Yamada's enormously enjoyable The Hidden Blade is a movie that deftly balances the obligations of samurai history with love story.
Hidden Blade (2006)
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Reviews Counted:7
Fresh:7
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: A slow and steady samurai flick a la John Ford that brings emotions and psychology to an epic-scale adventure.
Theatrical Release:Jun 23, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Munezo Katagiri (Masatoshi Nagase), an honest and low ranking samurai is trapped in a state of personal and professional imbalance. Secretly in love with his family’s maid, Kie (Takako Tabata),... Munezo Katagiri (Masatoshi Nagase), an honest and low ranking samurai is trapped in a state of personal and professional imbalance. Secretly in love with his family’s maid, Kie (Takako Tabata), Munezo begins an uneasy courtship with her, knowing that a relationship is impossible. Raised to respect traditions from the past and the demanding moral code of the samurai, circumstances have now forced Munezo to look to the future. Required to master western military strategies, particularly the art of artillery, Munezo is ordered to find and kill Yaichiro, a former friend, samurai, and brilliant swordsman. Munezo knows that he cannot beat Yaichiro with fire power alone, so he enlists the help of his old teacher, Kansai Toda, a master swordsman who entrusts Munezo with the secret and power of The Hidden Blade. --© Tartan Films [More]
Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Takako Matsu, Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Takako Matsu, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Tomoko Tabata
Director: Yoji Yamada
Director: Yoji Yamada
Studio: Tartan Films
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Reviews for Hidden Blade
Reminders of feudal Japan are mixed in with a prescient glimpse into the country's future. The samurai will not be part of it, and The Hidden Blade poignantly shows what is lost in the name of progress.
An affecting portrait of the impact of profound change on people with limited options.
The Hidden Blade bears more than a passing resemblance in story and form to The Twilight Samurai, but stands on its own as a pleasant, if unremarkable, romance.
Both epic and intimate, this impassioned samurai drama is for anyone who's ever watched a movie and muttered, 'They just don't make 'em like they used to.'
The Hidden Blade is tranquil, touching, and, in its climactic sword fight, excitingly real.
From the beginning Yamada's movie, made in 2004, looks and feels more like a John Ford western than any other Asian film I've ever seen.
Latest News for Hidden Blade
June 22, 2006:
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