Chushingura - Hana no maki yuki no maki (1962)

Director:

Hiroshi Inagaki

Writers:

Shoraku Miyoshi (play)
Senryu Namiki (play)

Release Date:

3 October 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Plot:

A young lord attempts to combat the official corruption endemic to the Shogunate, only to be placed in an impossible conflict of duties...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Jidai Geki | Remake | Based On Historical Events | 47 Ronin

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Koshiro Matsumoto	...	Chamberlain Kuranosuke Oishi (as Matsumoto Koshiro IX)
Yûzô Kayama	...	Lord Naganori Asano
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Yasubei Horibe
Akira Takarada	...	Gunpei Takada
Yosuke Natsuki	...	Kinemon Okano
Makoto Satô	...	Kazuemon Fuwa
Tadao Takashima	...	Jyujiro Kan
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Asano Official
Takashi Shimura	...	Hyobu Chishaka
Daisuke Katô	...	Kichiemon Terasaka
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Awajinokami Wakisake (Lord Awaji)
Ryo Ikebe	...	Chikara Tsuchiya
Setsuko Hara	...	Riku Oishi
Yôko Tsukasa	...	Aguri Asano
Reiko Dan	...	Okaru

Also Known As:

47 Ronin
47 Samurai (USA)
Chushingura: 47 Samurai (USA) (reissue title)
The 47 Ronin (Australia)
The Loyal 47 Ronin

Runtime:

206 min | Japan:208 min | USA:100 min (second release) | USA:108 min (first release) | USA:204 min (1966 re-issue) | USA:207 min (1966 re-release)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

Toho Company

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ronin (1998)

In COMPLETE agreement with Michael Stephens

There is not much more that I can add to Michael Stephens' review. As the film closed, I, too, had tears running down my face in awe of what had transpired, not only because of the greatness of this film, but the courage and loyalty of the men and women depicted in this magnificent story.

I am a Caucasian American, but I have a deep love for Asian culture, especially the Japanese culture, so I have a little insight to their way of thinking. I agree with Michael that many Americans will not be able to completely identify with certain events in the film. Nevertheless, you must have a heart of stone if you cannot feel SOMETHING for what happens in the film.

Yes, this is a long movie, but I found I wanted more. The story, the acting, directing, EVERYTHING was MAGNIFICENT!!! And, of course, there was TOSHIRO MIFUNE, brilliant as always even in this limited role. If you are a fan of Japanese cinema, you will see MANY familiar faces. And, to top it off, the music was composed by the GREAT Akira Ifukube.

My only complaint is the DVD. As beautiful as this print is, it still looks like it needs to be restored. I can't imagine how wonderful that would look!! Also, some extras like a short background story would be helpful to those that have no real knowledge of Japanese history. I CANNOT recommend this film enough!!