The Criterion Collection, or pretty much any video essay search on YouTube or written review can tell you all you need to know about the sextet of Lone Wolf And Cub titles in its library. Or, rather though, the best experience in this case is a lived one, given it’s still one of the most celebrated classic chambara franchises ever made, and never without ceremony as it still garners curated screenings for occasional public film events, as well as praise for its influence toward other creators and auteurs over the years.
I spent the past week engaging in the blood-soaked revenge saga featuring Tomisaburo Wakayama and Akihiro Tomikawa in the titular roles based on Kazuo Koike’s hit manga. I’m not familiar with the television shows that followed and I’ll probably follow up on my socials if I ever come across them over time, but the initial adaptations from helmers Kenji Misumi, Buichi Saito and Yoshiyuki Kuroda are a damn good way to get a foundation going, particularly if that remake/reboot is still pending.
Feel free to get all the discs now from Criterion, or by all means, stream them now on HBO Max. Averaging eighty to ninety minutes each title, the Lone Wolf & Cub films are time well spent. Here’s a classic trailer to help whet the appetite, although I promise the resolution is better presented today.
