Samurai Rebellion

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 to create images of social regimentation and imprisonment. The story is rather like a bloody Jacobean tragedy.

The film makes its case blatantly, condemning hypocritical decorum and dismantling hierarchies that would subjugate and suppress. It is similar to Harakiri - a little redundant and not as overwhelmingly powerful - but still a masterwork. Architecture is important, or more specifically, when it's undermined. Mifune's footsteps disrupt patterns in the sand, the family home is vacated and destroyed, and in a final defiant outburst, an unrestrained bloodbath on the windswept mountainside.

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.

Contrary to what you're probably led to expect by the title, this is far from filled with action. Kobayashi (who should rank alongside Kurosawa on any cinema enthusiast's watchlist) takes his time, focusing on the drama of making the decision to be a martyr so as not to stand for injustice. When it's time for sword fighting, late in the film, while fine, it's hard for it to live up to the intense and engaging building towards a culmination.

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.

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.

Has some of the best acting I've ever seen in a film. You can taste the tension and anguish between the main character's loyalty for his lord and his son.

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

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.

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

oohf the speghetti westerns really plundered this one. the desperation paired with that miserable unceasing wind and takemitsu's unnerving sound world. ~mwah~.

The patience in its pacing and distinguished aesthetics are admirable. I do believe, however, that the emotions of the third act aren't as gripping when a character's motivation relies on another generation's passion/suffering as a surrogate. Perhaps this is Kobayashi's intention, but the tragedy loses something here due to the mechanics of plot. Would like to have known a bit more about Isaburo to fill in some needed psychological background.

Smouldering and intense, even for a 60s era samurai picture, but the fairly simplistic and melodramatic story can’t support or sustain the thick-as-soup mood, eventually making the film too difficult and oppressive, despite some chillingly crisp cinematography and some isolated moments of decent drama. Performers are adequate, but the film will test your tolerance for stylised and overly emotive performances.

A beautiful chorus of images. Exchanges the sorrow and hurt of Harakiri for fury and anger, aided by another haunting performance by the incredible Toshiro Mifune. Kobayashi directs swordfights like nobody's business, man.

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.

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

"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.

The story is mostly a lot of serious dramatic acting and posturing. There isn't any fighting action until the end. The story has some repetition but they build anticipation until the showdown at the end. It presents an unexpected and interesting story of injustice. The plot, dialog and attitudes were sometimes confusing. The ending battles were regrettably somewhat unsatisfying.

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.

The setup doesn't have the scorching universality and relatability of Harakiri (an almost unfortunately high bar to which a film like this inevitably will be compared to), but once the stage is set, the fury toward the system and the move toward martyrdom is as satisfying as any other payoff Kobayashi's made.

Kobayashi again pits strict tradition against humanistic values to great effect. Having Toshiro Mifune as your lead is never a bad thing either...

A very solid samurai movie, although a little slow moving. Kobayashi's films feature some of the strongest morals in cinema.

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

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

A very tragic story of family, politics and personal greed. It's painted in beautiful strokes of brush that unravel the story gradually, the pain and despair of the characters drawn in perfect clarity through the brilliant acting and the haunting ambience.

I felt like there was something deeply artificial and limited about Kobayashi's style when I saw Harakiri and Kwaidan, but this movie made me sure. He was not one of Japan's greatest.

Somewhat similar to Harakiri, yet not as impressive, but has the hallmarks of Kobayashi's work - intense drama, beautiful understated cinematography and stark social commentary.

Maybe I need to rewatch this, but I thought it was kind of boring. The story hinged upon centuries old Japanese values that I share no connection with, and the direction was pretty lukewarm. At least it's got Mifune, he's like the Japanese Brad Pitt of the days of yore.

This was an experience to behold. The framing, use of space and the variety of shots used to immerse the viewer in this Edo period drama was consistently excellent.

i was really bored by this.

Score based on distant memory.

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

Not a classic samurai movie with a lot of action. It's more about the political system and social oppression. Kobayashi nails that from a very different perspective. As always, Toshiro Mifune is stunning. However, something is missing in this movie. I couldn't fully connect with the story. It's not as impressive as his other works.

Even so thoroughly divorced from a modern setting, the modern parallels are clear, and Kobayashi finds the perfect avenue to inject the social commentary and criticism he explores so well in his contemporary films

After a very strong first hour the film, unlike Kobayashi's Harakiri, can't keep up and slides off into action and lesser but still good plot.

Kobayashi é um gigante, me é inconcebível ele não ser tão bem quisto dentro do cinema japonês quanto Ozu, Kurosawa e Mizoguchi. Ele é o Shakespeare do cinema, tanto no lirismo da forma, quanto na tragédia da narrativa. A grandiosidade desse filme pode ser medida na descrição de uma cena: Mifune e Nakadai alimentam um bebê em conjunto antes de duelarem, esse pequeno momento exemplifica como um tôdo a grandiosidade por cada minuto do filme. DVD Versátil Cinema Samurai Volume 1.

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.

Very good samurai film.

These Japanese historical films usually need more attention in terms of following the plot but Samurai Rebellion's story is comprehensive and has good structure. The visuals are great all round and acting performances worth noting.

Rewatched 2024.2.6

great watch very gripping, it shows the clash and hypocrisy of idoling humans, and it shows you can only be pushed so much until you break. and everyman will reach there limit even the most patient

Very food

Compelling and watchable. The melodrama runs a bit high, but the political and social oppression is palpable.

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