Kozure Ôkami: Shinikazeni mukau ubaguruma (1972)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Kenji Misumi

Writers:

Kazuo Koike (story) and
Goseki Kojima (story) ...

Release Date:

April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Then they threw an army at him, and he threw it back... a piece at a time

Plot:

In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute...

Plot Keywords:

Yakuza | Decapitation | Sequel | Torture | Baby Cart

Cast

Tomisaburo Wakayama	...	Ogami Itto
Go Kato	...	Magomura Kanbei
Yuko Hamada	...	Torizo
Isao Yamagata	...	Endo Genba
Michitaro Mizushima	...	Asada Junai
Ichirô Nakaya
Akihiro Tomikawa	...	Daigoro
Sayoko Kato
Jun Hamamura	...	Miura Tatewaki
Daigo Kusano
Toshiya Wazaki
Hiroshi Nawa
Sakai Umezu
Saburo Date	...	Swift-style swordsman
Hatsuo Yamaya

Also Known As:

Baby Cart (USA)
Baby Cart in Hades
Lend a Child (USA)
Lend an Army (USA)
Lightning Swords of Death (USA) (new title)
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (USA)
Lone Wolf and Cub: Perambulator Against the Winds of Death (literal English title)
Lupine Wolf (USA) (video title)
Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death (USA) (DVD title)
Sword of Vengeance, Part III

Runtime:

89 min | USA:83 min (edited version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) (1974) | Germany:18 | Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (special edition) | Australia:R (original rating) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Katsu Production Co. Ltd.

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Lesser Film In Exciting Franchise

This is the third "Baby Cart" movie, and it is (so far) my least favorite film of the series. I'm not saying that the film is not good, but I don't think this movie is as effective as the two previous films in the series. It is stylish, but strangely subdued. This time around the emphasis is on character development, not action. The new approach is interesting, adding intriguing psychological layers to the saga. However, the energetic, highly stylized technique that made the first two films so much fun, is completely absent from this movie. Technically, this is as good as the rest of the saga, I just think it is a little bit of a let down. The movie does come to life during the (very gory) climax, where our hero confronts an entire army of assassins. It is an unforgettable sequence, masterfully choreographed. The ending alone redeems the entire film.