Lone Wolf and Cub was a smash-hit series for Katsu Production, even outdoing Zatoichi. Of course, this was made before the TV series. Makes you wonder why Tomisaburo Wakayama wasn't cast in the TV version. Right from the opening you're overwhelmed: a raging sea on the right, a road of flames on the left — a Ten Commandments-style "either way it's hell" path that he just keeps walking down! It's a famous story that Wakayama, the elder brother of the family, who plays the official executioner Ogami Itto, personally visited original author Kazuo Koike again and again to finally get the film adaptation he longed for. In any case, it's one brutal splatter scene after another. This is where Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez got their start. Heads go flying, both legs get severed at once and bodies slide off at an angle — pure splatter! Packed with shocking imagery. And above all, the sword choreography is superb! Gonnosuke Ito's Yagyu Retsudo is a tour de force. And Yoshi Kato's screen presence remains one of a kind. Includes four Katsu Production trailers. This can't be played on standard Japanese DVD players, but it can be viewed on a computer. A Japanese edition is available as well, but this overseas edition comes at a lower price. Directed by Kenji Misumi; released January 1972; 83 minutes. (Original Japanese text by COMPUMA)