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Samurai Assassin Director: Kihachi Okamoto Number of Items: 1 Format: Color Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: AnimEigo Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-02-08 Buy from Amazon

From Description Based on a true historical event, "Samurai Assassin" stars Mifune Toshiro (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo) in one of his greatest roles. Niiro Tsuruchiyo is a masterless samurai - a ronin - desperate for a last chance to gain a position with one of the great houses. To curry favor, he joins an assassination plot against a Shogunate Elder

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 "Classic, must-see samurai/Mifune film" I have a pretty nice collection of Japanese/Samurai films on DVD. I bought a copy of this Mifune classic from a guy in France and it became the pride of my collection instantly. If you like samurai films, if you like Japanese films, if you like Toshiro Mifune, if you love film....you must see this lost classic. I will just say that the story is based on an actual historical event towards the end of the Samurai age. I can't recommend this film enough! Thank goodness Koch Vision had the sense to finally make it available on DVD! Better than Yojimbo, Seven Samurai or any Zatoichi. "Toshiro Mifune in a film based on the Saurada Gate incident" "Samurai Assassin" is based on a historical event in 1860 when a group of assassins waited by Saurada Gate inside Edo castle to assassinate the lord of the House of Ii, who is high up in the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate. This is a Japan on the verge of major changes, represented by the American ships in the harbor. However, the assassins think one of them is a traitor. The main suspects are Tsuruchiyo Niino (Toshiro Mifune), a ronin who wants to become a samurai so that his unknown father will declare himself, and Kurihara Einosuke (Keiju Kobayashi) a high-born samurai who strikes up a friendship with Niino. The characters are developed and the tension builds under the wonderful conclusion, which takes place in a world of falling snow that lends an unearthly beauty to the bloody carnage. This 1965 film offers a nice mix between the historical samurai films of the Fifties (e.g., "The 47 Ronin") and Chan-Bara bloodbaths of the late Sixties (e.g., the "Lone Wolf and Cub" films). It is not so much a true marriage of the two traditions but more beginning in the one approach and ending more decidedly in the other. The film is two hours long but this is not really a concern because of the brisk pacing by director Kihachi Okamotoand the increasing complexity of the story. Of course in front of the camera is Mifune's riveting performance highlighted by Hiroshi Murai's cinematography. "Samurai Assassin" is a film that should appeal to fans of diverse genres of samurai films. I certainly appreciate the sense of history and the detailed narrative that is created, because for me the sword play and the blood-letting always ends up being secondary considerations. The significance of a person's death matters more than the creative way in which they are sliced and diced by the samurai hero. "pretentiously overcooked" People who think this is a great samurai movie aren't dumb, just deluded. Mifune bought the story for himself, probably thinking he could equal Kurosawa's humanist insight. That's not shameful; but the story ain't that good. The buildup takes forever, and the main plot device is lame beyond belief. Film students will love this, but not real people. This is to samurai cinema as Shane is to Westerns, beautifully produced, over-earnest and bloated, larded with the cliches rather than the vigor of the genre. "Classic Mifune" If you love Toshiro Mifune samurai films as I do then you will not be disappointed with this one. I bought this film hoping because it stars Toshiro Mifune that it would be good. Well I was right on. It is exceptional. I am sure you will enjoy this movie as much as Sanjuro and Seven Samurai. Enjoy! "Fantastic Samurai Film" This B&W masterpiece chronicles the events of late Febraury and early March 1860, the beginning of the fall of the samurai. Toshiro Mifune stars as Niiro, a rumpled samurai looking for employment with a repsectable house, who ends up involved in a plot to assassinate the leader of the Ii clan. Beautifully filmed, the backstory unfolds slowly, emphasizing character over hack-and-slash action. Tension builds nicely throughout, leading to the climactic and bloody battle on a snowy field, where Niiro seeks to make his mark. He does indeed, but not how he had intended. Anyone familiar with Mifune's collaborations with Akira Kurosawa will know what to expect here, as Mifune is completely gripping as the ultimately doomed hero. Fans of samurai action and classic Japanese filmmaking will love this.