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Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance Director: Kenji Misumi Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: Unrated Running Time: 83 minutes Studio: AnimEigo Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-08-26 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 "San Paulo Gentlemen is mistaken about the transfer" I'm the owner of AnimEigo, the company that releases the LW&C films in the US. I believe that Pedro is reporting on the video quality of one of the bootleg editions of LW&C, which have horrible video quality. The huge difference between the quality he reports on LW&C1 and LW&C2 is the tipoff. The official versions of the LW&C films has the superb video quality the other reviewers mention because they are made using a brand new, high-definition digital transfer from brand-new prints struck specifically for this release. "The film is excellent, the DVD transfer is...brilliant!" The DVD transfer is trash? Um, yeah...For everyone who owns an old VHS copy of the film, throw it out the window and purchase this version. The movie has NEVER looked and sounded better than it has on this brillant DVD transfer. You can't tell the film was made over 30 years ago. Animeigo did a great job restoring the film. The sound is great, the colors are vibrant, the subtitles are improved and easier to read; complaints do not apply here. You also get trailers for other LWC films and some Zatoichi films. And the liner notes are very long, but informative. You'll learn a lot about the setting of this film from the liner notes. Lone wolf and cub fans need not hesitate to pick this one up. If you've never seen the series before, you're in for a treat. Any lover of samurai films, gorehounds (blood shoots out geyser style), or if you just want to see great action films with a great story and a lot of depth (style AND substance) you need to see these films. Pick it up before the rumored remake is released, although really the film has been "remade" several times ("Shogun Assassin," "Road to Peredition," "Kill Bill" etc.). But nothing beats the original. The "Lone Wolf and Cub" series takes "homage" films like "Kill Bill" to school. (At the time of this writing Amazon doesn't offer the series, so check out Animeigo's website for even more samurai titles.) "Note to Robert Woodhead and interested customers" While undeniably an excellent transfer was made of this film however the whole film is not on this DVD. The packaging proudly proclaims it is a 2.35:1 ratio presentation but it's only 1.85:1. If you compare the VHS edition of the same film the difference is plain to see. I can only hope that future releases by Animeigo will be properly transfered. We've been waiting years for these DVDs and I'm sorry to say I'm disappointed. "The best comic to movie adaptation" Move over Kill Bill, the japanese were more inventive with their sword fights thirty years ago. These films (all six) are breathtakingly beautifull, well acted, well coreographed and highly entertaining. If you've read the comics, don't worry, the writer and illustrator helped make sure that all six movies are very close to the comic, and as movies, stand on par with their inspiration. The lead actor is trained in samurai sword use so there is no six month crash course to get him up to snuff for the movies like Tom Cruise or Uma Thurman had to do, and it shows! If you like horror films (there is an awfull lot of blood, one of the many things Tarantino took from this genre) then this should give you a welcome change of focus. Anyone who likes Holloywoods new interest in comic adaptations should be pleased with this. Yes, the DVD transfer is not the greatest, but it really depends what type of T.V. you have. I still give five stars based on my belief that you will not see any films of this genre that are better than these subtle masterpieces from the early seventies. Definitely worth owning. "Koch Vision or AnimEigo Studio?" Koch Vision Entertainment is an offical distributor of AnimEigo. The Lone Wolf and Cub series are digital transfer, translated and subtitled by AnimEigo and they did a wonderful job.