get the quick hack and slash battles rather than the long drawn out kung fu fights. While this isn't a huge disappointment, the quick kills just aren't as visually pleasing as a well choreographed kung fu sequence. Of course, people have different tastes, so this style of action may be all you desire.</p><p>The actual plot is pretty simple, but for a movie like this it seems really deep. The narration by the kid is great and the cinematography is quite good. There are only a few parts that are a little boring.</p><p>You may have heard about the banning of this movie. When you watch this, you will known why. This film is not afraid to hold back on anything. You have violence that is still comparable with movies released decades later. Blood shoots out all over the place and body parts are sliced and diced. Heck, this film even has nudity.</p><p>The acting isn't anything special. All I have to say is that it is similar to most other kung fu classics. As far as the characters go, Kayo Matsuo plays a beautiful female ninja and the three storms, I mean masters of death, are entertaining to see.</p><p>If there is a samurai film to see in your lifetime, this should be one to consider. Definitely an influential film.

• xGary X

  
  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… More
  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.

• Wu C

  
  Nice ultra violent little samurai film.

• Ed Fucking H

  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bsl44gJAPY I'd tried to go into this one and keep my utmost critical mind on my shoulders throughout but that was damn near impossible. Liquid Swords by Gza (Wu-Tang Forever Muthafucka) is easily my favourite hip-hop album of all time. It's… More
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bsl44gJAPY I'd tried to go into this one and keep my utmost critical mind on my shoulders throughout but that was damn near impossible. Liquid Swords by Gza (Wu-Tang Forever Muthafucka) is easily my favourite hip-hop album of all time. It's so gritty, rugged, raw, grimey, filthy and so on (just like this movie). And that fact is only enhanced by all of the bad ass samples featured throughout which come from this very film. The film is flawed for sure. In fact this isn't even the intended film at all but parts from the Lone Wolf and Cub series spliced together for the North American and European audience. (I suspect judging by the results that they just took the fight scenes from that series and strung the story together through Daigaro's narration.) Yes the flaws are piled up against this one. So why the perfect score? Because it's pretty much the most satisfying movie your bound to see anytime soon. The fight scene's are great with blood splattering in ever which direction. The score is MORE than effective and I would have no problem listening to that organ line on it's own all day anyways. The narration is so bad ass, gritty and brutal (see opening of youtube link at top) that it hurts. The acting is actually pretty outstanding throughout and so on and so forth. I would like to see the Lone Wolf and Cub series someday but if that never happens I would have no problems revisiting Shogun Assassin again and again. Not a masterpeice by any means. But if you go for no nonsense and on the cheap, blood and splatter, swinging swords and poisonous darts, bad dubs and worse dialouge type movies (which I definently do!) then this is a masterpeice of epic proportions. Don't be a lame ass film snob. Watch this.

• MJS M

  
  I decided to check this out because I?ve been wanting to catch up with some of the movies that inspired Quentin Tarentino. This one was specifically referenced in Kill Bill Vol. 2, so it seemed like one of the more important titles to him. Indeed, the influence this had on Kill… More
  I decided to check this out because I?ve been wanting to catch up with some of the movies that inspired Quentin Tarentino. This one was specifically referenced in Kill Bill Vol. 2, so it seemed like one of the more important titles to him. Indeed, the influence this had on Kill Bill?s action scenes is obvious, the swordplay here is a lot like that last scene of Kill Bill Vol. 1. The movie is a compilation of scenes from a six movie Japanese series called Lone Wolf and Cub. This edit however, seems to do more harm than good. The story felt rushed and un-dramatic, its clear that the American editors were only interested in getting as much violence into 85 minutes as possible. Also the entire thing is dubbed into English, I haven?t had to deal with dubbing in years outside of Sergio Leone films and this was a good reminder why, this dub is every bit as cheesy as the crap Godzilla movies I used to watch. It?s really in the visual department that this stands out, there are just a lot of really compelling (and usually bloody) images in this thing, it?s really well shot and there?s a lot of nice fight choreography. It?s like if Akira Kurosawa had been more interested in action than anything else he might have made something like this.

• Anthony V

  
  An edit of the first few Lone Wolf and Cub movies. A little choppy (no pun intended), but still lots of fun. I'd still recommend the full versions of these films, but if you want to see what the fuss is all about. . .

• Patrick D

  
  Although an edited version of the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films, and therefore just simply an action sandwich at barely 80mins that is where the charm lays. It is simply amazing well done action scenes with some story thrown in for good message, and oh the bloody. The rivers run… More
  Although an edited version of the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films, and therefore just simply an action sandwich at barely 80mins that is where the charm lays. It is simply amazing well done action scenes with some story thrown in for good message, and oh the bloody. The rivers run red with this movie. Although not supposed to be it truly is an art-action film, if that exists. A very intellegent film and a breath of fresh air from all those 3hr long films of recent that pad their films with useless story, like someone who is writing a 10,000 word essay with only 1,000 words worth of things to say. This movie however is an 1,000 word essay with 5,000 words to say, it does move a bit fast, but I am not complaining.

Read all 14 featured audience ratings