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Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor

Original title: Shinsengumi
  • 1969
  • 2h 2m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
444
YOUR RATING
Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
ActionAdventureDrama

Feudal Japan. Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo turn a collection of student fencers into a band of assassins known as the Shinsen Group, devoted to the Tokugawa shogunate and to an elegant code... Read allFeudal Japan. Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo turn a collection of student fencers into a band of assassins known as the Shinsen Group, devoted to the Tokugawa shogunate and to an elegant code of action and behavior. Kondo leads the band against the forces of the Emperor in hopes o... Read allFeudal Japan. Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo turn a collection of student fencers into a band of assassins known as the Shinsen Group, devoted to the Tokugawa shogunate and to an elegant code of action and behavior. Kondo leads the band against the forces of the Emperor in hopes of preventing his restoration to the throne.

  • Director
    • Tadashi Sawashima
  • Writer
    • Takeo Matsuura
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Keiju Kobayashi
    • Kin'ya Kitaôji
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    444
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Tadashi Sawashima
    • Writer
      • Takeo Matsuura
    • Stars
      • Toshirô Mifune
      • Keiju Kobayashi
      • Kin'ya Kitaôji
    • 6User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos24

    Toshirô Mifune in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Junko Ikeuchi and Rentarô Mikuni in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Toshirô Mifune in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Toshirô Mifune and Keiju Kobayashi in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Toshirô Mifune and Junko Ikeuchi in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Yuriko Hoshi in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Toshirô Mifune in Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)
    Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor (1969)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Toshirô Mifune
    Toshirô Mifune
    • Isami Kondo
    Keiju Kobayashi
    Keiju Kobayashi
    • Toshizo Hijikata
    Kin'ya Kitaôji
    • Soji Okita
    Rentarô Mikuni
    Rentarô Mikuni
    • Kamo Serizawa
    Yôko Tsukasa
    Yôko Tsukasa
    • Tsune
    Yuriko Hoshi
    Yuriko Hoshi
    • Otaka
    Junko Ikeuchi
    • Oyuki
    Kan'emon Nakamura
    Kan'emon Nakamura
    • Yasubo Katsu
    • (as Ganemon Nakamura)
    Kinnosuke Nakamura
    • Fujita Arima
    Yumiko Nogawa
    Yumiko Nogawa
    • Oume
    Takahiro Tamura
    Takahiro Tamura
    • Koshitaro Ito
    Katsuo Nakamura
    Katsuo Nakamura
    • Kisaburo Kawai
    Ichirô Nakatani
    Ichirô Nakatani
    • Moribe Tani
    Mika Kitagawa
    • Kaori
    Ryôhei Uchida
    Ryôhei Uchida
    • Nishiki Shinmi
    Shinsuke Mikimoto
    • Hachiro Shoga
    Umenosuke Nakamura
    • Keisuke Yamana
    Kinzô Shin
    Kinzô Shin
    • Honmeido
    • Director
      • Tadashi Sawashima
    • Writer
      • Takeo Matsuura
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film is part of the jidaigeki (period drama) genre, and it is also a chanbara (sword-fighting) film.

    User reviews6

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Superb and ruthless
    I'm bursting with good things to say about this film. Japan's (maybe the world's) greatest actor playing one of Japan's greatest heroes is already goosebump inducing. In fact, all of the cast is stellar. As the other comments have pointed out, if you don't know the story of the Shinsengumi, you're at a disadvantage. This is a sort of Japanese Iliad, a real life story of heroism and tragedy. Everybody in Japan knows the names of the leaders of the Shinsengumi in the way that American children learn about George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The good news is that the DVD program notes are fairly encyclopedic. They cover the major characters, places and events. Serizawa's entry mentions that "his hobbies include drawing, long fights on the beach and driving foreign invaders from his homeland."

    The film starts out well by including the ugliness of the Wolves of Mibu period. Hijikata is portrayed in a very dark way. Toward the end, Kondo actually says that Hijikata did all the dirty work so that Kondo could keep his hands (and soul) clean. Even though the Shinsengumi are the heroes, there is a point where you will be yelling at Hijikata to commit seppuku. The shogunate is a mess and you end up rooting for Kondo's devotion to the shogunal party at the same time that you want the shogunate to dry up and blow away. The film manages to be nuanced and yet get you jumping up and down yelling at your television.

    The production is beautiful, everything that you would want a samurai film to be. The costumes of the Shinsengumi are semi-accurate, unlike the beautiful but wrong ones in Gohatto. Although the pattern is correct in this film, the real colors were much more lurid. In real life, they must have looked like a troop of murderous peacocks as they charged through Kyoto. The exterior shots are gorgeous and the interior shots are lovely as well, although everybody seems to have brand new tatami at every point throughout the movie.
    helpful•9
    1
    • ace-150
    • Sep 23, 2007

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 15, 1970 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • 新選組(1969)
    • Production companies
      • Mifune Productions Co. Ltd.
      • Toho Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 2 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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