Product Description

Starring Sonny ChibaShogun's Samurai (1978 130 mins.)A war erupts between two brother when one is picked over the other to be the shogun. Warriors take to each side swearing devotion to their prospective lords. The plot to pit brother against brother is secretly being controlled by a group of nobles hoping to weaken the power of the Shogunate and restore power to the emperor.Swords of Vengeance (1978 158 mins.)When the young master of Ako Castle draws his sword on the elder he is ordered to dissolve his clan and commit hara-kiri. With the help of the now-masterless Ako warriors the young masters chamberlain begins to plot an elaborate revenge two years in the making. The explosive swordplay battles were choreographed by Sonny Chiba.Shogun's Ninja (1983 115 mins.)Hideyoshi a power hungry warlord sends his war commander to the Momochi fort to destroy its clan and obtain its hidden gold. Two daggers tell where the hidden gold is located. One is in the possession of the head of the Monochi family but who has the other? Wild fight choreography and action ensue.Shogun's Shadow (1989 114 mins.)Tachechiyo embarks on a journey to Edo to participate in an initiation ritual that will mark his passage to manhood. Accompany him on the journey they must combat the advancing army of the Shogunate who doesn't want the young master to reach his destination.System Requirements:Run Time: 517 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES/MIXED MARTIAL ARTS Rating: NR UPC: 787364746798

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49698 in DVD
• Brand: BCI ECLIPSE LLC
• Released on: 2006-09-19
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: .90 pounds
• Running time: 516 minutes

Customer Reviews

Very Pleased! No Need to Worry
After reading the negative review by "The Truth Hurts", I was initially reluctant to make this purchase. Having said that, I went ahead and took a chance, and I'm glad I did. This is an excellent collection of films at a very low price. There are a few things you should be aware of before making the purchase, though.

The films are not all of the same genre. Of the four films, two of them (Shogun's Ninja and Shogun's Shadow) fall under the matial arts category, and are reminiscent of "Lone Wolf and Cub" and "Shadow Hunters". The other two, "Shogun's Samurai" and "Sword of Vengence" are historical dramas more in the vein of "The Seven Samurai" and "Chusingura". In fact, "Sword of Vengence" is a variation of the same story as "Chusingura", another retelling of the 47 ronin. The latter two fims are more plot driven and feature far less action. This is just fine by me, as I enjoy both types of samurai film.

Another thing you should know is that Sonny Chiba is not actually the star of any of these films. He plays a supporting role in all of them. So die hard Sonny Chiba fans may be disappointed.

All and all, this is an excellent purchase for fans of Japanese cinema, especially considering the price. Most Japanese films cost a premium (check out the price being asked for any Kurosawa or Lone Wolf and Cub film), so to get four excellent films for the price of one is a steal.

I don't know anything about the distribution company that sells this, and frankly I don't care. I can tell you that the sound and picture quality of all of these films is excellent. There are absolutely no issues there at all. There is an issue with the misleading marketing of these as "Sonny Chiba films" which I've already discussed, and for that this collection should be deducted one, maybe even two stars, but I'm going to go ahead and award it five to offset the unjustified one-star review.

Highly recommended!

Two GREAT Movies... and two other movies
The Shogun Collection is a bit schizophrenic.

Two of the movies are great historical epic Samurai films from one of Japan's all-time great directors, Kinji Fukasaku. These movies are Shogun's Samurai, and Swords of Vengeance. Expertly directed, very well written, and brought to life by some fantastic actors, both of these movies belong in every Samurai movie fan's collection.

The other two movies are cheesy (by design) 80's action flicks where Samurais and Ninjas can perform superhuman acts (leap tall buildings in a single bound type stuff). They're passable as entertainment as long as you turn your brain off (although Shogun's Shadow does have it's moments - there is the basis of a good script, it just gets overpowered by too much cheese).

The only thing that all four of the movies have in common are supporting roles for Sonny Chiba - who is particularly good in Shogun's Samurai!

The transfers for ALL FOUR of these movies are brilliant! Beautiful anamorphic widescreen, original Japanese language soundtrack with English subtitles - these are some great DVD's! BCI Eclipse has been licensing many different movies and TV series recently, and paying attention to quality. Their licensing deal here with Adness continues that trend. They've come a long way from the "Public Domain" specialists that they used to be (although they still do that as well).

In the end, this set is worth buying for the two Kinji Fukasaku films alone - you can watch the others or, as some have done, sell them on ebay.

Good starter set for collectors
I'm a new Chiba fan and I only want to buy box sets since it's cheaper and easier that way. I'm happy with this set even though Chiba's not the star. As others have said the picture and sound are very good. Heck the box itself is better than I thought it would be. This is a solid buy for your collection and it couldn't hurt to add Chiba's Samurai collection too.