Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death.
Direction
Ichikawa's static compositions make tension architectural
Acting
Ken Takakura's silence speaks entire treatises
Cinematography
Snow as character, white waiting for red
Director
Kon Ichikawa
Ken Takakura
Kuranosuke Oishi
Kiichi Nakai
Matashiro Irobe
Rie Miyazawa
Karu
Koji Ishizaka
Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa
Ruriko Asaoka
Riku
Hisaya Morishige
Hyobu Chisaka
Ryudo Uzaki
Yasubê Horibe
Tatsuo Matsumura
Yahê Horibe
Gaku Yamamoto
Chûzaemon Yoshida
Shigeru Kōyama
Jûnai Onodera
Isao Bitō
Renji Ishibashi
Heihachirô Kobayashi
Saburo Ishikura
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Kon Ichikawa's fourth film on the 47 Ronin legend; he first tackled it in 1958.
The historical incident (1703) remains Japan's definitive loyalty myth, performed annually as 'Chushingura'—Ichikawa strips away the pageantry to expose the machinery.
JP
