Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
From a different point of view, August 21, 2004
This is a great movie. If you want an all-out action film or a Sonny Chiba showcase, then you will be disappointed. But if you want an epic samurai film with a gripping story, lots of intrigue, memorable characters, and some good action sequences, then this is your film. If you've ever seen Shogun's Ninja(also with Sonny Chiba), it's kinda like that but with a better, more coherent story and performances but has less of the wild action scenes and less of the campiness as well. Think of a Kurosawa-esque film with more action, or a martial arts film with a greater emphasis on character and plot and you'll have Shogun's Samurai.
The film is fictonal, although it's based on some historical facts and settings. Basically, the second shogun of Japan has died(poisoned) and his two sons are fighting for the right to be the next Shogun. Iemitsu Tokugawa(the eldest who is supposed to be the heir) is backed by the Yagyu clan, while his younger brother Tadanaga is backed by almost everyone else. This sets the stage for an epic struggle between two determined sides. The best thing about the movie is that it presents us with BOTH sides of the conflict. It really doesn't take sides, just presenting them(we see both brothers being manipulated by their advisors) and in the process introducing some very memorable characters(including some bad-ass fighters in the process). No, the film doesn't have long fight scenes that showcase all of them(in fact, some disappear for long periods at a time); but samurai films by nature rarely have long extended fights anyway.
Ok, so should you buy this? Hard to say, but let me set the stage for why I was gripped by this film. The first 'very talky' scene shows Tajima(head of the Yagyu Clan) convincing Iemitsu that he should be the next Shogun and that he would do everything in his power to help. Despite the dialogue-heavy nature of the scene, it didn't bore me. In fact, it fully immersed me into the film as well as help me decide who to side with in the movie. But as the movie progressed and introduced new characters and situations, the blurry line of good guy/bad guy and what side was what got even blurrier to the point where you root for individuals and not actual sides. As stated before, not a lot of action scenes. But believe me, when they happen, you watch REALLY carefully...to make sure the character(s) you like doesn't meet their demise. And the ending of the film...wow. No huge battle sequence, but it is very memorable(although it could've 'looked' more realistic) and despite the film's complexity actually brings the film to a satisfying conclusion. Overall, highly recommended.
(DVD=16:9 anamorphic, mono, Japanese language with English subs, only has original Japanese trailers and insert with liner notes)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the great Samurai films of the 1970s, August 21, 2004
Director Kinji Fukasaku was Japan's answer to Sam Fuller: he made films of unflinching brutality and political anger. As a child who witnessed the death and destruction of the Second World War, he brought his sense of injustice and outrage over the victimisation of ordinary people by the powerful in the existential thrillers he made under the thriving studio system.
SHOGUN SAMURAI: THE YAGYU CLAN CONSPIRACY was Fukasaku's first Samurai film after his hugely successful Yakuza films of the 60s and 70s, and possesses the same sense of social critique of the former films. A tragedy about ambition and lust for power, the story about the Shogun's sword master Yagyu and his schemes to install the late Shogun's hated older son to power over the favoured younger son, Fukasaku uses a shadowy chapter of Japanese history to reflect the turmoil and anxiety of the 1970s, drawing parallels with Watergate, political conspiracies, covert operations, cover-ups and assassinations, creating a powerful allegory for the times. The scope of the story is almost Shakespearan as Yagyu will stop at nothing to ensure his prince takes the seat of power, not even the death of his own children or an entire village of former allies will stand in his way.
One of the biggest hits in Japan at the time, this was a prestigious production, boasting a virtual who's who of Japanese acting A-list in an epic tapestry of the class system in medieval Japan. Sonny Chiba plays the renowned samurai Jubei Yagyu, one of his most beloved roles, but served as fight choreographer as well. There's not a single dull moment in the film as Fukasaku fills every frame with intrigue, betrayal and copious bloodshed, all to drive home the point about the corruption of power and the inescapable consequences of one man's actions.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Grand Epic, September 6, 2004
Shogun's Samurai was hardly what I expected. With a cast that includes Sonny Chiba, Toshiro Mifune, Tetsuro Tanba, and Hiroyuki Sanada, I imagined an almost non-stop 130-minute action fest. Shogun's Samurai completely defied my expectations, and surprised me by containing some genuinely great characters and some touching dramatic moments.
Director Kinji Fukasaku is, in my opinion, one of the most talented filmmakers of the 20th century. His resume includes more than 60 directorial credits, and the vast majority of his films are, if not always intellectually stimulating, totally engrossing cinematic achievements.
In Shogun's Samurai, he molds a long, epic tale of loyalty and betrayal. There are still quite a few action scenes, but the trend here is for brief explosions of violence that get us quickly back into the narrative. That really is the best policy in a film as complicated as this one: there are so many characters and so many secrets, if Fukasaku had taken much more time on any of the action pieces he would have lost us, leaving us confused and unsatisfied. As it is, though, Shogun's Samurai should keep you intellectually involved and sitting on the edge of your seat; know what to expect, a complicated political drama with a bit of violence, and you are sure to enjoy the film.
I only give it four stars because of one painfully irritating performance: Kinnosuke Nakamura as Tajimaru Yagyu. His performance isn't bad, per say, just horribly out of place. The rest of the cast speaks quickly, realistically, and you can see the thought processes going on in their minds before and as they speak. Nakamura, however, feels as if he was torn straight from a Kabuki performance. I, personally, love Kabuki theatre, but in the film Nakamura's slow-as-molasses, extremely over-emphasized dialogue is distracting and annoying.
The DVD by Adness, who also recently released the Japanese horror series "Tomie" on DVD, was surprisingly quite good. The disc is anamorphically enhanced, and for the majority of the film there is hardly a trace of dust or any damage to the print. There are a handful of brief instances where some debris is noticeable on the print, but for a 30 year old film, Shogun's Samurai looks great! The disc also provides three trailers (two teasers and one full-length theatrical) that are also anamorphically enhanced and very sharp. They're quite fun to watch, and all of the dialogue and on-screen text are subtitled. All in all it's a very worthy disc for the film.
Whether you're a fan of Fukasaku, any of the cast, or Japanese period-epics in general, Shogun's Samurai is certainly a worthy purchase.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Sue Shiomi
DVD ~ Hiroyuki Sanada
DVD ~ Kiichi Nakai
DVD ~ Masatoshi Nagase
DVD ~ Sonny Chiba
on IMDb.com 
