General discussion (non-Usagi Yojimbo related) about all things Japan -- Feudal Japan, Samurai, Ninjas, Anime & Manga, Chambara films, Japanese Pop Culture, Otaku, martial arts, history, sushi, giant robots, Godzilla... anything Japan-related!
herotolegend wrote:ok seriously....does nobody love lone wolf and cub in here? lone wolf and cub 1-6 should be on your list if you like violence/gore.
For my birthday a friend bought me Lone Wolf and Cub : Baby Cart in the Land of Demons. I watched it last night.
I've never seen any of these lone wolf and cub movies before. I've have the comic books but not in english translation. While I don't read Japanese, the art is well done so I could follow the basic storyline. Given that background here's my review of the movie:
Not appropriate for kids due to graphic violence.
Story: Good but not great. A clan hires Ogami Itto to save the honor of their clain. He must kill a spy to return a document that would dishonor the clan. There are a lot fight scenes that are clever and entertaining. There is a little twist at the end that leads to a huge battle.
Subplot: Great - a woman pickpocket thief entrust Daigoro with her stolen wallet when a theft goes wrong. The boy is arrested but remains true to his promise.
Violence/gore: A little too much for my taste. This film was made in 1973 and is in full color. Maybe if it was in black and white it would have been easier for me to watch. My favorite samurai movie is Masaki Kobayahsi's Hara Kiri in which a character commits seppuku with a wooden blade. It's very violent but in black and white I didn't find it as disturbing as this movie. I must be getting old.
If this movie is typical of the series, I won't go out of my way to rent, let alone buy any more. I prefer Zatoichi series because Katsu Shintaro is such a great actor and there is always humor to balance out to balance out the great fights. But if you like swords play and graphic violence this movie won't disappoint.
sorry i didnt think about age. yes lone wolf is very graphic and violent. its something of a cult classic because of this. but the thing is. you should watch it from the beginning to get the whole story. babycart in the land of demons is movie 5. so you've missed the much larger story.
I like Lone wolf and cub movies (though I've only sen Shogun assassin). I think the gore is more realistic than zatoichi gore where usually someone gets slashed and no blood comes out. I can'r stand that.
Shogun assassin was really good even though they chopped up two movies and added the kid's voiceover to make it. I recently saw Hidden Fortress which was really great. Also Kagemusha is really worth seeing.
Hidden Fortress might be O.K. for younger viewers but not the other two for sure.
Several of the characters in Usagi's world are inspired by or make reference to samurai movies. Usagi's former lord is named Mifune, which is a nod to Toshiro Mifune, an actor who starred in countless classic Samurai films. Gen, the rhino bounty hunter, was inspired by the characters made famous by Toshiro Mifune in the samurai films Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Zato-Ino, the Blind Swordspig, is a reference and tribute to the film character of Zatoichi. The story arc "Lone Goat and Kid" features an assassin who wanders with his son in a babycart, referring to the film/manga series, Lone Wolf and Cub. Most significantly, the main character's name, Miyamoto Usagi, is a play on "Miyamoto Musashi", Japan's most famous historical samurai and the author of The Book of Five Rings
Any questions?...
Arigato,
Hareblade
P.S.
I know to most this info is old news but I consider Usagi the ultimate samurai and his comic the ultimate samurai movie series...the only ones I or you will ever need.
Obviously Akira Kurosawa films are the gold standard in Samurai movies you cant go wrong with any of them. I also enjoyed Heaven & Earth by Haruki Kadokawa. I didn't notice any one mention The Last Samurai. I was wondering if there was a previous post on the forums about this movie ? What did you guys think of The Last Samurai ? I know a lot of film purist are turned off by the big Hollywood productions and names (Tom Cruise). Whether you Like Tom Cruise or not I think he and Ken Wantanabe had great performances. The story was solid and the cinematography and imagery was spot on. I thought it did a great job of exemplifying Bushido as well as being just an all around enjoyable movie. There was an interesting show on the History channel called History vs. Hollywood. One episode dealt with The Last Samurai, I believe historically it didn't hold much water. If I remember correctly it was the Germans who actually counseled them in modern war tactics. I would love to learn more on this subject.
I enjoyed The Last Samurai for what it was, a Hollywood Movie, but it just does not have the "feel" of a real Japanese Chambara or Jidai Geki film.
One of the things which was mentioned on the forums here back when the movie was first released concerned an episode early in the movie, just after Tom Cruise arrives in Japan. They show a scene where everyone walking around in the rain with umbrellas, but some of the umbrellas are the black modern nylon type of umbrella, mixed in with the authentic looking period ones.
I guess the prop department ran out of authentic umbrellas. I get your point. When I first saw the movie I enjoyed it but was not blown away. I have to say though after subsequent viewings its really grown on me. Some of my friends who are into Samurai movies were quick to dismiss it as Hollywood junk. I have to wonder though if this was the same exact movie but done by a small independent company and had no name actors would it have been better accepted by the "hardcore" fans?
I recently saw Yoji Yamamoto's The Hidden Blade, and I thought it was pretty good. His earlier film The Twilight Samurai is worth seeing too. There's supposed to be a third film in this loose "trilogy," but I don't know if it's on DVD in the US yet.
The Hidden Blade is a bit more low-key than a lot of samurai movies, and aside from one fairly jarring piece of CGI gore at the end, it almost feels like what you would get if Yasujiro Ozu directed samurai movies. It's a bit of a change of pace, but I enjoyed it.
One of my favourites is Harakiri. There is however one graphic scene in the movie.
My favourite Kurosawa film is Throne of Blood. I also really like Samurai Rebellion, Twilight Samurai, When The Last Sword is Drawn, The Samurai Trilogy and most of the others listed. As far as guilty pleasures are concerned, the animated series Samurai Champloo is great (I can't remember the rating) and Samurai Fiction is a funny and entertaining movie as long as you take it as light entertainment.
I get your point. When I first saw the movie I enjoyed it but was not blown away. I have to say though after subsequent viewings its really grown on me. Some of my friends who are into Samurai movies were quick to dismiss it as Hollywood junk. I have to wonder though if this was the same exact movie but done by a small independent company and had no name actors would it have been better accepted by the "hardcore" fans?