Makai tenshô (2003)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Hideyuki Hirayama

Writers:

Satoko Okudera (writer)
Futaro Yamada (novel)

Release Date:

26 April 2003 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | History | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Vengeance From Hell

Plot:

37,000 Peasants perished in the Shimbara Revolt: among them, the leader of that uprising, Shiro Amakusa...

Plot Keywords:

Peasant | Samurai | Go | Sacrifice | 1630s

Cast

Yôsuke Kubozuka	...	Amakusa Shiro Tokisada
Kumiko Aso	...	Clara Oshina
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Lord Tokugawa Yorinobu
Tomoka Kurotani	...	Ohiro
Kazue Fukiishi	...	Ohina
Kazuya Takahashi	...	Date Kosaburo
Masaya Kato	...	Araki Mataemon
Kyozo Nagatsuka	...	Miyamoto Musashi
Koichi Sato	...	Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Akira Emoto
Arata Furuta	...	Hozoin Inshun
Jun Kunimura
Katsuo Nakamura	...	Yagyu Tajima-no-Kami Munenori

Also Known As:

Samurai Resurrection

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Quotes:

Clara Oshina: [Mataemon has lost his arm in battle] How dare you return to us in this condition!
Araki Mataemon: I feel no shame. You promised immortal life. So… give me an arm!
Amakusa Shiro Tokisada: [draws his sword] I will have no ear for prattle. Will you follow me? Or destroy yourself and return to hell?

Movie Connections:

Remake of Makai tenshô (1981)

So Close....

This film could have been astounding. As it is, individual scenes are still quite amazing to watch, but overall, this film falls far short of the greatness that it could have been. I'm not sure whether the fault is that of the director or script writer...but what I can say is that the cinematography along with some of the concepts are amazing. This film could have been so much more. The scene in the wheat field (or grass, or whatever it was) speaks to what this film could have been. That scene is involving and original, creating the mood that most of this movie aspires to, and I would say that scene alone is definitely worth the rental. However, unfortunately this movie is more visible for its shortcomings. What is an intriguing and original concept--Bhuddism vs. Christianity, of sorts, with the "resurrection" idea in Christianity allowing for a plot that I haven't scene before...falls short. The filmmakers don't take the play on Christianity that they could have, and the film, after a remarkable opening, wreaks of a PC mentality. Moreover, while individual scenes and the camera work are great, the characters and situations are hard to follow. I want to believe that is my Western sensibility and non-understanding of Japanese history, but this movie seems to me like a lot of Hollywood productions that look very pretty but fall short as far as story and continuity is concerned. It's still worth a watch...but I can't help feeling a deep sense of regret that this movie wasn't as great as it could have been.