Shogun Assassin
Cover of the UK DVD.
Directed by	Robert Houston
Produced by	Shintaro Katsu Robert Houston
Written by	Kazuo Koike Goseki Kojima
Starring	Tomisaburo Wakayama
Music by	Hideaki Sakurai
Cinematography	Chishi Makiura
Editing by	Lee Percy Toshio Taniguchi
Distributed by	Toho
Release date(s)	1980
Running time	86 min.
Country	Japan/US
Language	English (dubbed)
IMDb profile

Shogun Assassin (known in Japan as Kozure Ōkami 子連れ狼) is a very violent jidaigeki movie made for the American market and released in 1980. The film is considered a classic by many fans of the samurai-film genre. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Robert Houston is an American actor and director from California. ... Shintaro Katsu in Shintaro Katsus Zatoichi (1989), which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in. ... Robert Houston is an American actor and director from California. ... Kazuo Koike (小池一夫 Koike Kazuo, born May 8, 1936 in Daisen, Akita Prefecture -) is a manga-ka. ... Goseki Kojima (小島剛夕 Kojima Gōseki, November 3, 1928 - January 5, 2000) was a manga-ka. ... Tomisaburo Wakayama (若山富三郎, 1929-1992) was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Itto, the disgraced, scowling, 17th century ronin in the six Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub) samurai feature movies. ... The current logo of Toho (in the US.) Toho Company, Limited , TYO: 9602) is a large Japanese film studio. ... // Events April 30 - The Roger Daltrey film, McVicar, opens in London. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jidaigeki (時代劇) is a genre of film and television in Japan. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ... AnimEigo is an American licensor and distributor, within the United States and Canada, of Japanese anime such as Urusei Yatsura, Oh My Goddess!, Vampire Princess Miyu, Gainaxs classic industry sendup Otaku no Video, the Bubblegum Crisis OVA series, and Kimagure Orange Road. ...

Shogun Assassin was edited and compiled from the first two films in the Baby Cart series, using 12 minutes of the first film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru or Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent), and most of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (Kozure Ōkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma or Wolf with Child in Tow: Perambulator of the River of Sanzu). Both were originally released in 1972. There were six films in all in the series. These in turn were based on the long-running 1970s manga series, Lone Wolf and Cub, created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. // Top grossing films The Godfather Fiddler on the Roof Diamonds Are Forever Whats Up, Doc?, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan ONeal Dirty Harry The Last Picture Show A Clockwork Orange Cabaret, starring Liza Minnelli The Hospital Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex Academy Awards Best Picture... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Manga )   (pl. ... This article is about a Japanese manga series. ... Kazuo Koike (小池一夫 Koike Kazuo, born May 8, 1936 in Daisen, Akita Prefecture -) is a manga-ka. ... Goseki Kojima (小島剛夕 Kojima Gōseki, November 3, 1928 - January 5, 2000) was a manga-ka. ...

Shogun Assassin was dubbed into English whereas the originals are in Japanese. The film, being compiled from separate stories, uses a much-simplified version of the situation. For instance, any mention of clan war is gone and the opponent Retsudo is simply called "The Shogun." A foreboding synthesizer score of the type popular at the time was applied. Sandra Bernhard provided one of the voices in the dubbed edition. Sandra Bernhard (born June 6, 1955 in Flint, Michigan) is an American actress, comedian, author and singer. ...

The title character, Ogami Ittō, is played by Tomisaburo Wakayama, brother of the producer, Shintaro Katsu, who is known for playing Zatoichi in a series of 26 films starting in the 1960s. Ogami Ittō (拝 一刀 Ogami Ittō) is the lead character in the Lone Wolf and Cub series by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, portrayed in a six-part film saga by Tomisaburo Wakayama. ... Tomisaburo Wakayama (若山富三郎, 1929-1992) was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Itto, the disgraced, scowling, 17th century ronin in the six Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub) samurai feature movies. ... Shintaro Katsu in Shintaro Katsus Zatoichi (1989), which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in. ... Shintaro Katsu in Zatoichi Challenged (1967) Takeshi Kitano in Zatoichi (2003) Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japans longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ...

Several audio clips from Shogun Assassin are used on GZA's Liquid Swords (produced by RZA). In addition, the film is invoked in Kill Bill Vol. 2 (for which RZA provided original music) in the end scenes where the protagonist and her daughter watch it as a bed-time story . GZA (pronounced Jizza), aka The Genius, born Gary Grice August 22, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York City is an American MC . ... Liquid Swords was a 1995 (see 1995 in music) solo album by Wu-Tang Clan member Genius (GZA). ... RZA, pronounced Rizza, (born Robert Diggs, July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American hip hop producer, rapper and actor. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Kill Bill: Vol. ... A protagonist is the central figure of a story. ...

Quotes

The dubbing of the movie is typified by bad grammar as a result of literal translation and cultural misinterpretation. This has resulted in some quotable catchphrases from the movie:

• "They shall pay. With rivers of blood!"
• "Oh mad one! We see your trap!"
• "I am the Supreme Ninja"
• "Your technique is magnificent, when cut across the neck a sound like wailing winter winds is heard they say, I´d always hoped to cut someone like that some day, to hear that sound, but to have it happen to my own neck, is ridiculous"
• "When I was little, my father was famous. He was the greatest Samurai in the empire, and he was the Shogun's decapitator. He cut off the heads of 131 lords, for the Shogun. It was a bad time for the empire. The Shogun just stayed inside his castle and he never came out. People said his brain was infected by devils, and that he is rotting with evil. The Shogun said the people were not loyal. He said he had a lot of enemies, but he killed more people than that. It was a bad time. Everybody living in fear, but still we were happy. My father would come home to mother, and when he had see her, he would forget about the killings. He wasn't scared of the Shogun, but the Shogun was scared of him. Maybe that was the problem. That night, mother would sing for us, while father would go into his temple and pray for peace. He had prayed for things to get better. Then, one night the Shogun sent his ninja spies to our house. They were supposed to kill my father, but they didn't. That was the night everything changed, forever. That was when my father left his samurai life and became a demon. He became an assassin, he walks the road of vengeance. And he took me with him. I don't remember most of this myself. I only remember the Shogun's ninja hunted us wherever we go. And the bodies falling. And the blood."
• "I have decided to escape, to defy the shogun. Today I will begin walking the road to hell. But you will choose your own path. So, soon you may be seeing heaven. Choose the sword, and you will join me. Choose the ball and you join your mother, in death. You don’t understand my words, but you must choose. So… come boy, choose life or death."

Several clips from Shogun Assassin were included in the single Gotcha Back from Wu-tang clan GZA's debut album "Genius".

See also

• Lone Wolf and Cub
• Jidaigeki
• Exploitation film

This article is about a Japanese manga series. ... Jidaigeki (時代劇) is a genre of film and television in Japan. ... Exploitation films is a loosely defined term to describe a genre of films that typically sacrifice the traditional notions of artistic merit for a more sensationalistic display, often featuring excessive sex, violence, and gore. ...

External link

• Shogun Assassin at the Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...