Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell by Yoshiyuki Kuroda (1974)
It seems only fitting to watch a movie that culminates in an epic ski ninja battle on the eve of the Winter Olympics. Yes, you read that correctly: ski ninjas. As with the previous Lone Wolf and Cub movies, Ogami Itto once again crosses katanas with the Yagyu clan, who are increasingly desperate to save face before the Shogun and kill the former executioner-turned-assassin once and for all. They’re so desperate, in fact, that they reach out to a disgraced Yagyu bastard who now belongs to a secret clan that practices bizarre black magic rites. White Heaven in Hell gets pretty bonkers at times, featuring supernaturally powered ninjas who burrow underground and utter ominous prophecies, but that’s precisely why I liked it so much. The sixth and final Lone Wolf and Cub movie possesses a certain verve that’s missing from, or never fully realized in, the previous installments. (A verve that’s further enhanced by Kunihiko Murai’s funky soundtrack.) Unfortunately, the film offers no conclusion to Ogami’s story of revenge. Nevertheless, I definitely enjoyed it more than most of the other Lone Wolf and Cub movies.
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