In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Saturday, 13 April 2013

Shogun Assassin (1980)

An amalgamation of the first two parts of the six-part Lone Wolf and Cub film series into one westernised cut. It was difficult for me to watch because I love the originals so much, and normally I'd stay away from such things, but it has a reputation that I wanted to explore. It's been re-edited and re-scored, with emphasis on the violence at the expense of almost everything else.
The English dubbing is bad; the only exception is young Daigoro's voice over, which is really great. His memories, coupled with the new music gives everything a more sinister tone. It even works for about twenty-five minutes, but then a lack of coherence drags it down. Curiosity kept me watching to the end. It was interesting viewing, but I'll never watch it again.

2½ bastardisations out of 5

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