13 Assassins (1963 film)

13 Assassins
Jūsan-nin no shikaku
13 Assassins; Jūsan-nin no shikaku
Directed by	Eiichi Kudo
Screenplay by	Kaneo Ikegami
Produced by	Kanji Amao; Jun'ichirō Tamaki
Starring	Takayuki Akutagawa [ja] ; Chiezō Kataoka; Kōtarō Satomi
Cinematography	Jūhei Suzuki
Edited by	Shintarō Miyamoto
Music by	Akira Ifukube
Production; company	Toei Company
Distributed by	Toei Company
Release date	1963;
Running time	125 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

13 Assassins (Japanese: 十三人の刺客, romaji: Jūsan-nin no shikaku) is a 1963 Japanese jidaigeki (period drama) film directed by Eiichi Kudo.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Plot

In 1844, the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan is in a period of transition, and one of the high ranking lords, Lord Matsudaira, has become tainted by his dissolute and reprobate misconduct. Many leaders in the governing community of the current government feel that the code of honor, bushido, of the samurai is being disgraced by Matsudaira. His reprobate, egotistical, and feckless lifestyle is disgusting to those who come into close contact with him. After receiving reports, Sir Doi is convinced that Matsudaira represents a severe threat to the entire code of honor for the samurai tradition. Sir Doi decides, because of the severity of Matsudaira's misconduct, to take a blood oath to assassinate the reprobate Lord Matsudaira. He enlists a troop of assassins to swear a similar blood oath to do away with Matsudaira in order to restore his country's wellbeing and code of honor.^[4]

Cast

Remakes

The film was remade in 2010 by Takashi Miike. The remake was met with critical acclaim. BFI, in an assessment of the top ten samurai films, compared the remake of the film to the original version stating: "Set in 1844, 13 Assassins follows the Seven Samurai template, featuring a band of samurais who come together to overthrow a despotic lord for the greater good of society. Miike’s version benefits from a far more generous budget, with a wonderful attention to period sets and costumes and some inventively choreographed fight scenes."^[5]

Between the original 1963 film and the 2010 remake, a 1990 production by Fuji TV aired as a television movie starring noted actor Tatsuya Nakadai in the lead role (Shimada Shinzaemon).

References

^ "十三人の刺客リメイクドラマが8月放送". シネール. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
^ "13 Assassins". 一般社団法人日本映画製作者連盟. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
^ "13 Assassins". kotobank. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
^ "13 Assassins". JCDB. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
^ '10 great samurai films' by Jasper Sharp [1], 18 May 2016. BFI Film Review.

External links

13 Assassins at IMDb

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[1] "十三人の刺客リメイクドラマが8月放送". シネール. Retrieved 27 November 2020.

[2] "13 Assassins". 一般社団法人日本映画製作者連盟. Retrieved 27 November 2020.

[3] "13 Assassins". kotobank. Retrieved 27 November 2020.

[4] "13 Assassins". JCDB. Retrieved 27 November 2020.

[5] '10 great samurai films' by Jasper Sharp [1], 18 May 2016. BFI Film Review.

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