Lone Wolf and Cub (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

What started with the 1980 release of Shogun Assassin started my life-long love of Samurai movies. Lone Wolf and Cub is a series of 6 films made in 1972 and 1973, which elevated the levels of gore and violence in the genre to unprecedented levels. Along with the blood, slicing, and dicing came unforgettable characters.So now there is a Criterion collection of these films, annotated, cleaned up, and presented in high def, blue ray, level up, super-duper, hydromatic, hyperspacial, extra special format with commentary, extras, making-of documentaries, and all the usual "more stuff than you'll ever need to know about these films" stuff that Criterion is known for. Reviews of this set have been rave, and nothing but. Nobody hates it! Yes -- it even has a high def presentation of Shogun Assassin, which is an American dub and edit of the first two films (sort of a "Best of" Lone Wolf and Cub) that first introduced American Audiences to it. Great for drinking games -- just drink a shot for every kill Ogami makes, and you'll get drunk within the first 10 minutes.Tomisaburo Wakayama is Ittyo Ogami, the perpetually disheveled and unshaven hero who sliced up a body count of biblical proportions, and who was the inspiration for John Bellushi's Samurai character. The kid, Daigoro, (played by Masahiro Tomikawa) has no dialog at all, but says volumes with his eyes (or at least his constant, penetrating stare). Lone Wolf Ogami had a falling out with his insane emperor, and wanders Japan selling his services as an assassin -- provided that he's killing bad guys. One could say that this avenging lone wolf is a grittier update to the Zatoichi films, where a blind swordsman does essentially the same thing -- killing all the bad guys to save people and whole towns from being screwed over by Yakuza and other baddies, but with all the severed limbs and buckets of blood gushing from bloody stumps to make it more realistic. As a result of Lone Wolf and Cub, Shintaro Katsu resurrected his blind swordsman character, to make a couple more Zatoichi films, but in full color with blood and gore because post-Lone Wolf and Cub audiences demanded it.The whole genre of Samurai films was never to be the same from that point. Even Akira Kurosawa had to up the gore levels in his post-Lone Wolf and Cub movies like Kagemusha and Ran. Nearly every big budget and low budget Samurai flick to this day seems to have almost obligatory bloodbaths, or at least some degree of blood and gore.My Blue Ray DVD copy should be waiting in the mailbox for me when I get home. I got it for about half price. The only drawback? I never hooked up the free Blue Ray player I got for Christmas when I got my new TV. But well, now it's time for the old DVD player that I haven't used since moving in to my house, to get replaced. I think we used it a total of 2 or 3 times before going with streaming. Almost every movie we want to watch is available streaming -- but these films have eluded the streaming networks, or only crappy copies can be found online. If you've never seen Lone Wolf and Cub before, all you need to know is that you will watch them over and over, because in spite of being more or less a live action Manga, the level of action, storytelling, and WTF scenes will keep you entertained for years to come.

This includes ALL of the original Lone Wolf and Cub movies AND the full release of "Shogun Assassin" and quite a bit of additional content of interviews with those involved (who were still alive at the time). The quality of the video is very good. Subtitles (or non-subtitled Japanese) ONLY for the "Lone Wolf and Cub" movies and the "Shogun Assassin" was dubbed in English with other options. If you enjoyed the original "Shogun Assassin" you will find a significantly different experience here with much more in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" saga. All very well done and a great addition to any Manga-Lover's collection. Wear the blood splatter proudly. As a single father.. this is tops.

Loving this set! Finally an excellent HD remastered edition, with the original version and American version and and others! Was waiting for a long time to add this to my collection! Very satisfied with it!

One of the most incredible Martial Arts Saga's I've ever seen! Beautifully filmed and the fight scenes well choreographed, this movie is saga is a brilliant example of a father's undying love for his son, as well as, a husband's devotion to his beloved wife as is evident in the first few minutes when we find our hero, an executioner for the shogunate, discovering his murdered wife's body in their home. The executioner learns he has been betrayed by the very shogun he serves! This sets our hero on a journey of revenge that spans six movies. From female assassins to resurrected dead warriors, This samurai executioner has had to face them all, all the while, helping various people along the way. Though this movie series end with the executioner still pursuing his prey so I'm on the hunt for more of these movies unless this is somehow unfinished or something. But otherwise this is a brilliantly crafted saga.

Great set !

I originally owned this series on VHS, then on DVD. Both were dark and hard to see. This Blu-Ray set by Criterion is perfect. Much brighter, easy to see. I love having this set, a worthwhile purchase. If you like Samari movies, this is full of action. It’s not dubbed into English, so you’ll have to read subtitles. I prefer this, as the subtitles are usually a better translation than if the English audio is forced to match the lip movements.Next I need to save up and purchase the Zatoichi Blind Swordsman collection!

as i said … get this awesome boxset release by Criterion Collection… i don’t hv to tell u about the tales of Lonewolf & Cub… i’m sure u already know about it… there’s a hidden stuff u’ll get when buying this gem… awesome marketing…

Blue rays are out of style, but in this case they contained everything I wanted in this film series. The seller did a great job and the content is great too.