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The Twilight Samurai Director: Yôji Yamada Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Closed-captioned Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Empire Pictures Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-12-28 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 "great film" I went into this film expecting your typical samurai film with lots of great swordplay (Not to sound like that a bad thing). I was surprised not to see much at all, but a very well written movie. I enjoyed this film a great deal and would recommend it to anyone. "Truly amazing and beautiful in every way." This is as realistic as it gets for a fictional samurai movie. I've now watched it 3 times in the last week. I then went to watch The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise for the 2nd time to compare but could not bare it. "Absorbing & Poignant" This movie transported me to another time and culture. I felt as though I were an invisible presence given the priveledge of observing the lives and events portrayed in the movie. Iguchi's quiet and modest heroism in loving and caring for his family and living with dignity and honor despite what hardships life threw at him were inspirational and moving. Don't watch this expecting an action movie though. The movie is paced slowly and the emphasis is not on the fighting aspects of samauri life. I think it is the pacing though that adds to the feeling of authenticity and being there as the characters' lives unfold. Other reviews have gone into specifics about the DVD features and other details so I won't reiterate here. I did want to add my five star endorsement to the group though. This is a beautiful movie. "A different kind of hero!" The Twilight Samurai, brings to the screen the story of Seibei Iguchi, a low ranking samurai and a widower, who is facing mounting problems, including taking care of himself, his two young daughters and his senile mother on a rather low salary, while seriously in debt. Things get more complicated as he gets entangled in the shady factional politics of 19th Century Japan... The film combines romance, drama, action and adventure making it one of the best of its kind! Moreover, the fascinating culture and traditions of the "Land of the Rising Sun," are presented very well in the film. The plot is excellent and opens a window into the mysterious Orient. Furthermore, shot on location it provides for some amazing scenery. Needless to say, Hiroyuki Sanada, and the rest of the cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100%! Their great talent and chemistry clearly shows, thus providing an entertaining film that can be watched over and over again. The setting, the dialogues, the music and the costumes are all wonderful! Very well written and very well presented, it is a movie definitely worth owning, yet alone watching, especially for those with a soft spot for History, and especially for Eastern/Oriental enthusiasts. Strongly recommended along with Shogun the TV series, starring Richard Chamberlain, to those with a soft spot for all things Japanese. "Time Warp" "Twilight Samurai" is not a zippy film. It is slow and methodically paced. However, it does offer rich rewards, both for the performances & the story & as a cultural study. Hiroyuki Sanada starred in both of the Japanese versions of "The Ring," "Ringu/2," and was in "The Last Samurai" with Tom Cruise. As Seibei in this film, he plays a low-level samurai who is eventually pitted in a dual to the death with a rebellious samurai who was on the losing end of a political dispute and refuses to commit suicide. Japanese beauty Rie Miyazawa in her 2nd film plays the lovely Tomoe who breaks with the village tradition of arranged marriages and wants to marry for love. Seibei is a widower, and Tomoe has escaped an abusive husband. Seibei's children are precious with the oldest being the narrator of the piece. The picture takes place at the end of the Edo period in Japan (1600-1867); so it very much makes the viewer feel like they have been transported by time warp into a different time & culture. Director Yoji Yamada does an excellent job weaving the various elements of the story together in this beautiful cinematic tale. Enjoy!