Guest tino Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I have watched the first 3 of these and I have been totally amazed. The special effects in these movies are mindblowing considering they were made in the early 70's. I still like my shaw's but these movies are in a totally different class. I am now a fan of these movies well at least the Lone Wolf movies. I think I might like the 2nd (River Styx) best so far but 1 and 3 are very good also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kungfusamurai Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I don't believe you have to like kung fu (Shaws) over japanese samurai flicks. I love them equally. I think the success of the LW&C series (I'm talking about fan-appreciation, not original box office, which I've heard was mediocre at best) was mainly due to the lead guy, Tomisaburo Wakayama. His screen presence and unmatched swordplay, not to mention his incredible physical performance (he did his own forward flips - no body doubles) made him believable as the invincible swordman Ogami Itto. The cool thing about Wakayama is that his fighting greatness shines through in pretty much every film and TV project, which is why I've tried to by everything with him in it. The last 3 films maintain the same quality as the first three films. There's a bit of a supernatural element in the 6th film, but its not over-the-top. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tino Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 He is very believable as the ultimate samurai. You wouldnt think it at first until you see him in action. Just like Sammo he's pretty fast for a chubby guy. I'm excited about the last 3. Will watch the 4th sometime tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yakuza954 Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 (he did his own forward flips - no body doubles) Wow, thats really him doing those? Thats especially amazing considering his build. Sorta like the Japanese Sammo. He does more of the same in Sympathy of the Underdog, where he has a kickass role as a Yakuza boss that knows martial arts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kungfusamurai Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I haven't heard of Sympathy of The Underdog. Where did you find that film? Sounds interesting. I guess you could call him a Japanese Sammo. But since he was doing it before Sammo made it big in the films, maybe Sammo is the Chinese Tomisaburo Wakayama. He does some more physically impressive flips in Killer's Mission too. I think he does at least one flip in every film. His best flips were: Baby Cart At River Styx, when he jumps over that guy down the sand dune; White Heaven In Hell (LW&C 6) when he does a forward flip down a snow covered hill, slides down and then gets up and cuts down a bunch of Yagyu with his sword, all in a one shot take! Did I mention he was in his mid 40s too! (Born in 1929). KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iron flag Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I love these also. Shogun Assassin is without a doubt my favorite movie of all time. I was fortunate enough to see it in the theater in the 70's (or was it 80's).The problem I have is that after seeing the LW&C movies I cant find other Samurai movies that compete (actionwise). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kungfusamurai Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 The problem I have is that after seeing the LW&C movies I cant find other Samurai movies that compete (actionwise). LOL! That's been exactly my problem! Once you've had a taste of the LW&C series, nothing else quite satisfies the samurai film appetite filled by that series. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Yakuza954 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I haven't heard of Sympathy of The Underdog. Where did you find that film? Sounds interesting. I guess you could call him a Japanese Sammo. But since he was doing it before Sammo made it big in the films, maybe Sammo is the Chinese Tomisaburo Wakayama. He does some more physically impressive flips in Killer's Mission too. I think he does at least one flip in every film. His best flips were: Baby Cart At River Styx, when he jumps over that guy down the sand dune; White Heaven In Hell (LW&C 6) when he does a forward flip down a snow covered hill, slides down and then gets up and cuts down a bunch of Yagyu with his sword, all in a one shot take! Did I mention he was in his mid 40s too! (Born in 1929). Sorry, I think my last post was misleading. His Yakuza character knows martial arts in Sympathy for the Underdog, but he dosen't do much of it. His character has a lot of great dialogue though, and is even one-armed, so that makes it a must see for any Tomisaburo Wakayama fan. He also does a flip over a speeding car thats trying to hit him. It's a Fukasaku film and was released on Region 1 if you're still interested in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kungfusamurai Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Thank you for clarifying that. It still sounds pretty cool. I'll have to check it out. KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vengeanceofhumanlanterns Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Lone Wolf and Cub films are definitely in a class of their own. One in particular that was mentioned is one of my faves, White Heaven In Hell. This is one of the only films in this series where Ogami, being pursued by warriors called back from the dead, actually shows a great deal of consternation or fear of an adversary. Ogami's first encounter with these "living dead samurai" (which takes place in a hotel they've stopped in for the night) is creepy as hell and they have very cool dialogue, taunting and terrorizing Ogami at every turn. Tomisaburo Wakayama is one of the all time greats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shaking Mantis Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 I am currently watching Shogun Assassin and noticed that they were calling him lonewolf, is shogun basically a tribute movie or is there some kind of correlation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Buddha Assassinator Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Shogun Assassin is the first two parts of the lone wolf and cub series (Sword of Vengeance and Babycart at the River Styx) edited together, although quite a bit of the story is cut out to reduce running time. Also it has a narration by Daigoro included on the dubbed soundtrack which doesn't exist in the lone wolf and cub series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Daisho2004 Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 JFYI: Animeigo is releasing Shogun Assassin digitally remastered its coming out in July, this is the Original that we all 1st. seen back in the early 70's which is narrated by his son Daigoro so it will be in English but don't forget it is the chopped version of Pt's.#1&2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chopsocky Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 Just seen Sword of Vengeance is down for a Special edition release on play.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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