Samurai

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 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.

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 Zatoichi 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.

There are moments in this film that are up there alongside the best Japanese films have to offer, with wonderfully evocative black & white shots of parasols in the snow and well-staged fight scenes. The cast are all fine, and Mifune especially is as great as ever, but there is far too much narration slathered over an overcomplicated plot, which slows down the story and makes connecting to and caring about the events harder than it need be. Still a handsome example of Japanese cinema at its peak.

A first-class film that excels in script, cinematography and acting. It is difficult to name a lot of films that are so well conceived of and executed. The plot is amazing and the twists are well-crafted. The narrator seems an imposition at the start but as the film progresses it only adds to the mood. I found the movement (pace) of the film delightful, juxtaposed between the swift and the languid. Of course, for most of us outside the idiom of Japanese cinema the acting maybe described as melodramatic, but that's pretty much the norm there. And how can anyone not comment on the film's last scene - the snow, the blood, the twist of fate, the camera moves like an assassin itself. I highly recommend it.