From my favorite movies..

A Masterpiece!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is an example of how hacks can make an action movie an embarrassment for all involved.This is a story about a guy who rolls his son along in a cart, but all they do is just kill what seems like hundreds of people.In fact, everyone seems to be just killing everyone, with one exception. On some transport, there are actually people sitting around, including the title characters and three killers, and the hero throws a blade into a sheath. However, the director can't resist making this another scene for the beavis and buttheads, the crack-heads and zombies, the Al and Peg Bundy, the guffawing monkeys and the psychopaths.For everyone else, it just becomes tedious. It's just mindless killing, with not a bit of motivation. It has the gory scenes designed for the Al and Peg Bundy, the beavis and butthead, and their ilk, to chuckle and claim it is cool. For everyone else, it is stupid.It's truly pitiful when an action movie is directed and written this poorly. The overkill of fighting and killing gets more monotonous than the lack of action in movies like "Equus".In effect, this is "Equus", just the flip side of the coin. If you like one extreme, you will some day like the other.For everyone else, this is supremely dull.

I love the entire 6 part series, but this one is my personal favorite with it's grand collection of action, emotion and gory dismemberment.Time has passed since the Yagyu clan framed Ogami Itto as a traitor and murdered his wife, but the wandering assassin is as determined as ever. The Yagyu clan is active as well in seeking to eliminate the former Shogun executioner; they enlist the aid of one of the clans sects, the Asuki Yagyu women, to kill Itto and his son. At the same time, Ogami has just accepted a job to assassinate dye maker.Arguably the bloodiest of the series, but also the most methodical. Story elements are presented in slow, stiff dialogue exchanges, only to be off-set by quick, bloody bursts of violence. Much of the film is silent as well, there is very little talking for the whole picture. Once swords are drawn, however, the movie becomes a whole other beast entirely; the action is fast, it's gory, and it's ever so fun to watch.Story wise, this one doesn't do much for the overlapping plot of the series. Despite clashing yet again with the Yagyu clan very little is resolved on that front. It ends pretty much were it started, but while the story lacks a grander scale, it makes up for it with interesting characters and a well told (if ultimately unimportant) side story involving the dye maker hit. Inparticular, the three 'Gods of Death' are a nice addition; Ogami's fight with them is the best of the series in my opinion.Nothing much to say on the technical front, it's no better or worse then any other film in the sub-genre. Sound, lighting, direction, acting are all sufficient enough to get the job done.A classic of samurai film and another hardy addition to a great series.9/10

I found Babycart in a sale and it had two other movies with it. The reason I bought it was because it had a special cover that indicating it had something to do with Kill Bill and it did. They were three films that had the biggest influence on Kill Bill so I thought it must be good but I didn't expect it to better. When viewing it I was watching how real films about samurai films were made and what they were like and they were more than I could have ever expected. The use of silence in some of the fight scenes were great but at first I thought it was really strange and didn't have a clue what was going on and I was saying every swear word in the dictionary of swearing then my Fiancée brought me back down to earth and said that she once read that samurai attacks in completely silence so it's enemy isn't aware of his moves which was the reason the film was like this and my thought straight away was `Clever Buggers'. It's because if you haven't grown up watching films like this and you are quite oblivious to what samurai films like this and Shogun Assassin are about you see them as a ray of sun shine into you're life because you are being introduced into this new genre which you never ever knew anything about which is always nice.I was taken into this film from the start and was just amazed by how influential these kind of films have been for so many years and when you watch them you will see why.

Kozure Okami:Sanzu no Kawa no Ubaguruma/Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) is made up of a few episodes from graphic novel series. One part of story is loosely based on an episode called EIGHT GATES OF DECEIT. The sub plot involving the masters of death is inspired by THE FLUTE OF THE FALLEN TIGER. The part where Daigoro is used as bait to lure out Ogami Itto is based on another episode known as EXECUTIONER'S HILL. The bits and pieces from the different stories are sown together to form an exciting samurai flick. First few minutes produce a stunning sequence of action mis-en-scene. Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) is the best of the six film series because of complex character development, interesting story, and outstanding action sequences. The Chimes heard by Ogami Itto and his son, Daigoro during early moments of film are a reminder for them of their painful past. Humorous moment occurs when an owner of a hotel inn takes in Itto and son(Lone Wolf gave him gold pieces to watch over) after thinking of not taking them in moments earlier. There is a brilliant 360 to 180 degree pan of the camera that features an effective tight close up to display expressions of intuition from faces of Ogami Itto and Daigoro. Places a little more focus into the code and demeanor of Ogami Itto than Part One. Ogami Itto as the Lone Wolf lives by Meifumado as a way towards restoring his family name while at the same time take revenge on the Yagyu clan. Ogami Itto kills without emotion yet a shed of humanity is somewhere within his soul. He is an action character of three dimensional depth that is rare for an action picture. Ogami Itto intriques me as a character of graphic novels and for this instance film because of his strong paternal presence. Introduces some tough female ninja assassins that Lone Wolf & Cub have to go up against. They seem to be untouchable after dispatching a volunteer of the Kurokuwa group until the female warriors face off with Ogami Itto. Ogami Itto is one tough and determined opponent as the female ninja assassins find out when the majority of this group but one is killed off. The face off between Ogami Itto and Sayaka, the leader of the female assassin group successfully played by Kayo Matsuo has a surreal feel to it. Ogami Itto walking through a path of bodies with a baby cart that has a vegetable stuck in the middle front is a nice comic touch. The confrontation between Lone Wolf & Cub and the Shogunate's Kurokuwa Ninja group is a combo of artful violent imagery and brilliantly smooth editing. This moment flows smoothly in a way that is hypnotic to the eye and mesmerizing to the brain. Although the scene does have it share of graphic violence, there is never a crude feel in the action as at moments in Sword of Vengeance(1972). Fantastic use of cuts and dissolves to make this moment one of the best action scenes from the first two films. The cinematography used in the action moves with graceful steps. Lone Wolf and Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) really gets at the heart of the story with its complex father/son relationship. The father/son relationship of Itto and Daigoro is what has made the Lone Wolf & Cub stories for so many people. Ogami Itto and Daigoro are tied together by an unbreakable bond that is indescrible in words. The bodily expressions tell more about the relationship of Ogami Itto and Daigoro than any sentence could ever do. An example of this notion happens when the leader of the Kurokuwa Ninja threatens to kill Daigoro is Itto does not give up. The graphic violence is much higher here than in Sword of Vengenace(1972). The violent battle scenes of BCATRS stir around with stylistic expression. Maybe not as artisticly refined as in samurai films by Akira Kurosawa, but the violent battle scenes at least never feel bland or boring. I can see where filmmakers like John Woo got their influences when I watch the battle scenes of LW&C:BCATRS(1972). The graphic violence in part two and the other films in the series must have played an important influence on the bloody violence in Lucio Fulci's gothic chillers. Ogami Itto and Daigoro follow a path of blood and corpses that is steeped in tragedy. In living by Meifumado, they are as one who hold a future that is bleak and hopeless. Only when they completely destroy the Yagyu Clan can the Lone Wolf and Cub return to a path of a hopeful future. For Daigoro, dying in the well would have been more merciful than living to an unknown future. Daigoro represents the good, kind side of Ogami Itto whom without would just be cold blooded and ruthless. The tragic path of the two is an element that is fascinating. The most formidable opponets of Ogami Itto are the Bentenri brothers from part two. The duel between the brothers and the God of Death in the sandy desert is Leonesque. The head splitting moment is the creme de la creme of the duel. Tomisaburo Wakayama for this moment reaches the larger than life heights of Toshiro Mifune. Breathtaking samurai duel with excellent scenery that would have made Sergio Leone proud. The actors who play the Masters of Death give their characters an unique quirk to make the Bentenrai brothers fascinating villains. One of the actresses(Michie Azuma) who plays a female ninja assassin would have a more substanical role as topless female assassin in Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart in Peril(1972). Part One and Part two of LW&C use identical imagery. Better directed than the first film with fewer slow moments. Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx(1972) stays true emotionally to the graphic novel that the film is based on.