SHOGUN ASSASSIN
DIRECTOR: ROBERT HOUSTON, KENJI MISUMI
US / JAPAN, 1980
In the 1970s, six LONE WOLF AND CUB films were released in Japan, all directed by Kenji Misumi and centered on a mysterious samurai/assassin who roams the countryside looking for work while pushing his two-year-old son in a wooden baby cart. The films were never released in the U.S., until 1980 when, prompted by the popularity of “Shogun” on TV, director Robert Houston edited the first two LONE WOLF AND CUB films together, rewrote the dialogue, and commissioned a new electronic score by Mark Lindsay (of the Mamas and the Papas fame). The result was the hyper-violent SHOGUN ASSASSIN, which showcased for American audiences the brutal artistry of Kenji Misumi’s original direction and the brooding intensity of Tomisaburo Wakayama as an assassin and father haunted by the past. (85 mins.)
Dubbed in English.
Co-presented with Portland’s Grindhouse Film Festival.
Festival director Dan Halsted will introduce the screenings.