Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

mevmijaumau Chushingura (47 Samurai) is director Hiroshi Inagaki's '60s big budget vision of the mythicized historical event that occurred at the beginning of the 18th century, about a lord being forced to commit harakiri after offending another, high ranking Edo lord, named Kira. After the former's death, his 47 vassals begin plotting a revenge against Kira, and after killing him, they're forced to commit ritual suicide themselves in order to reclaim their honor. The story has a legendary status in Japan, and has been adapted to film too many times to count.Inagaki's version is a color period piece with 3+ hours of runtime, in style and execution very similar to the period films you'd usually see from Hollywood. Unfortunately, this also means that the director's personal touch is barely felt and the movie is very conventional within the boundaries of period films. It's divided into two parts; Blossoms and Snow, has an interesting traditional soundtrack (which almost amounts to Godzilla's theme near the climax) and stars many famous Japanese actors, like Takashi Shimura, Setsuko Hara (in her final role), and Toshiro Mifune, who's supposed to be the selling point but in actuality has little screen time.The movie's pace is not really well thought out, in my opinion. The build-up takes ages, and while the 20-minute climactic action sequence is sort of satisfying, the rest of the film is too long, focusing on some irrelevant stuff, and overall, it doesn't feel like it'll ever amount to something, it just stagnates in boredom, without ever raising tension. The characters are too numerous, hard to keep track of, and mostly uninteresting. Besides some rudimentary romance subplots, the character of Kira is like a comic book villain, even going as far as bluntly saying two or three times that all he cares about is sex and money.One good thing about this snoozefest, however, is the cinematography. Although the transfer isn't perfect, the traditional Japanese visual tone reserved for jidaigeki films is present in all of its colorful glory. Utilization of indoor space, multicolored clothing and interiors, as well as some nice panoramas, make the movie at the very least pretty to look at.3 hours and 20 minutes is way too much time for the story to unfold, and most of the screen time is spent on tedium. However, it's not completely bad because the final fight scene (more like, the only fight scene) and the visuals save it from being a colossal disaster.

CountZero313 Inagaki's Chushingura is a big-screen film. The colours are vivid, the composition meticulous, and the various characters disappear for long periods requiring concentration to remember who's who. Modern audiences used to more nuanced characters in period pieces (such as The Assassination of Jesse James, or Twilight Samurai) might find this straight telling of the tale in undiluted terms slightly twee. Indeed, Chusha Ichikawa as the villain Kira is the film's major flaw, a pantomime villain, lecherous and mean-spirited, who seems to be mugging it up for people in the back row. Dated characterisation aside, the telling of this tale earns your tears at the end as the worthy assailants troop off to Edo castle to meet their unhappy destiny, the actual moment of seppuku relegated to a final credit-roll.More modern renditions of Chushingura have focused on the inner human conflict, the lovers thwarted by demands of loyalty and honour. Inagaki unashamedly keeps his narrative on surface events, preferring to wow the audience with scale and spectacle. Japanese audiences come to the film the way Brits come to the tale of Robin Hood, with an inner template of longing for values cherished but long gone. Their eyes are already moist in the ticket queue. Western audiences less familiar with the tale of the 47 ronin might get a little lost in the narrative, but the pace of events and elegiac sense of living a life for a higher purpose is conveyed to universal appeal. Excellent music score.

iamskabanis I just finished seeing this movie for the second time last night. Running time 3+ hours. I am one for Japanise history and love Samurai movies. This movie tells the true story of the 47 Ronni who took revenge for their Lord (Asano) being shamed and dishonored subjected to Harakiri. Many side plots which actually make the film go on for maybe 30-40 minutes too long. From what i read in histories and legends of Samurai, the revenge factor and also the fact that it takes place a year later actually cause more dishonor. That the Lord Kiri might of died from old age of even sickness would of made their revenge a moot point. That these Ronni didn't really understand what it meant to be a true Samurai. I loved the movie, but what moves me is all the angles which honor dishonor is displayed. A big downer was Toshiro Mifune had such a small roll. I actually bought the movie cause he was on the front cover. This is one of the best movies to discuss about Samurai honor and dishonor, as from what i read after the act happened these 47 Ronin were considered heroes by many.

OllieSuave-007 I know this movie has a good reputation in the world of movie cinema, a story about a young lord who attempts to combat the corruption to the Shogunate, only to be placed in an impossible conflict of duties. To obey the Shogun, they must follow orders, but to be loyal to their master, they must revenge his untimely death. I wanted to watch this film for the fact that a lot of well-known actors and actresses from Japan were in it including Toshiro Mifune, Yosuke Natsuki, Eisei Amamoto, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kenji Sahara, Tadao Takashima, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Takeshi Shimura, Yuriko Hoshi, Kumi Mizuno, Yumi Shirakawa and Mie Hama. However, this film was difficult to follow and comprehend due to the numerous appearances of its many characters (some on screen for only 10 seconds). This results in the plot and relevance of the story challenging to understand.Also, this movie dragged on and, even though it's a drama, it would have been nice to see some light humor and spirit. The saving grace of the film was Akira Ifukube's music score, especially the palace invasion music towards the climax of the film. The action was great and the sceneries and artwork were also superb. But overall, a pretty dreary movie.Grade D+