What appears at first to be an innocent family drama, evolves into an epic political clash reminiscent of the Illiad. Poignant, thrilling, and tragic, this film is holds up well against Kobayashi's earlier masterpiece, Harakiri. To top it off Toshiro Mifune gives, in my opinion, one of his best onscreen performances.

A very solid samurai film. It features some truly outstanding b/w photography and it builds momentum quite nicely up until its spectacular climax. Where it falls short is in its script, which isn't nearly as strong as that of Harakiri, another Kobayashi film which tackled similar themes in a more gut-wrenching (heh) and powerful manner. In particular, the romance isn't as believable, and some of the plot developments come across as either redundant or contrived.

The pacing is a little slow, but it serves a good purpose, to have the audience wrestle with every decision the way the characters must. Both the drama and action are perfectly executed from start to finish and the visual compositions are very impressive, especially in the second half.

i was really bored by this.

This film is a masterpiece by a truly world class director, the sadly neglected Masaki Kobayashi. The cinematography is brilliant. The film uses very spare, rigorous and geometrical designs from traditional japan aesthetics. The story is rather like a bloody Jacobean tragedy.

The ending isn't as strong as the rest of the movie, but I think it has one of Mifune's better performances.

Magnificent cinematography, great acting, great characters, great moral dilemmas....amazing, just what I expected from Kobayashi

Very food

Top notch jidaigeki. The freeze frame editing during Lady Ichi's story as well as Mifune and Nakadai's performances put this into my Tier 10.

At times interesting (in technical terms - some shots are stunning!), but dull and contrived.

Well-done samurai film. Kobayashi has become one of my favorite Japanese directors

Given that I know nothing about Japan's culture and history, it was hard for me to follow or care for this film at first. But while the first hour of this subtle domestic drama is quite a drag, the second half is much stronger and the characters get much more interesting. It's worth going through the slow parts to get there. Overall, a compelling story worth watching. Mifune is fantastic as the moral and confused Isaburo.

Out of all, cinematography and the sets steal the show. From the first shot that a blade morphs to a human form, every shot is a lesson. Perhaps the zooms for emotional impact are considered cheap in todays cinema syntax, Kobayashi blended them in just the right amount. But the moral dillema is not as strong as seppuku.

"You can't beat the system" is a common theme in Kobayashi films. Here it is again, in a story that's engaging. Some of the visual language being utilized is very expressive, such as when Toshiro Mifune decides to rebel, his footsteps disrupt the patterns in his sand garden. The climax is a thrill, too. However, Mifune really isn't that good in it, some scenes felt redundant, and the Suga character is discarded too easily. It's worth watching, but not something I'd see again.

Quietly, but very intensely, follows a domestic drama, holding off on action until the last act. Kobayashi has a real knack with framing characters in architecture, and often using them to disrupt the balance of a shot, complimenting the slowly building tension of the plot. That attention to detail is one of the movie's biggest strengths. Mifune also turns in something unexpectedly reserved, and it's arguably one of his best performances.

The photography is nice - Kobayashi really had an eye for B&W compositions, and though none of the images are as striking as in Harakiri, it's still beautiful to look at. I liked Mifune's understatedness, it suited the material much more than his typical style. And the payoff and ending are very strong. But there are redundant scenes and, though I appreciate the subtlety and restraint, I couldn't bring myself to care about the domestic drama. It's a fine film - just not tailored to my tastes.

Awesome slow burn. When Mifune finally explodes, stand the fuck back.

Score based on distant memory.

Very good samurai film.

It seems things just don't end well for anyone in feudal japan.

I'll have to disagree with most here and say that the social dilemma of the film - beauracratic traditionalism vs. the sanctity of the family unit - is just as heartbreaking and wraught as Kobayashi's other works. This is Sirk with katanas; this heightened family melodrama is underscored by the incredible B&W cinematography, and showcases one of society's most universal follies. The extended-family-encounter scene is as brilliantly staged and handled as the more action-heavy ending.

Kobayashi lifts the Samurai genre to the level of high art in this superbly crafted, superbly acted film of steadily escalating tension.