Thursday, May 12, 2011

13 Assassins (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)
13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku / 十三人の刺客 (1963)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Director: Eiichi Kudo
Starring: Chiezo Kataoka, Kô Nishimura, Ryôhei Uchida, Isao Natsuyagi
Duration: 125 min.
Rating: 8.1/10

Summary:
A group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.


IMDB

13 Assassins is a Japanese film directed by Eiichi Kudo in 1963.  It is an epic samurai film set during the late 19th Century, a time when the old ways of the samurai are dying out.  Naritsugu, the brother of the Shogun, is a cruel and sadistic lord whose upcoming promotion to chief advisor threatens the stability of the country.  So Lord Doi summons the samurai Shinzaemon Shimada, and orders him to take out Naritsugu before he returns home from the capital.  This sets the stage for an epic showdown that takes place in a remote village. 

Heavily inspired by Jidaigeki films like Seven Samurai this is a very good effort with a well written scenario filled with memorable characters, beautiful cinematography, and the most impressive aspect, a brilliantly choreographed and executed thirty plus minute long action sequence at the end of the film.

Click HERE for the 2010 Takashi Miike remake.

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

13 Assassins / Jûsan-nin no shikaku (1963)

11 comments:

Bonjour Tristesse said...

I believe Seven Samurai was the first, but yeah it is this genre that inspired films like The Dirty Dozen and Magnificent Seven

Tim B. said...

 Oh, OK. It is a fascinating genre, lots of action with a pretty decent plot.

Beasts in Human Skin said...

I'm going to have to watch it before I watch Miike's version. I feel shame because I haven't seen it yet.

The Angry Lurker said...

Looking forward to the remake and trying to find the original, you know I like my samurai.

Sam Jones said...

Great post. Going to link to it on the UK site for Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins :
http://www.cult-labs.com/13-assassins/

Gonzalo Garcia-Castro said...

Now that looks like a very good samurai film...non of that tom cruise crap....
Following!

Jack L said...

I'm also going to try and see this before the remake, although I have them both on my PC.

Will you be watching and reviewing the other two films of this Samurai Rebellion Trilogy ?

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Awesome thanks!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

The remake is my next post, and I'll be watching the other two films probably this weekend.

thenitefalls said...

I love Seven Samurai!!! I got to check this out, it looks epic!

Tim B. said...

I think I've seen this movie before. If I also remember correctly, it sort of inspired the western Dirty Dozen.

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