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. 

LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:

• High-Definition digital transfer of each film presented on two discs, made available on Blu-ray (1080p) for the first time in the world
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Audio commentary on Killer’s Mission by Tom Mes
• Interview with film historian and Shigehiro Ozawa expert Akihito Ito about the filmmaker
• Visual essay on Eiichi Kudo by Japanese cinema expert Robin Gatto
• Series poster and press image gallery
• Trailers
• Optional English subtitles
• Six postcards of artwork from the films
• Reversible sleeves featuring artwork based on original posters
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by samurai film expert Alain Silver, an obituary of Eiichi Kudo by Kinji Fukasaku and an interview piece on Shigehiro Ozawa after his retirement from filmmaking
• Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

This item is included in the multi-month Bundle Package "2024 Bundle", customers who ordered this package will automatically receive this release as part of Bundle 3 which includes The Bounty Hunter Trilogy, Tony Arzenta and A Story Written with Water.

Also available in USA/Canada from our partners MVD, Diabolik, Orbit, Grindhouse, Rough Cut Canada and others

Cert: 15
Format: Blu-ray
Region: AB
RAD046BDLE
EAN: 5060974680863
Release date: 25/03/24

Press:

"[Kudo is] an extraordinary stylist .... To call him a skilled action director is to understate the power of his set-pieces." - Henry Sheehan, Asia Society

"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