Starring: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Tomoko Mayama, Fumio Watanabe, Keiko Fujita, Reiko Kasahara, Yunosuke Ito
Review: (Original Title: Kozure Ôkami: Ko wo kashi ude kashi tsukamatsuru)
After the murder of his wife and being framed for disloyalty, Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama), the official Shogunate executioner, and his 3-year-old son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa), wander in search of vengeance on the Yagyu clan.
This is the first film based on the epic Lone Wolf and Cub comic series from Manga. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is an action flick that is arty, gritty, dramatic, and is chock full of over-the-top violence, nudity, and performances that make this film not only a perfect film version of the comic, but set the standard for so many anti-heroes for decades to come.
Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami Itto has screen presence to spare. He owns every single frame of this movie and seems to very well embody his character. You feel for him and his unfathomable plight, and you believe that he will indeed exact his revenge and let nothing stand in his way.
The backstory is told in a series of flashbacks that are masterfully executed (no pun intended) so you are completely invested in the characters and their goal as their story progresses. The cinematography is wonderfully striking, in some scenes dream-like, and create a look and feel much like the comics on which it was based. The music also creates a mood of drive and determination as Itto and Daigoro show time and time again that they only deal in absolutes and are not to be underestimated.
The violence is unflinchingly brutal, bloody, and extreme with every sword fight which gives it a definite '70s exploitation vibe - which is great and what fans of these type of samurai movies are looking for. And although I enjoy Itto's sword-play, I think the quiet moments between father and son are really what grounds it and makes you want to wander the Japanese country side with Lone Wolf and Cub.
Great characters, a compelling story, and sword fights that'll have you seeing red are what makes Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance a must see!
Fun Fact: Footage from the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films (Sword of Vengeance and Baby Cart on the River Styx) from 1972 would years later be re-edited into an American film called Shogun Assassin (1980). This merger of the two films would go on to earn it's place in American pop culture as one of the most notorious exploitation films of the early 80's.