Tonight at a glance
- Runtime
- 135 min
- Age rating
- NR
- Language
- Japanese
- Country
- Japan
- Violence
- Moderate
Why tonight?
- One of the best-reviewed films Cue holds.
- In Japanese — subtitles on.
The story
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
- suicide
- japan
- samurai
- asia
- flashback
- revenge
- poverty
- black and white
- seppuku
- ronin
The look
A few frames, chosen rather than collected.
The bill
Tatsuya Nakadai
Hanshiro Tsugumo
Akira Ishihama
Motome Chijiiwa
Shima Iwashita
Miho Tsugumo
Tetsuro Tamba
Hikokuro Omodaka
- Masao Mishima — Tango Inaba
- Ichirō Nakatani — Hayato Yazaki
- Kei Satō — Masakazu
- Yoshio Inaba — Jinai Chijiiwa
- Hisashi Igawa — Retainer
- Toru Takeuchi — Retainer
- Yoshirō Aoki
- Tatsuo Matsumura
- Akiji Kobayashi
- Kōichi Hayashi
- Ryūtarō Gomi
- Directed
- Masaki Kobayashi
- Written
- Shinobu Hashimoto
Production
- Rating
- 8.5 / 10 · 1,271 ratings
- Studio
- Shochiku
If this stayed with you
Then these are the nearest things Cue holds — chosen for what they share with it, not for what happens to be popular.
