Samurai Rebellion Photos

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Cast

Toshiro Mifune
as Isaburo Sasahara

Go Kato

Yôko Tsukasa
as Ichi Sasahara

Tatsuyoshi Ebara
as Bunzo Sasahara

Etsuko Ichihara
as Kiku

Isao Yamagata
as Shobei Tsuchiya

Tatsuya Nakadai
as Tatewaki Asano

Tatsuo Matsumara
as Lord Matsudaira

Takeshi Katô
as Yogoro

Tsuyoshi Kato
as Yogoro

Shigeru Koyama
as Steward Takahashi

Masao Mishima
as Chamberlain Yanase

Tatsuya Ebara
as Bunzo

Michiko Otsuka
as Suga

Tatsuo Matsumura
as Lord Matsudaira

Takamaru Sasaki
as Kenmotsu Sasahara

Jun Hamamura
as Hyoemon Shiomi

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Critic Reviews for Samurai Rebellion

Audience Reviews for Samurai Rebellion

• Mar 11, 2017

  Set in 1725 Japan, and made in 1967, isn't it interesting that this film reveals so many universal truths? Difficulties in marriage. The feeling in middle-age that comes when looking back at decisions and events in one's life. The need to stand up for what's right, despite a world that sometimes crushes us so unfairly. At the same time, the movie is distinctly Japanese. There are so many great shots from Director Masaki Kobayashi and cinematographer Kazuo Yamada, including such harmonious placement of people and objects in 'small' moments, that they're almost as if they were Zen rock gardens of their own. There are also of course the big scenes, such as the epic samurai showdown as the wind blows through the wild grass, which is amazing. Toshiro Mifune turns in a memorable performance, and leads an excellent cast. The soundtrack, with music provided by T?ru Takemitsu, fits the scenes and emotions beautifully. There is an undercurrent of defiance running through the movie, from Mifune's outspoken wife (Michiko Ôtsuka) to his son (Go Kato) and daughter-in-law (Yoko Tsukasa) clinging to one another despite cruelty from the local feudal lord. Mifune is calm as he braces for battle exclaims "I, in all my life, have never felt more alive than I do now", and we feel for the honor, for the rightness, of what he's about to do. Great film.
  Antonius B Super Reviewer
• Jan 28, 2013

  Oh man, don't you dare cross Toshiro Mifune. The veteran actor has amassed quite a body count during his cinematic reign in which he ruled for an astounding 170 feature-length films, and here he adds a few more notches to his blood-soaked belt. While it can be quite depressing to think of all the poor Japanese folks that Mifune has dispatched over his career, director Masaka Kobayashi goes to painstaking lengths to make sure the viewer knows that at least in this film, he is doing it for good reason. Not only is he giving the finger to the almighty creator by doing away with his creation with his unparalleled swordsmanship, but he is also rebelling against the daimyo of the Aisu clan of which he is a vassal, a crime of which there can be no forgiveness. Although not as impressive visually or thematically intriguing as his 1962 masterpiece Harakiri, Kobayashi once again proves that he is a capable storyteller. All the while examining social order and the price that it imposes on the body of people that it claims to protect. Despite the fact that the material was in the hands of Shinobu Hashimoto, the writer responsible for Harakiri, it is unfortunately lacking the urgency and vitality that made the prior film so special. Yet, not all is lost as Kobayashi delicately sheds light not on the overt violence that this society cultivated, but rather the quiet disruption of the family for the sake of the lord. Though Kobayashi's revisionist tale isn't as gripping as his previous work, it is still a very exciting piece of cinema and further proof that Kurosawa & Ozu aren't the only Japanese directors worthy of our respect.
  Reid V Super Reviewer
• Jul 21, 2011

  This is a pretty excellent samurai movie. It's most definitely slow, but it's never boring. Somehow, people link slow and boring together, which couldn't be farther from the truth for this movie. It's actually a very interesting movie to follow until all hell breaks loose. The movie does run a little long, but it's still a great flick regardless. Unfortunately, I streamed this movie on netflix, the movie will be removed from streaming tomorrow. But I still think it's a movie worth seeking out.
  Jesse O Super Reviewer
• Jul 16, 2011

  Toshiro Mifune is at it again with this Sensational, deeply moving samurai flick thats worth WATCHING!!! AGAIN AND AGAIN!!! The 18th century was a great time in these era of films still the 16th century always has me. I liked the acting and story and costumes and ECT.
  Keiko A Super Reviewer

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