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Chushingura (1963)

Yûzô Kayama , Chûsha Ichikawa , Hiroshi Inagaki  |  Unrated |  DVD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)


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Product Details

  • Actors: Yûzô Kayama, Chûsha Ichikawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Akira Takarada, Yôsuke Natsuki
  • Directors: Hiroshi Inagaki
  • Writers: Toshio Yasumi
  • Producers: Hiroshi Inagaki, Edward Landberg, Sanezumi Fujimoto, Tomoyuki Tanaka
  • Format: Color, Dubbed, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Language: Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Dubbed: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: Unrated
  • Studio: Image Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: February 27, 2001
  • Run Time: 207 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000056NWP
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,227 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Chushingura" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Chushingura means "loyalty," and that potent Japanese theme runs like hot blood throughout this stately samurai epic. It's often called the Gone with the Wind of Japanese cinema, and while that may be a fitting cultural parallel, it gives an inaccurate impression of the film, based on one of Japan's most enduring and oft-interpreted historical events. A simmering, deliberately paced drama set during the Tokugawa shogunate in 1701, it centers on 47 loyal samurai who seek vengeance against the arrogant elder statesman who caused their master's ritual suicide. The now masterless ronin let seasons pass (and the movie occasionally seems just as long) before executing a climactic raid that is both expertly fierce and lethally efficient. Featuring a who's-who of fine Japanese actors, including Kurosawa regulars Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, Chushingura bears little resemblance to Kurosawa's action-packed samurai classics. This is a thematically dense, politically complex drama, presented here at its fullest length (207 minutes) and best appreciated after multiple viewings. Masterfully composed with painterly precision, Chushingura weaves its intricate tapestry from time-honored tenets of Japanese culture, offering a challenging but grandly rewarding experience. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Toshiro Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yuzo Kayama, Chusha Ichikawa, Setsuko Hara, Yoko Tsukasa - Dir:Hiroshi Inagaki For two hundred years, no other story has captured the hearts and imagination of the Japanese people more than "Chushingura." When Lord Asano

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
100 of 109 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Two Best Samurai Films Ever Made! November 18, 1998
Format:VHS Tape|Amazon Verified Purchase
This film is one of the two best Samurai films of all time, the other being Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI. CHUSHINGURA ("loyalty") is based on a real incident in 18th century Japan, wherein 47 loyal retainers of a disgraced lord take a vow of vengeance on the corrupt nobleman who caused his downfall and death. The story is timeless, the acting is uniformly magnificent, the camera work is so gorgeous that any frame of this film could be hung in an art gallery, and the music is exciting and heart-lifting. It's a complex plot, following many separate individuals as their vengeance unfolds, so first-time viewers may get confused. No matter -- it all comes together at the end. Watch for the late great Toshiro Mifune in a cameo role as a Master Spearman who becomes drinking buddies with one of the 47, and who takes it upon himself to hold off the cops in the final showdown so that his pal and the other 46 won't be interrupted before they can find and behead the bad guy and fulfill their vow. I have watched this movie many, many times, and I always find something new and wonderful in it. Now that it's FINALLY available on video, don't miss it!!
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59 of 64 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Flawed but Enjoyable Epic May 28, 2002
Format:DVD
Despite the film's division into two parts, I think the Chushingura is best understood as a complicated story told in three acts.

The first act, culminating in the seppuku of Lord Asano, details the conflict between the young lord and Kira, the Shogun's master of ceremonies, and is, in my opinion, the most interesting as it unfolds logically, tragically, and inevitably towards the spilling of blood in the Shogun's castle. Asano and Kira, at least in this stage of the film, are fully realized and three-dimensional characters, and their conflict can be understood on several levels: idealism versus pragmatism; rural versus urban; and, most centrally, a conflict between different conceptions of honor. Kira is slighted because Asano won't show him the deference he feels he deserves, and Asano cannot accept Kira's attempt to teach him a lesson without fatally wounding his pride. The characters feel real because the situation is developed so carefully, and we as viewers understand why the principal actors behave as they do.

I think the movie bogs down a bit in the second act where the retainers of Asana plot their revenge on Kira. I also feel it is at this point that those unfamiliar with this story may find it difficult to follow the plot. Like the assassination of Thomas Becket in 12th century England, the story of the 47 loyal retainers has left the historian with not only a wealth of primary documents but also of contemporary analysis of exactly how the events were interpreted. Whereas Becket's murder resonated because of the changing perceptions of the limits of temporal power in medieval Europe, the 47 ronin reflect the changing nature of samurai honor following the pacification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate. Unfortunately, the movie does little to clarify the issues involved despite a three and half hour presentation. The historical Oishi, for instance, worked patiently behind the scenes for years to restore the clan's honor and holdings under the leadership of Asano's younger brother whereas Horibe represented the more radical view that the ronin owed personal allegiance only to their dead lord. In the movie, by contrast, Oishi makes reference to restoring the clan and questions Asano's judgment at the castle, but it is absolutely unclear in the context of the film whether this represents his true beliefs or is simply part of the feint to divert attention from the plot to kill Kira. It is, in fact, hard to ever discern exactly what Oishi is planning, even in hindsight. Horibe, as the leader of the other wing of the retainers, fairs worse, emerging only as Toshiro Mifune's drinking buddy (Mifune, though always enjoyable to watch, is largely wasted in a sub-plot that is completely superfluous to the story). I don't expect complete historical fidelity, but I do expect the events to develop coherently and to address the main issues of the story. I'm not saying that it is a complete mess, just that it is hard to follow at times, and it is not always clear what motivates the characters, and, as film usually does, some of the subtleties of the real events are lost.

Thankfully, the exciting and famous battle in the snow largely redeems any momentary flagging of interest. My only quibble is that Kira has degenerated by this point into an absolute caricature of his previous self, becoming the embodiment of the man without honor. I suspect this is incorporated less from history and more from the popularizations of this story, e.g., the various kabuki stagings.

Others have spoken of the beautiful visuals, so I won't belabor the point. Suffice it to say this alone is a good reason to watch this film. Others have also spoken of the slow pace. This is also true, and if you demand a tight focus in your movies, this one probably isn't for you.

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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Loyalty February 24, 2005
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Based on actual events, the story of the loyal 47 ronin is probably the most dramatized story in Japanese theatrical tradition. Appearing originally as a bunraku puppet play, it was soon followed by a fantastically successful Kabuki adaptations and more than eight cinematic versions. Its enduring popularity is based on the core Japanese values it represents; loyalty to a superior, at the cost of all things including life, love and personal happiness. Like the Western King Arthur and Robin Hood, the 47 ronin have passed from history to legend.

This version, "Chushingura" (Full Japanese title is "Chushingura: Hana no maki yuki no maki,") is a sprawling 3 hour epic from the Japanese master of legendary films. Director Hiroshi Inagaki, probably best known in the West for his 3-film Miyamoto Musashi masterpiece "Samurai I,II and III," brings his unique eye to the familiar story, blending a quiet human touch into the massive picture. He has assembled the all-stars of the Japanese chambara ("swordfight") genre. Tatsuya Mihashi ("Tora Tora Tora,") Takashi Shimura ("Seven Samurai,") Yuzo Kayama ("Red Beard") and of course Toshiro Mifune ("Seven Samurai," "Yojimbo," too many films to mention...), each name on the roster is one of the best, each with at lease on Kurosawa-credit on their resume, if not more.

The story unfolds at a long, dense pace, leaving you wondering along the way which of Lord Asano's 60-plus samurai will remain loyal, and which will give into fear. By no means is this an action film, but a didactic tale stuffed with politics and the disintegrating nature of modernization and the loss of traditional morality and ethics. However, the film is a long slow fuse, building to the dynamite that is the rightful vengeance of the loyal 47. The final battle in the snow is a beautiful ballet of swords and blood.

Unfortunately, the DVD does not live up to the promise of the movie. It is a bare bones disk, with a decent widescreen presentation and nothing else. Due to the historical and important nature of "Chushingura," there is room for so much more. However, beggars can't be choosers, and having the movie alone is a treat. Maybe someday a better release will come along, but until then it is enough to watch the unfolding drama of 47 men willing to die for what they believe in.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Chushingura
Arrived on time (for New Year, when Japanese view it traditionally). More than a Mifune film (he is actually support for the rebels). Well done Toho film.
Published 4 months ago by J. V. Ortiz
5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction
As always this came very quickly. I first saw this movie in 1979 as a college student. I was a member of an international movie club and had lived in Japan for two years and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by HMD
1.0 out of 5 stars False Justice and Blind Loyalty (review contains spoilers)
Chushingura (47 Ronin) is a seemingly a film about justice, loyalty and honour but one can clearly see from this film how these noble values are twisted in Samurai culture. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joseph
5.0 out of 5 stars Get it
Had a great time watching this classic also got the newer version. Both should be in your collections despite the fact they are the same story they were done 40 years apart and... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Carl D. Ward Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars Product Arrived as Advertised
Not much more to say. New in box. Arrived on time and undamaged.

What more can one ask for of an online purchase?
Published 10 months ago by Andrew Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars Quintessentially Japanese
Chushingura is not for the casual viewer of Japanese film. Directed by Inagaki (who did the Samurai Trilogy aka Musashi), the film is not only slow-paced but almost impenetrably... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mick McAllister
2.0 out of 5 stars A horrible transfer - Image needs to fix it (this movie deserves...
When it comes to Chushingura (this version), I've read a few things. First, this is from all accounts a very, very good movie (maybe even great). Read more
Published on April 16, 2011 by Erik Rupp
4.0 out of 5 stars Honor and Fidality a lost art in a world devoid of true heroes.
I remember the first time I saw the motion picture Chushingura. The era of accountability and personal responsibility for one's thoughts, actions and behaviors had been kindled by... Read more
Published on December 14, 2010 by enlightner
5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Film Ever Made
Chushingura is simply the greatest film of all-time. Unfortunately, the versions available on DVD and VHS are abridged and some of the greatest scenes, such as the hari-kari scene... Read more
Published on August 16, 2010 by Guy T. Saperstein
4.0 out of 5 stars Transfer Really Showing It's Age
For a 2001 release, this was a pretty good effort. In 2010 with 40+ inch HDTVs widely available, it's damn near unwatchable. Read more
Published on January 11, 2010 by Yan Li
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