Shijushichinin no shikaku (1994)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Kon Ichikawa

Writers:

Kon Ichikawa (writer)
Kaneo Ikegami (play)

Release Date:

22 October 1994 (Japan)

Plot Keywords:

47 Ronin | Jidai Geki | Remake | Based On Play

Awards:

9 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Ruriko Asaoka	...	Riku
Hisashi Igawa	...	Okuda
Renji Ishibashi	...	Heihachiro
Saburo Ishikura
Koji Ishizaka	...	Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa
Tatsuo Matsumura	...	Yahei
Rie Miyazawa	...	Karu
Hisaya Morishige	...	Hyobu Chisaka
Kiichi Nakai	...	Matashiro Irobe
Kô Nishimura	...	Kozukenosuke Kira
Misa Shimizu	...	Hori
Ken Takakura	...	Kuranosuke Oishi
Masahiko Urano	...	KiraGateGard
Ryudo Uzaki	...	Yasubei

Also Known As:

47 Ronin

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Company:

Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)

Movie Connections:

Version of Genroku Chûshingura (1941)

Beautiful ritual, classic drama, obtuse conspiracy

Beautifully shot, wonderful costumes, exceptional poetic imagery and majestic array of classically trained posturing women. However this film is amazingly obtuse, generally slow, incredibly dull minimalist payoff, improbable impregnation, and a couple of instances of Evil Dead style blood spray that seem very out of place. The political intrigue is neat, but that does not justify the pace or the ending, or the fact that many of the seemingly incidental plot spurs remain unresolved. I can appreciate that this is an attempt to recapture the classic style and posturing of the old Japanese & Chinese stage play forms and historical yarns like The Tale of Genji. Unfortunately, while beautiful, the film lacks the depth and loaded nuances of the classic form, and a superficial take on classical theater is far too shallow to really herald as a masterpiece. A good film to watch for visual form, but not a good example of story depth.