1/29/23
Newsletter #234
The Crack of Dawn
Since I mentioned Shogun Assassin (1980) yesterday, and stated that I loved it, have seen it many times, and I own the DVD, let me explain for those of you who haven’t heard of it, which is probably a lot.
Shogun Assassin began its life in the early 1970s as a series of Manga, which are Japanese comic books, called Lone Wolf and Cub. These were made into six feature films, known as the Baby Cart series (all available through Criterion). The plot is that Ogami (Lone Wolf), the Shogun’s top bodyguard, has become too powerful, so the Shogun attempts to have him, his wife, and his baby son, Daigorō, assassinated. However, just the wife is killed. Ogami and Daigorō find her dead body. In one of my favorite scenes in movies, Ogami sticks his sword into the floor, then sets a colorful ball a few feet away. He says to his incredibly cute, one-year-old baby, “Choose the ball, you go with your mother. Choose the sword and you come with me.” It looks like Daigorō is going to choose the ball, then instead touches the sword. Ogami picks him up and says, “You are truly my son.” Just then ten assassins arrive. In one of the many, many brilliant sword fight scenes, Ogami picks up Daigorō, pulls his sword, and with one hand kills all ten assassins. Ogami puts Daigorō into a wooden baby cart and heads off into the countryside, where absolutely everybody wants to kill them.
I like all six Baby Cart movies, but they are a completely different experience than Shogun Assassin. The Baby Cart films are full-length, two-hour movies, with a stately, Japanese pace, hip, jazzy scores, and are slightly surrealistic. Shogun Assassin is 90-minutes, moves at a breakneck pace, and has cool synth score by Mark Lindsey, formerly of Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Here's what happened: two Americans, Robert Houston and David Weisman, got the rights to two of the Baby Cart films, wrote a new script making use of the available footage, then whittled four hours down to an hour and a half. Robert Houston, by the way, had never directed a movie, but had starred in The Hills Have Eyes (1977). They then did something (that I hope to emulate), which is they recut the film with the dubbing into English in mind. Dubbing is always an afterthought. But if one can take it into consideration while editing, it’s easily overcome. Therefore, Shogun Assassin is the best dubbed movie I’ve ever seen. The mouth movements and the English dialogue never lose synch. As soon as anyone begins to speak and their mouth opens, it cuts away to everybody else listening, and when they finish speaking it cuts back to them just as they close their mouth. It’s simple and brilliant.
Also, Robert Houston and David Weisman got exceptionally good voice talent. The voice of Lone Wolf was done by the multiple Emmy Award-winning director, Lamont Johnson. Johnson had started his career as an actor and had a low, basso profundo voice that’s perfect for Lone Wolf. They also got Sandra Bernhard (King of Comedy) as the voice of the Supreme Ninja, and she’s incredibly good.
OK. Eight years later in 1988, I was crashing on my cousin Eric and his wife Jen’s couch in W. Hollywood (for so long they had to throw me out), and Jen said, “My dear friends, Bobby and David, are coming to dinner tonight. You’ll love these guys, they’re great.”
Bobby and David were an attractive, sharp, gay couple, who were a big solid step ahead of me in Hollywood. I had made one feature-length movie. Bobby and David had made a movie called Bad Manners (1984) for Roger Corman starring Martin Mull and Karen Black. And they were presently in the midst of making Trust Me (1989) starring Adam Ant.
So, Bobby was telling us about making Bad Manners for Roger Corman, who he mentioned had released his film, Shogun Assassin.
I gasped. “You’re the Robert Houston who directed Shogun Assassin?”
Bobby looked like he had been caught shoplifting, and whispered, “Yes.”
I said, “I love that movie. I’ve seen it 20 times. I have score, by Mark Lindsey. I had the poster on my wall for a while. What on Earth inspired you to get Lamont Johnson for the voice of Lone Wolf?”
Bobby honestly looked like he might cry, or die of embarrassment, and said, “I’ve never had a fan before.”
Bobby Houston has since gone on to win an Oscar for Best Documentary Short, for Mighty Times: The Children's March in 2004.
I only met him that one night, but I was extremely honored to represent all of the Shogun Assassin fans everywhere. Bravo!
As the sun goes down on Pago Pago, we here in Detroit drink a pop called Faygo.