Shogun Assassin (1980) – DVD Review

I’ve heard a lot about a little film called Shogun Assassin (and even some about the sequels in the series), but until now I hadn’t had a chance to give it a watch, and I’m kicking myself for not watching it sooner. If you want a straight-ahead samurai revenge flick with almost nonstop action, adventure and violence, then this may just be the flick you’ve been waiting for. Blood, sweat and a few boobs thrown in for good measure, Shogun Assassin may have been made way back in 1980, but it sure as hell looks great.

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The Face of Another (1966)

The idea that your entire identity can be lost upon a horrible disfigurement to your face is nothing new to the world of cinema. Films such as Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face and Jess Franco’s The Awful Dr. Orloff have explored these themes before with varying degrees of success. These same themes in the hands of auteur Hiroshi Teshigahara and surrealist Kobo Abe however produce a beast altogether different than anything seen before. The Face of Another is a film far ahead of its time, and a masterpiece of identity lost.

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