Chushingura
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Movie Reviews of Chushingura
Movie Review: The Quintessential Japanese Saga
Summary: 5 Stars
Chusingura (the 47 Ronin) is a tale that is as popular in Japan -and as often produced - as The Christmas Carol is in the U.S. - and just as revealing of cultural assumptions about right and wrong. There are many versions, each focusing on one of the "47 masterless Samurai" who refuse to surrender and face disgrace out of loyalty to their master. The theme (and story) will be familiar because it's been reworked many times ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado" to "From Here to Eternity."If you want to gain insight into the Japanese concept of loyalty and the price of honor above all else this is the one movie you should not miss.
The color photgraphy and scene settings are well done and sound is excellent; the acting is also very good and does not lean heavily on over-emoting that is the sometimes "norm" for Japanese films. Sub-titles are a little light, but easy enough to see and this is one of the more accessible versions (many are not available to Western audiences as more recently they tend to be done for annual TV specfials. You won't need to know the history to follow the story - or get the point.
It's a true story of a proud, old fashioned country Samurai who puts the Samurai Code and personal integrity above politics of reality. He's summoned to the Shogun's castle to do his duty - service to the emperor whole messengers are coming through the territory. A corrupt court official expects and demands a bribe to tell the Samurai what he must know of intricate protocol and is outraged when our hero refuses to bend. The official goads him into drawing his sword in the castle - a capital offense, leading to his forced harikiri - suicide.
The remainder of the tale - most of it - is about how the 47 loyal retainers face disgrace and contempt, while biding their time until they can avenge their master. The film has everything: psychological drama, action, passion, greed and pathos - everything in fact that makes life worthwhile.
Don't miss this one!
Movie Review: One of Masterpieces - both actors' play and plain beauty!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is fantastic! Set in Tokugawa period Japan, it describes a story, which shook Japan in seventeenth century. Young lord Asano (for those, who do not know the history of samurai, the clan of Asano was a prominent clan assisting Tokugawa in his quest for power) coming from very conservative clan is insulted by a corrupt official. In rage he draws the sword in the Shogunal palace - a grave offence punishable by seppuku. He is ordered to commit suicide without a proper investigation of all facts and his counterparty, lord Kira, lives on. Shogunate orders to abolish Asano clan leaving all samurai ronin and several dosens of samurai swear the revenge. By this time private disputes in Japan were to be resolved by the Shogunate. However, the law and the moral contradicted on this point as both Confucian and samurai codes of honour did not allow samurai to live "under the same sky" with lord Kira, who was the cause of their lord's untimely death. The samurai found themselves in conflict of rules of moral and laws and decided to act pursuant to the former.Scenery is beautiful and actors' play is amazing. I keep recalling Oishi's time at the teahouse with children and geishas when he is told of one of the samurai (his former subordinate) committing seppuku. He sheds tears yet he manages to conceal this from others! Another powerful scene is when one of samurai is attacked during the raid but saved by his own son. The old samurai rebukes the son, but then we see that he proudly smiles when his son turns away. In addition, the raid schenes have some good fight scenes as well.
As opposed to Holliwood mainstream movies, all feelings in this movie are shown somewhat "indirectly" and every scene has many "sub-contents". I highly recommend this movie to everyone who is interested in serious cinematography: you will find yourselves wanting to rewatch this movie again and again.
Movie Review: A Classic of Japanese Film
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is, hands down, one of the best samurai films ever made and cherished by many Japanese. A simple mention of "chushingura" or the "47 retainers" conjures images of snow-swept feudal Edo (Tokyo) and stealthy samurai enacting a long-awaited raid to revenge their deceased master.
The plot revolves around an intrigue at the shogun's court. A venal official named Kira uses his position to extort money from the visiting daimyo, or feudal lords.
One feudal lord, Asano, citing the samurai code, proudly refuses to pay Kira. A scuffle erupts. In the fight's aftermath, Asano is forced to commit suicide for disgracing the court.
The scene then shifts to Asano's home, where his loyal samurai hatch a plan to kill Kira.
Their plot unfurls over years - years in which their are laughs, deceptions and romances. But beneath the trifles and within the heart of each of the 47 sworn samurai lies a deadly fighting spirit preparing, concealing and mustering a coup that will rock all of Japan.
This film rises to the top of the stack of Japanese films for three reasons: 1) sophisticated theme, 2) authenticity and 3) a strange sense of surrealism (surreal music, surreal timing and the quality of restraint and mystery central to Japanese culture).
The film's lavish widescreen format, muted colors, visual beauty and striking soundtrack all make this a definitive version of the classic tale.
The movie lasts over three hours, and that may be much for someone not intrigued by Japan's past or the samurai code. But for ambitious film fans with such interests, I recomend it wholeheartedly.
Movie Review: Valorous and powerful tale of heroism
Summary: 5 Stars
Here is an exquisite spectacle that embodies the spirit of bushido, newly released in stunning brilliance on DVD. For three hours, the Western viewer is swept to another time and place, one as strange yet vivid as anything imagined in science fiction or fantasy. If I was forced to make a shallow comparison, it might be to John Wayne's "The Alamo" for its evocation of heroic self-sacrifice and in its attempt to humanize sweeping historical events. But Chushingura is far more accomplished and less prone to theatrical bravado. The 47 loyal samurai are bound by duty and devotion, not patriotic fervor. They have no hope for personal survival, but accept their fate calmly and without flowery speechifying. In this lavishly produced movie, they live again -- stalwart and thoughtful, furious and fleeting. A profoundly engaging work that speaks to the core of the traditional Japanese martial spirit.Movie Review: Epic Saga of Loyalty!
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the greatest veiws into the Japanese culture, Chushingura is the story of the 47 Loyal Retainers. The story, originaly written as a play and performed as a puppet show and a play, is sweeping and enthralling. Beautifully panoramic, the costumes are very acurate(especially the weaponry and how it was worn in that era) and shows the majesty and treachery of fuedal Japan. Although this movie is about three hours long it wraps you up and carries you away to a time when people put their lives on the line on a daily basis, something that most modern people cannot directly relate to but yearn for the opportunity! A masterpiece.