Lone Wolf and Cub Box Set

With the release of this Lone Wolf and Cub box set, you’ll now be able to experience over-the-top samurai action right in the comfort of your own home. And thanks to the fine folks at Amazon and their low, low prices, you’ll enjoy savings of over $85 when you order from their site. Six films are included for a total running time of 507 minutes, and each disc is presented in widescreen with English subtitles.

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About Lone Wolf and Cub

Before we discuss the individual films offered in the Lone Wolf and Cub box set, let’s take a brief peek at the overall series. Based on the popular and influential manga from writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, the Lone Wolf and Cub film franchise has become revered for its depictions of brutal violence (not to mention the usual Japanese obsession with odd sexual situations and fetishes). Blood flies from severed limbs in great geysers, and the title character’s child often finds himself in the middle of these scenes of inhumanity. Don’t worry, though, as the cute toddler gives as good as he gets.

The films closely follow the action from the manga, and many shots are composed directly from its pages. The results are both graphic and highly entertaining, and the success of the motion pictures in the early ’70s would lead to a television series, made-for-TV movies, an American release of the comic book, and additional big-screen remakes. Just take a look at John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China or Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, and you’ll be struck by a number of similarities throughout.

When you begin watching the six films from the Lone Wolf and Cub box set, you’ll notice only three recurring characters (everyone else tends to die brutally). Before we continue, let’s take a look at these battle-tested veterans and briefly review their backstory.

• Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) – The former executioner for the Shogun, Itto was once tasked with beheading lords ordered to commit seppuku in order to relieve their suffering. But he was forced to go on the run after the scheming Yagyu clan framed him for treason and murdered his wife. Taking up the profession of an assassin, Ogami Itto spends the series wandering feudal Japan and killing people for money. Between jobs, he pursues his vendetta against those responsible for his disgrace and tries to teach his young son the ways of the warrior.
• Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) – The son of Ogami Itto, Daigoro is only a few years old as the story unfolds. While he spends much of his time riding in a bamboo baby cart loaded down with primitive weapons, he demonstrates a keen instinct for survival as the series progresses. After the death of his mother, Daigoro was given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. If he chose the way of a child (the ball), it was Itto’s intention to kill him and send him to be with his mother. But Daigoro chose the sword instead, and now he accompanies his father on the majority of his blood-soaked adventures.
• Yagyu Retsudo (Minoru Ohki, Tokio Oki, Tatsuo Endo) – Leader of the Ura-Yagyu clan, the group responsible for framing Ogami Itto and killing his wife. Depicted as an older man with wild hair, Retsudo is a lethal opponent more than capable of holding his own with our hero. With control over legions of ninja and other assorted killers, he appears in four of the six films.

Lone Wolf and Cub – The Films

Now it’s time to examine the six films included in the Lone Wolf and Cub box set. Additional information is available across the Internet, but this should give you a decent idea of what you’ll be buying.

• Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972) – Flashbacks detail the murder of Ogami Itto’s wife and his decision to wander Japan as an assassin-for-hire while caring for his infant son. In the present, Itto takes a job to slay a chamberlain, but he finds that the man has hired a group of wandering samurai (aka “ronin”). The targets are located in a town known for its hot springs, and Itto and Daigoro head off to accomplish their mission. Along the way, Daigoro gets an impromptu opportunity to breastfeed, Itto is forced to have sex with a prostitute while being watched, Itto shows off his lethal sword technique, and a few of the baby cart’s many secret weapons are revealed. As with all the films in the Lone Wolf and Cub box set, the conclusion sees Itto take on an army of men and defeat them using superior swordsmanship and a bit of trickery.

• Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972) – While being tracked by the head of a group of female assassins, Itto takes a job to kill a traitor before he can divulge the secret process of making indigo dye. But the turncoat is protected by a trio of mercenaries known as the Hidari Brothers, each a master with a different weapon (armored gloves, flying mace, iron claw). Itto and Daigoro must survive multiple attempts on their lives by female killers, and a bizarre scene finds them cuddling naked with the chief assassin in an effort to stay warm. Men get their feet cut off, a ninja is hacked into a hundred pieces, Daigoro gets to play with a woman’s breasts, and we learn that the blood spraying from someone’s neck can sometimes make a sound like the “howling of the wind.”
• Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972) – Also released under the title Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death, the third film in the series finds Itto helping out a young woman sold into prostitution. As a consequence, he undergoes a form of grueling torture and is then asked to assassinate a corrupt local official. He agrees, taking on a lethal sharpshooter and an army of nearly 200 men. But his perils don’t end there, as a skilled warrior shows up to issue a challenge. The full power of the baby cart is revealed, a pimp gets his tongue bitten off, and Daigoro acts as an effective decoy.

• Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972) – Also released under the title Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage, this installment finds Ogami Itto hired to track down and kill a tattooed female assassin who goes topless in battle. Daigoro gets separated from his father and must survive on his own, an unscrupulous lord wields a flaming sword, and Itto has his first showdown with the treacherous Yagyu Retsudo.
• Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973) – Also known by the title Shogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls of Gold. Itto is hired to perform a job, but first he’ll have to defeat the five messengers who each hold a sliver of information about his assignment (as well as a fraction of his payment). Then it’s off to slay a young girl and prevent an important document from falling into the hand of his mortal enemy, Yagyu Retsudo (now sporting an eye-patch). Daigoro wanders off again, this time demonstrating his courage and honor by helping out a female pickpocket who‘s run afoul of the law.
• Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (1974) – Also released as Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell, this is the final tale in the cinematic saga of Ogami Itto and his son, Daigoro. Black magicians burrow through the ground to attack, as well as a beautiful woman with a fondness for knives. It all leads to a climactic showdown on a snowy mountain in northern Japan, as Itto and son take on the remaining members of Clan Yagyu. Baby carts make great sleds, one-eyed old men are tougher than they look, and Itto racks up the biggest body count ever for a character in a single film (150).

If you’re into bloodshed, nudity, and characters with a rather lethal sense of honor, be sure to pick up the Lone Wolf and Cub box set today. Amazon offers the lowest price around–a savings of over $85 off the list price–and the small commission we receive will help us keep our doors open.

For those with a box set fetish, you’ll also want to read about the following:

• 25 Films of Akira Kurosawa
• The Twilight Zone DVD Collection
• James Bond Ultimate Collectors Set
• John Ford Box Set
• 24: The Complete Series
• Masters of Horror Box Set

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