Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1965
Samurai Assassin
Buy Samurai Assassin now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Samurai Assassin
| image = Samurai Assassin 1965.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Japanese film poster
| native_name =
| director = Kihachi Okamoto
| producer =
| screenplay = Shinobu Hashimoto
| based_on =
| starring =
| music = Masaru Sato
| cinematography = Hiroshi Murai
| editing = Yoshitami Kuroiwa
| production_companies =
| distributor = Toho
| released =
| runtime = 121 minutes
| country = Japan
| language =
| budget =
| gross =
}}
is a 1965 Japanese movie directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Toshiro Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Ynosuke It, and Michiyo Aratama.
'Samurai Assassin' is set in 1860, immediately before the Meiji Restoration changed Japanese society forever by doing away with the castes in society and reducing the position of the samurai class.
Plot summary
The film tells the story of Niiro Tsurichiyo (Mifune) as the illegitimate son of a powerful nobleman, and the way of his life that made him a swordfighter but also a social outcast. He joins forces with the multiple clans against the Lord of Hikone, Sir Ii Kamonnokami Naosuke. Ii is the right hand of the shogunate and brought upon himself the wrath of the Satsuma, Mito, and Choshuu provinces after making an unpopular choice for the appointment of the 14th shogunate. Many critics arose after the controversial appointment, and Ii initiated the Ansei Purge to quiet critics of his choices. This, in turn, led to an assassination plot hatched by the three provinces in order to remove Ii from his position of power. The shoguns also weeding out Ii's spies from the plot. The film is based on a novel, which in turn was inspired by the historical Sakuradamon incident, in which the feudal lord Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.
Cast
*Toshiro Mifune - Tsuruchiyo Niiro
*Keiju Kobayashi - Einosuke Kurihara
*Michiyo Aratama - Okiku / Kikuhime
*Ynosuke It - Kenmotsu Hoshino
*Eijir Tno - Masagoro Kisoya
*Tatsuyoshi Ehara - Ichigoro Hayama
*Tadao Nakamaru - Shigezo Inada
*Kaoru Yachigusa - Mitsu
*Haruko Sugimura - Tsuru
*Nami Tamura - Yae
*Shiro Otsuji - Kaname Kojima
*Toshio Kurosawa - Itamura Katsunoshin
*Yoshio Inaba - Keijiro Sumita
*Akihiko Hirata - Sohei Masui
*Hideyo Amamoto - Matazaburo Hagiwara
*Takashi Shimura - Narihisa Ichij
*Matsumoto Kshir VIII - Ii Naosuke
Production
'Samurai Assassin' was a production of both Toho and Mifune Productions. It is based on the book 'Samurai Japan' by Jiromasa Gunji.
Release
'Samurai Assassin' was released in Japan on January 3, 1965. The film was released in the United States on March 18, 1965 where it was distributed by Toho International. The film's title was apparently changed from 'Samurai' to 'Samurai Assassin' in the United States to avoid confusion with Hiroshi Inagaki's film 'Samurai' ('Miyamoto Musashi') from 1954.
Reception
In a contemporary review, "Robe." of 'Variety' declared that samurai film was not "superb" but "very good", noting that Toshiro Mifune and "the entire cast, particularly the men, give excellent portrayals" and that Hiroshi Murai's "crisp black and white photography is more effective in the outdoor, dead-of-winter panoramas and fight scenes"
See also
*Hitokiri
Footnotes
References
*
Buy Samurai Assassin now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1965