The copy I saw was rough, but I don't see even a restored version bringing this up by much. My expectations were also soiled by the promise of a large Mifune role only to find him in maybe 15 minutes of this very long film. I also thought this was the Ichikawa version (having already seen the early Mizoguchi) as I really don't care for Inagaki in the least. The early section is enjoyable until the big plot point comes, characters get scattered, every scene ends with weeping, and I stopped caring

Based on a famous and frequently adapted legend, Inahaki's Chushingura is a three-and-a-half hour epic political drama taking place in 18th century Japan. It is really well directed, beautiful cinematography and good acting. It has fairly little violence for the most part, all of which is about honor and completely senseless. It frequently plods, but does have plenty of interesting scenes if you're patient with it.

A good job telling this classic tale. It is a beautiful film, with excellent cinematography and artful composition within the frame.

Excellent film and a great story.

Yet another telling of the "47 Ronin" story. Very compelling and fun to watch.