An elder ronin samurai (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at a feudal lord's home and requests an honorable place to commit suicide. But when the ronin inquires about a younger samurai (Akira Ishihama) who arrived before him things take an unexpected turn.
For many, samurai films may be closer associated with Kurosawa... but this one, possibly the best ever made, comes from Masaki Kobayashi. How does Kobayashi not have the same level of international fame as Kurosawa?
Interestingly, Hanshirō is able to fight off a great many retainers with a sword, yet is helpless against three guns; this is a foreshadow of the Meiji Restoration, wherein sword-bearing samurai were defeated by the "new" Japanese military. Indeed, the whole notion of "honor" and all that comes with it is radically changed once the battles become uneven.
For many, samurai films may be closer associated with Kurosawa... but this one, possibly the best ever made, comes from Masaki Kobayashi. How does Kobayashi not have the same level of international fame as Kurosawa?
Interestingly, Hanshirō is able to fight off a great many retainers with a sword, yet is helpless against three guns; this is a foreshadow of the Meiji Restoration, wherein sword-bearing samurai were defeated by the "new" Japanese military. Indeed, the whole notion of "honor" and all that comes with it is radically changed once the battles become uneven.