Tomisaburo Wakayama gained fame in the world of Samurai films in Japan. Wakayama is best known throughout the world as the samurai warrior Ito Ogami in the famous Lone Wolf and Cub series. The series began in 1972 and after six films the series had ended with an unfortunately poor installment. Yet Tomisaburo would have a followinf not only in Japan, but throughout the rest of the world. Before the Lone Wolf series, Wakayama appeared in one of the Zatoichi films, fighting his very own brother, who played the blind masuer. He also starred in a series of Ninja films in the mid-60's and went on to make over 100 films in his career. He would go to become a versatile actor in the 80's and early 90's (even appearing with Michael Douglas in the action thriller Black Rain and Bad News Bears Take on Japan), until his death in 1992. However, most Americans with know Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami, the Lone Wolf. These films are brutal, dark, ugly and a bloody as films get. It leterally sprays on the camera. The manga are excellent as well, and it's a real blast to the see the comics so literally traslated into a series of 5 excellent films. Do yourself a favor and skip the final film, White heaven in Hell. It is a real shame they never finished the story of Ogami Itto in these films. In fact, in japan the Lone Wolf and Cub story is far more familiar from the TV series than hese films. They were re-edited into the Shogun's Assassin film released in the states. It is mostly blood with very little plot, but it's fun in a sshlocky sort of way. The disco soundtrack is funkalicious and great to groove to as heads and body parts go flyin'. The fact that Wakayama's brother is the actor who played Zatoichi is a mind-blowing discovery to a huge fan of the Zatoichi films such as myself. This all came to mind as I was watching the Sleepy Eyes of Death: The Chinese Jade where Wakayama plays a bald monk who fights ninja and samurai alike with his bare hands! It's a sight to see and Raizo Ichikawa makes a super-cool samurai in a James-Dean sort of way. He's definately got charisma to burn. Recomended. Now, I'll go back to watching Sleepy Eyes of Death. I hear that he is in part 4 as well and sports an Elvis style pompador! Actually I've been watching Animal Crackers and laughing too much. It might be hard to switch gears to a samurai film. The Marx Brothers humor holds up very well I think, and this could be my favorite movie of theirs. I often have a film on while I work. I've used CNN in the past, but their lack of reporting on real issues and focusing on tabloid nonsense of no substance is infuriating. It's impossible to work and watch subtitles, so foreign films are out as a work companion. I end up watching a lot of documentaries. I recently saw The Weather Underground which covers the history of a radical, violent, anti-vietnam group. It was quite good and I learned a good deal about a subject that was mostly new to me. It makes me wonder where the radicals are today.
Tomisaburo Wakayama gained fame in the world of Samurai films in Japan. Wakayama is best known throughout the world as the samurai warrior Ito Ogami in the famous Lone Wolf and Cub series. The series began in 1972 and after six films the series had ended with an unfortunately poor installment. Yet Tomisaburo would have a followinf not only in Japan, but throughout the rest of the world. Before the Lone Wolf series, Wakayama appeared in one of the Zatoichi films, fighting his very own brother, who played the blind masuer. He also starred in a series of Ninja films in the mid-60's and went on to make over 100 films in his career. He would go to become a versatile actor in the 80's and early 90's (even appearing with Michael Douglas in the action thriller Black Rain and Bad News Bears Take on Japan), until his death in 1992. However, most Americans with know Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami, the Lone Wolf. These films are brutal, dark, ugly and a bloody as films get. It leterally sprays on the camera. The manga are excellent as well, and it's a real blast to the see the comics so literally traslated into a series of 5 excellent films. Do yourself a favor and skip the final film, White heaven in Hell. It is a real shame they never finished the story of Ogami Itto in these films. In fact, in japan the Lone Wolf and Cub story is far more familiar from the TV series than hese films. They were re-edited into the Shogun's Assassin film released in the states. It is mostly blood with very little plot, but it's fun in a sshlocky sort of way. The disco soundtrack is funkalicious and great to groove to as heads and body parts go flyin'. The fact that Wakayama's brother is the actor who played Zatoichi is a mind-blowing discovery to a huge fan of the Zatoichi films such as myself. This all came to mind as I was watching the Sleepy Eyes of Death: The Chinese Jade where Wakayama plays a bald monk who fights ninja and samurai alike with his bare hands! It's a sight to see and Raizo Ichikawa makes a super-cool samurai in a James-Dean sort of way. He's definately got charisma to burn. Recomended. Now, I'll go back to watching Sleepy Eyes of Death. I hear that he is in part 4 as well and sports an Elvis style pompador! Actually I've been watching Animal Crackers and laughing too much. It might be hard to switch gears to a samurai film. The Marx Brothers humor holds up very well I think, and this could be my favorite movie of theirs. I often have a film on while I work. I've used CNN in the past, but their lack of reporting on real issues and focusing on tabloid nonsense of no substance is infuriating. It's impossible to work and watch subtitles, so foreign films are out as a work companion. I end up watching a lot of documentaries. I recently saw The Weather Underground which covers the history of a radical, violent, anti-vietnam group. It was quite good and I learned a good deal about a subject that was mostly new to me. It makes me wonder where the radicals are today.
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