The Bounty Hunter Trilogy

Before he made his name in Lone Wolf and Cub Tomisaburo Wakayama starred in this triptych of violent samurai spectacles that draw on James Bond and Spaghetti Westerns for inspiration yet feature the familiar style and blood-spattering action of the period. Wakayama stars as Doctor and spy-for-hire Shikoro Ichibei who in Shigehiro (The Streetfighter) Ozawa's Killer's Mission is hired to prevent the sale of firearms to a hostile Shogun. In Eiichi (13 Assassins) Kudo's follow-up, The Fort of Death, Ichibei is hired on a Seven Samurai-style mission to protect a village of farmers from a ruthless Lord. The final film sees Ozawa return for Eight Men to Kill, in which Ichibei is hired to recover a cache of stolen gold from the government's mine. Featuring an array of weapons and gadgets that would make Q proud with Ichibei supported by a band of helpers including fellow spies, ronin and female ninjas, the Bounty Hunter films deliver action thrills galore and deserve to sit alongside the celebrated action epics that followed. '[Kudo is] an extraordinary stylist .... To call him a skilled action director is to understate the power of his set-pieces.' 'Henry Sheehan Wakayama is incredible as the wily, brazen, and burly sword slinging samurai spy...If you only know Wakayama Tomisaburo by his more famous Ogami Itto role in the SIX LONE WOLF AND CUB films (1972-1974), you're in for a treat here. - Cool Ass CinemaBefore he made his name in Lone Wolf and Cub Tomisaburo Wakayama starred in this triptych of violent samurai spectacles that draw on James Bond and Spaghetti Westerns for inspiration yet feature the familiar style and blood-spattering action of the period. Wakayama stars as Doctor and spy-for-hire Shikoro Ichibei who in Shigehiro (The Streetfighter) Ozawa's Killer's Mission is hired to prevent the sale of firearms to a hostile Shogun. In Eiichi (13 Assassins) Kudo's follow-up, The Fort of Death, Ichibei is hired on a Seven Samurai-style mission to protect a village of farmers from a ruthless Lord. The final film sees Ozawa return for Eight Men to Kill, in which Ichibei is hired to recover a cache of stolen gold from the government's mine. Featuring an array of weapons and gadgets that would make Q proud with Ichibei supported by a band of helpers including fellow spies, ronin and female ninjas, the Bounty Hunter films deliver action thrills galore and deserve to sit alongside the celebrated action epics that followed. '[Kudo is] an extraordinary stylist .... To call him a skilled action director is to understate the power of his set-pieces.' 'Henry Sheehan Wakayama is incredible as the wily, brazen, and burly sword slinging samurai spy...If you only know Wakayama Tomisaburo by his more famous Ogami Itto role in the SIX LONE WOLF AND CUB films (1972-1974), you're in for a treat here. - Cool Ass Cinema