Kill! (1968)
"Kiru" (original title)

Two ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up a local officials complex game of murder and betrayal.

Director:

Kihachi Okamoto

Writers:

Kihachi Okamoto (screenplay), Akira Murao (screenplay),

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Etsushi Takahashi, Yuriko Hoshi

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Genta
Etsushi Takahashi	...	Hanji (Hanjiro Tabata)
Yuriko Hoshi	...	Chino Kajii
Tadao Nakamaru	...	Magobei Shôda
Akira Kubo	...	Monnosuke Takei
Shigeru Kôyama	...	Tamiya Ayuzawa
Eijirô Tôno	...	Hyogo Moriuchi
Shin Kishida	...	Jurota Arao
Atsuo Nakamura
Nami Tamura	...	Yô
Hideyo Amamoto	...	Gendayu Shimada
Yoshio Tsuchiya	...	Shinroku Matsuo
Isao Hashimoto	...	Kônosuke Fujii
Akira Hamada	...	Denzô Nishimura
Takeo Chii	...	Yaheiji Yoshida

Storyline

Two ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up a local officials complex game of murder and betrayal.

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Plot Keywords:

ronin | betrayal | murder | violence | 1830s | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 June 1968 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Kill!

Filming Locations:

Joshu, Gunma, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Yoshio Tsuchiya's character is his own actual ancestor, Matsuo Tsuchiya.

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Quotes

Tamiya Ayuzawa: A vagrant couldn't do all this.

User Reviews

Kept me entertained from start to finish

Kill! is an economically titled film that provides some great characters, a strong story, lots of well shot fights and some clever humour. I have to confess that most of the samurai films I've seen have put me to sleep - Kurosawa's work or the Zatoichi films being a happy exception. KILL! never once had me in danger of nodding off, keeping me entertained from start to finish.

I was reminded of Kurosawa's SANJURO quite a bit, and read afterwards that both films were based on the same novel. I'm not sure if there were multiple stories within that novel, or if one or both of the films are just very loosely based on it. Tatsuya Nakadai's ronin is certainly a similar character to Mifune's Sanjuro, perhaps a little more world-weary and sly, not so majestic. Nakadai is Mifune's only serious competition for the "God of Samurai Films" crown, having made a bunch over the course of his career. His performance in KILL! is the best I've seen from him.

The film is well lensed, written, directed and performed. The pacing rarely if ever lags, and the story focuses on the characters rather than getting bogged down in trying to accurately describe historical detail or tedious political intrigues. Action is exciting and the comedy is subtle, smart and dark... all making for a pleasing 114 minutes of cinema :) Recommended!