Product Details

• Actors: Kinya Kitaoji, Keiju Kobayashi, Toshiro Mifune, Rentaro Mikuni
• Directors: Tadashi Sawashima
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Japanese
• Subtitles: 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: Animeigo
• DVD Release Date: May 8, 2007
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000NDFHVQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,729 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

SHINSENGUMI:ASSASSINS OF HONOR - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Model Army, November 10, 2008

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (DVD)

The shinsengumi are unusual heroes. Not only did they lose their battle, which can sometimes be seen as honorable as in the case of the defenders of the Alamo, but they fought for the wrong side entirely. The group supported the military Shogun government against the efforts to restore Imperial rule which eventually led to the Meiji Restoration and the modernization of Japan. No doubt they would be little more than a footnote in history if they just weren't so darn cool. And of course the uniforms.

There are dozens of movies about the shinsengumi, but this is the only one starring Mifune Toshiro. Mifune slips easily into the role of leader Kondo Isami, a farmer-caste born warrior who rose through the ranks by his strength and skills. Recruiting amongst the ronin and non-samurai warriors, Kondo and his co-commander Hijikata Toshizo (Kobayashi Keiju, Battle of Okinawa) develop a stern code of rules that keeps the rough crowd in-line. Completely devoted to the samurai ideals, even though many of them are not samurai themselves, including leader Kondo, the shinsengumi wage a lost battle against the overwhelming forces of the Emperor. Even losing, however, they do it honor and without compromise, so that their deaths continue to ring through the ages.

This was director Sawashima Tadashi's last film, and he played it right for the heroic machismo. Although they do dwell somewhat on the outdated morality they are defending, showing off their cool uniforms and strict code there is no mistake who the heroes are in this conflict. Other films, like Taboo and When the Last Sword Is Drawn, delve deeper into the dubious morality of the conflict and the group, but not this one. Sawashima just plays it straight, and with the charismatic Mifune in the lead that is exactly the way to go. Sometimes it is alright to cheer on in film those you are secretly glad lost in real life.

As usual, Animeigo put together a great DVD for this classic flick. One of the most difficult parts to grasp about "Shinsengumi" is that it is a famous historical story, and the director doesn't feel the need to explain who each and every character is. It is like watching a Revolutionary war picture and having a "General Washington" appear. There is no need to explain that this is the future first president of the country; we all know that. Same thing here. Characters appear without explanation because they would be familiar to every Japanese person. Animeigo's unique "captioned subtitles" helps deal with this by popping up historical facts and character introductions. There is also a brief introduction to the history of the shinsengumi included as an extra feature.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars solid samurai film, November 13, 2007

By 

Daniel Daley (reno, nv) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (DVD)

i have an extensive collection of samurai films, as well as other toshiro films from other genre's. while this is not at the top of the list by any means, it is a solid film. toshiro is great as always and the story moved quickly and it moved well. worth a watch, especially for the fan of samurai films.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and intriguing., September 3, 2009

By 

Low-Ranking Reviewer "tell it like it is" (US of A) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (DVD)

I bought this recently when it was on sale at amazon for a paltry $6 so i couldn't resist. It's another take on the Shinsengumi history, and while i'm not a Japanese history buff enough to know what's fact or fiction, it takes the entire subject matter seriously and tries to present a clear and vivid picture.

I'll let more knowledgeable fans of the subject matter dispute the film's historical merits. I just wanted to say this is a very compelling and watchable film filled with tragic moments and memorable scenes and characters. Well-paced and colorful, it also has quite a few small and large action sequences so if you enjoy that type of thing you will find it here. Good cinematography and performances, plus Toshiro Mifune as good as usual, top it all off.

Extras include program notes(info that go into detail about certain people/places/events from the film), the film's trailer, pic gallery, and a sub-title option that is basically liner notes on screen while you watch the film(had to turn this option off as i had to concentrate on the english subs of the dialogue). The program notes were very helpful as i read them before i watched the movie. In fact, i got so caught up with the film that i re-read them after the film was over. So, if you enjoy good movies this is definitely worth a watch. If you like samurai films or films about Japanese history, perhaps a purchase is warranted.

I'm glad i took a chance on it anyways. And as a point of reference, i've seen, recommend, and enjoyed these other samurai-related films: Shogun Assassin, Ran, Seven Samurai, Heaven & Earth, Yojimbo, Sword of Vengeance series, Sword of Doom(all-time favorite, not sure why though), Shogun's Samurai, Zatoichi films, Shogun's Ninja, Samurai Assassin, Sanjuro, Hidden Fortress, and to a lesser degree Incident at Blood Pass and Hanzo the Razor(least favorite).