Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
Production
Lavish sets that ate the entire budget
Costume
Armor so detailed you'll ignore the plot
Practical Effects
Hiroyuki Sanada's actual sword skills
Director
Carl Rinsch
Keanu Reeves
Kai
Hiroyuki Sanada
Kuranosuke Ôishi
Ko Shibasaki
Mika
Tadanobu Asano
Lord Kira
Min Tanaka
Lord Asano
Rinko Kikuchi
Witch
Jin Akanishi
Chikara
Masayoshi Haneda
Yasuno
Hiroshi Sogabe
Hazama
Takato Yonemoto
Basho
Shû Nakajima
Horibe
Hiroshi Yamada
Hara
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Shogun Tsunayoshi
Tanroh Ishida
Shogun's Adjutant
Yorick van Wageningen
Kapitan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Universal delayed release for reshoots, ballooning costs to $225M—making it one of history's biggest bombs. Keanu reportedly took a massive pay cut.
The actual Akō incident (1703) is Japan's national legend of loyalty; this film adding a half-breed hero and dragon witch made it controversial there.
US
