Learning on ScreenShogun Assassin
Like many cult films it’s something that’s hard to define. Perhaps what’s most interesting about it is its duality of purpose. It can be viewed as both out-and-out revenge thriller and postulation on the father/son relationship. Most revenge thrillers concern themselves with a single question: how far would you go for vengeance? SA, however, goes further, appending the inquiry of the concerned relationship’s depth, i.e., how far and through what can that bond be maintained? And while other films will generally offer conclusions (even if it’s: to the death), SA does not. It ends on a freeze-frame, the story unresolved, so if there’s an answer at all it’s simply: who knows? Knowing the film’s origins it’s almost foolish to suggest this to be the result of anything other than the production process, the filmmaker’s inability to condense a story spanning six films into a compact 80 minutes. But watch it on its own terms and the effect is quite different. We’re left instead, as one imagines the protagonists are, with the view that vengeance can’t ever be gained, that peace can’t be found and the thirst for blood never be satiated. It’s a bleak conclusion, but one that, despite the film’s fantastical violence, feels far more real and truthful.
There are those, of course, who’ll disagree with this view, people who find SA nothing more than an exploitation of Japanese style. They’ll insist you seek out the originals, that only then can the story of Ogami and Diagoro be truly appreciated. And they’re right, to a point. Certainly you should seek them out; they, too, are a pleasure to watch. But the ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ films were far from pure in themselves: with their be-bop/funk soundtracks and gun-housing strollers (see also: killer radishes and Kimonos with ejector seats) they can hardly be called traditional. In reality the series was as much a piece of exploitative filmmaking as its American cousin.
… a master class in mash-up filmmaking
Whatever the view, from a critical standpoint Shogun Assassin provides a master class in mash-up filmmaking, highly relevant in days that see the YouTube community reshaping other people’s work on a daily basis. And for those interested in the subject this Blu-Ray serves as a valuable resource. In addition to what is undoubtedly the finest presentation to date (full restoration from the original prints brings a new warmth and sharpness to the picture), the on board extras house a trove of information. Yes, the interview with Samuel L. Jackson feels decidedly tacked on (it might just as well have been conducted with a regular in your local), but it’s more than made up for by the film’s two audio commentaries, one provided by producer David Weisman, artist Jim Evans and the voice of Diagoro, Gibran Evans, the other by film academic Ric Meyers and martial artist Steve Watson, which provide unique insights into the film’s production and a deeper reading of the content, respectively. If you’re not a fan of Shogun Assassin you most likely won’t be converted, but it you are you’re in luck: it’s the release you’ve been waiting for.
Frazer Ash
E-mail: frazer@bufvc.ac.uk
BUFVC Digital Transfer Manager
