Samurai Assassin 1965
Laurence Jabali
Samurai Assassin (侍, Samurai) is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Toshiro Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yūnosuke Itō, and Michiyo Aratama.[2] It 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.[3]
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.
Samurai Assassin was released in Japan on January 3, 1965.[1] The film was released in the United States on March 18, 1965 where it was distributed by Toho International.[1] 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.[1]
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"[4]
Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.
Another representative of the samurai genre and once again with Mifune in top form. The plot is intelligent and complex and the fights, when they are there, are brilliant and stand out. Everything builds up to an intense showdown that is probably one of my favourites in the genre. But unfortunately there is too much talk in some places, which makes this film very slow and definitely prevents it from being better. Even though a lot of things fit together very well here, I have to lower my rating. Besides that, it is of course still a must for fans.
SASU-YOU. Committed to complex characterization. It sizzles; burns slowly into pure chaos. Sharp-eyes found in the editing process. The peaceful tea house set next to the iced-out massacre. Blood spits into someone's face. Screams dissolve into the air. At the front, a tragedy occurs that he didn't know. Everything has changed.
okamoto's expert toho-scope staging is perfect for this tale of samurai backstabbing; you're always aware of who has the power in a room by where they're positioned in relation to the other characters. mifune's so good at this sort of thing that it's easy to take him for granted, but he really carries a passionate citizen kane-esque character study of how one man's self-delusions can carry him to tragic and ironically successful extremes -- the feudal system of the samurai becomes abolished due to its failure to control its ideology of violence as a tool of class mobility.
With a breathless noir procedural narration and Okamoto's look-at-me modernist frames and quick-cuts the first half almost bogs down in backstory and political intrigue, but when the outlines of the inevitably of Mifune's Greek tragedy fall into place, all that tension building proves worth it. And of course the director of Sword of Doom brings it all to an insane climax, a blizzard of chaos and violence, the self-immolation of a system. The externalized pulp counterpart to Kobayashi's Harakiri.
It is nicely shot and rather bloody, which is wonderfully shown in one of the final transitions and the whole ending, really. As for the rest, it is rather slow as there are two answers to be found in order to solve the mystery.
The rest is mostly narrative and flashbacks driven type of storytelling, with little actual going ons, which personally put me off. However, the fights are rather amazing. Okamoto, the director of this and Sword Of Doom really likes his fights in the snow and so do I, they're stunning!
And of course, one must mention Toshiro Mifune, who, once again, was masterful. His character seemed numb for the majority of the movie, numbed from sake and the search for answers. Until the rage broke through and one hell of an explosive performance occured.
The way that Kihachi Okamoto stages Samurai Assassin feels akin to that of a Shakespeare play, you always know who's in command of the scene by how everyone is positioned and how he moves his camera, making gorgeous use of the outdoor black and white photography and Tohoscope format. The first half is a deliberate slow burn, comprising excessive exposition and complex characterisations, sparsely populated by swift, decisive clashes of swords. The second showcases the ultimate downfall of those most revered by Japanese society, akin to that of a gritty crime-noir protagonist, and a final bout that rivals duels seen in the Zatōichi series. Punctuated by its prolonged genre-shattering monologues, the powerhouse performances of its cast, particularly that of the ever-captivating Toshiro Mifune and its spectacular climax will leave any fan of Okamoto's other works hungry for more.
'Cause the times are always changing.
The feudal samurai era got a serious wake-up call, as soon as the foreigners were standing on their shores with battleships that were centuries ahead of the Japanese military and could have obliterated the whole country in a short period of time. The change has to come and everyone knows it, but the few people that have a saying are fighting for the last days of honor and loyalty in a broken society, ready to change for some equality.
February 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii, a powerful man in the Tokugawa government, which has ruled Japan for 300 years. They suspect a traitor in their midst, and their suspicions fall on Niiro, an impoverished ronin who dreams of samurai status, and Kurihara, an aristocratic samurai who befriends Niiro.(Source: IMDb) Edit Translation
I am rather disappointed in Kihachi Okamoto's Samurai Assassin. I am a huge fan of his 1966 film, Sword of Doom, which is, as far as I'm concerned, the best "pure" samurai film, at least on the same level as anything by Kurosawa. Samurai Assassin was made the previous year. It is about a siege around Edo castle, and concentrates on one warrior, played by Toshiro Mifune, who desperately wants to become a samurai. He has been turned down in the past, though, because his mother was a geisha and his father was unknown.
The script is the main culprit here. It's far too slow, and far too many names are dropped. For an American, anyway, it becomes increasingly difficult to process so many multi-syllabic Japanese names. Eventually, I didn't care at all about what was happening. Okamoto was obviously trying to go for the type of slow-build that was achieved, for example, in Misaki Kobayashi's excellent Sepukku (aka Hara-kiri, 1962), but the script is far too wordy.
For most of the 2 hour 2 minute run, I was just concentrating on the beautiful cinematography. The black and white in this film is truly exquisite. A few good scenes managed to pop up here and there. Fortunately, Samurai Assassin ends on a fantastic note. The final samurai battle is one of the best I've ever seen. Okamoto uses snow as a prop as well as Kurosawa uses rain (there is a great snow battle in Sword of Doom, as well), and the level of dramatic irony equals some of the best Greek tragedies. My final judgement: Samurai Assassin is worth watching if you are a fan of samurai movies, but it is not a high priority. It is definitely a don't-see for anyone who has never seen one of these films before (start with Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Hidden Fortress for starters) or anyone who is unsure of whether they would be entertained by something like this. 7/10.
I discovered this little gem by chance and liked it instantly. Samurai Assassin is one of those great samurai movies that provide more than just some sword action - they are also a glimpse into a very different but fascinating culture and time. If you like those "silent" passages (means no fighting action) of movies like Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Samurai Assassin is a treasure for you to discover. Great piece with great acting and production.
I don't think a lot of people have saw this movie. It's not all chanbara or 'sword fighting' film nor it's it a Jidaigeki, a periodic film with little to no fighting. It's more balance than that. It's not well known film. Still, it's worth checking out. The film has this an ancient Greek tragedy feel to the film filled with heartrending irony and a sense of unavoidable doom. I think Samurai Assassin is just as amazing piece of Toshiro Mifune's work as Seven Samurai (1955) & Yojimbo (1961). Yes, it wasn't directed by Akira Kurosawa, but Director Kihachi Okamoto did an amazing job with this film. The fight scenes in this movie are just brutal. The film is one of the first to embrace the blood splattering violence in samurai films. The way he shot the bloody snowy fight scene is just beautiful that probably influence a lot of future directors such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. It helps that the black & white Tohoscope was from Hiroshi Murai, one of the greatest Japanese cinematographers. Samurai Assassin is set in 1860, where feudalism is near its end due to the Meiji Restoration. The event changed Japanese society forever by doing away with the castes in society and reducing the position of the samurai class. By removing samurai out of power, Tsurichiyo Nirro (Toshiro Mifune) felt that an assassination of Ii Naosuke (Haku Matsumoto) is needed as Ii Naosuke is the one pushing for change. Niiro Tsurichiyo is the illegitimate son of a powerful nobleman, and loose Ronin social outcast wanting to have a Samurai status. Seeing the Lord of Hikone, Sir Ii Kamonnokami Naosuke as a threat to his dream. He join forces with multiple clans from the Satsuma, Mito, and Choshuu provinces to take him out. Tension builds as the assassins wait day after day for the perfect moment to take out their target. Il Naosuke continue to tempt them, by making more and more unpopular choices, such like appointment of the 14th shogunate and initiated the Ansei Purge to quiet critics of his choices. While the backstory unfolds slowly, the hack and slash action takes a backseat, so the movie gives a traitor within the assassins plot. By doing this, it gives a new sense of direction, as Nirro Tsurichiyo is unsure who to trust. He finds out that the samurais around him, are not as nobility like he think before joining them, as they act more like a murderous gang. In one powerful scene in the middle of the film, Nirro Tusirchiyo break down after engages his best friend, Kurihara (Keiju Kobayashi), is a sad moment. The stress builds as there is more at stake here that their own lives. The director made the right decision to take his time and allow character development! The film is based on a novel, which in turn was inspired by the historical event known as the Sakuradamon incident. The faults of the film are this, while the narration is great in the film, I doubt it was needed. Another sub-plot not needed was the lost-love relationship as I felt it slow the movie down. All the flashbacks are not needed as it make the story confusing. Another big mistake of the film is how it was film, letter-boxing. It's really hard to see when watching it on DVD. At less, the movie is sub-title by AnimEigo. Kinda wish it was Criterion who did that as the sub-titled go really too quickly rather than allowing people to read it. Anyways overall: if you like old school Samurai movies, give this film a watch. This is a must see for any Toshiro Mifune fan.
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