Second installment in Yamada's samurai trilogy. Once again the hero is unlike the super-warriors of the genre, but far more interesting.
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09/07/08
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Hidden Blade (2006)
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Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:27
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.2/10
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),... [More]
Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Takako Matsu, Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Director: Yoji Yamada
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Reviews for Hidden Blade
A character-driven, martial arts adventure more concerned with motivations than karate moves.
07/07/07
Hidden Blade works, then, as that rare, intellectually stirring historical pageant, but also as a deeply emotional, satisfying samurai movie, one of the crown jewels of the genre.
03/01/07
Click to read the article
01/20/07
Click to read the article
09/30/06
a totally immersive experience
09/28/06
A tenacious survival tale in which passionate lovers are held apart by outmoded traditions. How they overcome obstacles to happiness is what makes the film so dramatically engaging.
07/14/06
Yamada's enormously enjoyable The Hidden Blade is a movie that deftly balances the obligations of samurai history with love story.
07/14/06
Top CriticIt's a pretty simple tale, but -- true to his Western influences -- Yamada slows down the action and stretches it out to a prize-winning length.
07/13/06
... the restrained drama both punctures the mythic ideal of the samurai culture and spins a romantic portrait of one man who values principle over protocol...
07/13/06
This is a film buff's movie but also has strong appeal to those who just want to be told a darn good story.
07/08/06
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.
07/07/06
Top CriticYamada's film is old-fashioned in the very best sense. He is a great story teller and director of actors.
07/03/06
An affecting portrait of the impact of profound change on people with limited options.
07/01/06
Top CriticClick to read the article
06/24/06
Good, but a bit of a snorer.
06/24/06
Casually paced and filled with telling detail, Yamada's delicate drama with swordplay (there's not much, but what there is packs an emotional wallop) transcends its specific setting in its depiction of Katagiri's internal struggle.
06/23/06
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.
06/23/06
Top CriticBoth 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.'
06/23/06
Top CriticYoji Yamada redefines the words 'cinematic perfection' with a film that looks and feels like a true classic.
06/23/06
Latest News for Hidden Blade
June 22, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Click" Doesn't, Ahem, Click; "Waist" Isn't Deep Enough
This week at the movies, we've got a magical remote control ("Click") and a father who's trying to rescue his son ("Waist Deep"). Will the critics dig... More...
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