Samurai Rebellion

Samurai Rebellion knocked me flat on my back!

You got Isaburo Sasahara, played by the legendary Toshirô Mifune, facing off against his own clan because he’s all about doing what’s right. When the big shot boss forces his son, Ichi (played by Gô Katô), and this woman he doesn’t want (played by Yoko Tsukasa) into marriage, you’d think it’s a recipe for disaster. But nah, love blooms against all odds. Then this heartless ruler decides he wants Ichi back, and Sasahara isn’t having it. He’s ready to throw down to keep his son and daughter-in-law together. This isn’t your run-of-the mill samurai flick. It’s a meditation on ethics and romance, defying a strict samurai code.

Will you draw on your secret principles of swordplay? Push and you step back. Push further, and you step back further. But at the last moment, you skillfully switch from defense to offense. Yet you never attack. You wait until your opponent tires. In other words, until he gives up.

Masaki Kobayashi, the director behind this gem and the equally powerful Harakiri, knows how to paint a picture. The interplay of Kazuo Yamada’s cinematography and Hisashi Sagara’s editing is seamless and beautiful. Tōru Takemitsu’s soundtrack is sparse, but you feel its emotional impact when it comes into play.

Mifune’s kills it, of course. Gô Katô and his eyebrows are amazing. Yôko Tsukasa is devastating. And Shigeru Kôyama as the Steward Takahashi couldn’t be more sinister.

The only faults I can find with Samurai Rebellion are that the foley work for the sword fights is flat and repetitive, and the fights are mostly lackluster. But those are just nitpicks. This movie is fantastic, and you need to watch it now.