colaya I guess it's a mystery why this film is not well-known. As I write this, there are only other 1,338 IMDb users that have rated it. A small group of fortunate viewers. If you have not seen it and you are reading this---perhaps you are exploring the possibility because of some samurai or classic movie interest?---then just watch it. It's just impossible to like classic samurai action and not to love this movie. And if you are new to classic samurai movies, this is a good start. All major ingredients are here.But if you need reasons. Well, what's not to like? Mifune at his best. The beautiful cinematography of Okamoto. An all-star cast from every major samurai movie (the only one missing is Nakadai). Political intrigue in the decay period of the samurai cast. A series of Rashomon-like flashbacks for learning, slowly, the dimensions of a tragedy. Spectacular samurai action in the snow. A drum that beats, slowly, fate. And endless themes to think about: fate vs. caprices of life, love vs. duty, friendship vs. personal ambition, the quest for finding ourselves a place in the world, and so and so. The other mystery is the rating of this movie. It should be above 8,0 by all means, to say the least. I disagree with other reviewers that talk about a "convoluted" plot. I found the plot easy to follow, despite the names involved. And the director is very efficient and artistic for delivering the story in a 2-hour mark. It just needs to build tension for the great finale. It's a matter of enjoying.

chaos-rampant Samurai Assassin is a tricky film. It tries to balance neatly between the chambara and jidai-geki. As a jidai-geki it falls close to Masaki Kobayashi's amazing masterpieces Seppuku and Samurai Rebellion in its resemblance of an ancient Greek tragedy filled with tragic irony and a sense of inescepable doom. On the chambara front it takes a while to deliver but when it does, it's all guns blazing; the final fight in the snow ranks as one of the greatest battle sequences in 60's samurai cinema.What hampers Samurai Assassin is both the very convoluted plot (even by jidai-geki standards) and the narration that should have been skipped altogether (especially in the ending). The plot although well constructed may suffer under close scrutiny. Of course nothing a little suspension of disbelief can't solve. Still, it devotes too much time and detail to subplots and flashbacks that ultimately detract from its goal: building momentum for the final confrontation (both physical and emotional). Tsuruchiyo's backstory for example is spread over 30 minutes and while it gives a solid foundation to the character, you can't help but wonder what it has to do with the first half hour. It all clicks together at some point but it would have benefited immensely from tighter plotting (20 could have been clipped). Less detail, narration and names-dropping, more visualization.No matter. Samurai Assassin is still a decent film with some memorable scenes. It starts to pick up steam after the 70 minute mark and finishes on a spectacular note. The final battle in the snow is a marvel to look at and features some top notch swordfighting, with Toshiro Mifune simply owning every frame with his impeccable physical skills. It's a very bleak and ironic ending however; there's no valliance or social status to be gained for Mifune's character. I don't want to spoil it any further cos it's easily the best part of the movie.Okamoto, a great chambara director of the 60's, was well on his way to bigger and better things. Just one year later, Sword of Doom would go on to become one of the best Japanese movies of all time. Three years later, the thoroughly enjoyable Kiru! would add some tongue-in-cheek spirit to Okamoto's often nihilistic style. Still, Samurai Assassin is a welcome addition to his ouevre that might not be excellent and thus not a good entry point to both Okamoto and the jidai-geki but it's recommended to genre fans.

massaster760 The year is 1860 and Japan is in a very unstable place. A time when the 300 year rule of the Shogunate was drawing to a close, an event which would simultaneously bring Imperialism to Japan and cause the death of the Samurai age. This is the setting of Samurai Assassin, a highly complicated, and character driven Chambara film that is shot in brilliant black and white. It also features one of Toshiro Mifune's best performances, as well as an astounding ending battle sequence that's just too cool for words.Mifune plays Niiro Tsuruchiyo, a master-less samurai who joins forces with the multiple clans against the Lord of Hikone, Sir Li Kamonnokami Naosuke. Li is the right hand of the shogunate and brought upon himself the wrath of the Satsuma, Mito, and Choshuu provinces after making an unpopular choice for the appointment of the 14th shogunate. Many critics arouse after the controversial appointment, and Li initiated the Ansei Purge to quiet critics of his choices. This in turn, lead to an assassination plot hatched by the three provinces in order to remove Li from his position of power. Here enters Mifune, who wants to help the clans, in order to become a samurai of the Mito house. If that's not enough, the clans have their own problems too trying to weed Li's spies out of the plot. Which results in a film full of intrigue, espionage, underhanded dealings, and of course assassinations. If all this sounds complicated...it's because it is.Looking past the intricate plot of Samurai Assassin and the film is basically a detailed character study of Mifune's Niiro. Much of the film deals with his mysterious past and is told through flashbacks, both as first hand accounts and through investigative processes headed by the clan who is trying to distinguish the followers from the spies. This serves as both a negative and a positive for Assassin. While it helps develop Mifune's character (and he's excellent as always), it also slows the film to a tedious pace. Also hidden in Niiro's past is a long story of forbidden love. The films first hour concerns itself mostly with these issues, while the second half slowly builds to an incredibly brutal finale. Bottom line- Samurai Assassin takes it's time to get where it's going, but when it arrives at its destination it redeems the films minor shortcomings. The finale is a brutal scene filmed in swirling clouds of snow and features an dizzying, blood soaked, action packed conclusion sure to satisfy any Chambara fan.

Yehoshuah Young (Prophet-9) I bought this film about a year ago and just got the opportunity to watch it last night. This film was beautiful brutality, simplistic complexity, unjust justice, and traditional tragedy. The sword duels are quick and brutal, the battle scene is long and horrific. The film jumps through time and space at a frantic pace with out warning. And yet the plot is slowly revealed through the hurried pace. I highly recommend this film that examines the complex psyche of Norii the Ronin. My only warning is that there is a lot of dialogue and it wears a little thin at some times. And the subtitles go by so fast at times it calls for some rewinding. The action is so fast in some parts you will want to watch in freeze frame. One scene looked so real, I would almost swear that they actually had to kill the guy. Go see this film now.