This whole strand of Japanese Cinema represents some of my favourite movies.
I won't be buying the box set as I picked up the Artsmagic remasters for £2 each in Cardiff Market, but I'd say to anyone who hasn't had the chance to see this epic series that they pick them up on sight. More than a franchise, the six films are more like episodes in an epic "Lord of the Rings" style film cycle.
This is due to their origin in comic books, where the characters and plot line had been long established, but it means you can sit down in the early afternoon and let the films take you away to a surreal, feudal Japan and it's a world you can lose yourself in as the light fades outside and you lose track of time.
Of all the genre movies I love, these, and the Lady Snowblood, Hanzo the Razor and Female Prisoner Scorpion movies, are my favourite films of all time (Groundhog Day excepted of course...), because they combine artistry and trash in perfect balance. I love sleazy, low rent nasties, but the Lone Wolf and Cub movies are a cut above, classy, high quality 70s Adventure Cinema with a violent streak a mile wide.
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