Assassination
(Ansatsu)
Masahiro Shinoda
- 1964
- Japan
- Action / Drama
- 1h44mn
- Original version with French and English subtitles
- Black and white
1863. Japan. While the new commercial ties with America raise many controversies and tensions rise, the Shogunate frees Kiyokawa Hanshiro, an imprisoned rebellious samouraï known for his ruthless character, to quell an insurgency. But is he a man capable of following orders?
After Pale Flower’s success, the filmmaker profits from a substantial budget to fulfill a dream: he takes on the chambara genre, ridded of its clichés. Not neglecting fight scenes, choreographed by himself, he lingers on introspective action, witness his splendid close up shots. He takes liberties both with the novel and the original real life figure that inspired him, a typically Shinodian hero, dark and warped beyond good and evil, wonderfully portrayed by Tetsurô Tanba.
Credits
- With : Tetsurô Tanba, Shima Iwashita, Eiji Okada, Isao Kimura, Tamotsu Hayakawa
- Screenplay : Nobuo Yamada
- Photography : Masao Kosugi
- Editing : Eiichi Amano
- Music by : Tôru Takemitsu
- Production : Shizuo Yamanouchi
