Genroku Chûshingura (1941)

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Kenichiro Hara (writer)
Seika Mayama (play)

Release Date:

March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Plot:

Lord Asano resists a bribery attempt by a member of the Shogun's court. His honesty, however, is useless against the corruption of the administration...

Plot Keywords:

47 Ronin | Propaganda | Remake | Jidai Geki | Based On Play

Cast

Yoshizaburo Arashi	...	Lord Takuminokami Asano
Utaemon Ichikawa	...	Tsunatoyo Tokugawa
Daisuke Katô	...	Fuwa Kazuemon
Chojuro Kawarasaki	...	Kuranosuke Oishi
Kunitaro Kawarazaki	...	Jurozaemon Isogai
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Lord Etchumori Hosokawa
Mantoyo Mimasu	...	Kozunosuke Kira
Mitsuko Miura	...	Yosenin, Asano's wife
Kanemon Nakamura	...	Sukeimon Tomimori
Mieko Takamine	...	Omino, Isogai's fiancee

Also Known As:

47 Samurai
Chushingura
Loyal 47 of the Genroku Era
The 47 Ronin (USA)
The Loyal 47 Ronin

Runtime:

241 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

IMA Productions

Trivia:

The original play "Genroku Chushingura" is probably the most well researched, historically accurate account of the famous Ako Vendetta that happened in 1702. Though the film was partially supported by the Ministry of Information to promote the idea of loyalty to the Japanese population just before entering WW II, it is interesting that the original play was written for the communism-oriented collective Kabuki troops 'Zenshinza', and most of the original cast members also played the same roles in the film version.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aru eiga-kantoku no shogai (1975)

Long, slow epic worth seeing

I saw this film on the big screen when it was screened at a local theatre last summer. Needless to say, I went alone for this 3h40min marathon - I could not coax my wife to come! The "47 Ronin" is an epic film about this legendary Japanese story about how 47 masterless samurai plot to avenge their Lord's death. I won't expand on the plot here, but if you Google the topic or go to Wikipedia, it's a really fascinating story.

That this film is not for everyone is an understatement. It is slow moving, monumentally long and requires a lot of patience. But, the viewer is rewarded with incredibly genuine acting, beautiful and poetically shot scenes, and in the context of when the film was made, a window into WWII-era Japan. Telling to the wartime era this film was made in, the credits at the beginning of each Part give credit to the "Propaganda Department" (English translation).

Also poignant and disturbing, is the very serious and thoughtful portrayal of the Japanese practice of seppuku, or ritual suicide by slicing the stomach until the bowels spill out, then decapitation by a skilled swordsman.

Overall, I'm very glad I saw it - and would recommend it to others interested in this story. It's one of those movies that you only need to see once though.