Chushingura [VHS]

Chushingura [VHS]
by Hiroshi Inagaki

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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Akira Takarada, Ch?sha Ichikawa, Koshiro Matsumoto, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yuzo Kayama
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki
Producer: Hiroshi Inagaki
Producer: Edward Landberg
Producer: Sanezumi Fujimoto
Writer: Izumo Takeda
Writer: Senryu Namiki
Writer: Shoraku Miyoshi
Writer: Toshio Yasumi
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: Japanese (Original Language), Analog; English (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dubbed, Letterboxed, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 206 minutes
Release Date: 2001-02-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Image Entertainment
Studio: Image Entertainment

VHS Movie Reviews of Chushingura [VHS]

Movie Review: A captivating samurai epic!
Summary: 5 Stars

Chushingura is a historical epic set in the early 1700's in Japan. Despite being filmed in 1962, its use of a classic film style and Japanese artistic sensibility make it accessible to contemporary viewers. The story is well told and engages the viewer immediately in the problems of an honorable man surrounded by corruption.

Lord Asano is pressured to pay bribes to a corrupt court official, Kira, but he refuses and puts himself and his entire clan at risk. His friends and vassals warn him of the dangers of this step but he is determined to do the right thing. Kira is angry that Asano wont payoff and he provokes Asano. Asano loses his temper, draws his sword and attacks Kira at court. Kira is injured and Asano is instructed to commit seppuku, which he performs honorably and dutifully. His successor and vassals meet and construct a plan to complete the killing of Kira attempted by their master.

Asano's property is seized and his samurai become ronin--masterless soldiers. Despite their Ronin status they continue to work towards their goal of revenge. Public opinion is against Kira, as his dishonor and corruption is well known, but he is too powerful to be easily defeated. Many lives are affected by the disgrace of the Asano clan and the plot to assassinate Kira.

This 207 minute epic portrays everyday lives and concerns contrasted with the intrigues of the Japanese court. There are a collection of main characters that are at times difficult to keep track of--this complexity of this movies makes me suspect it improves with multiple viewings. The sets are gorgeous including beautiful houses and mansions with wonderful gardens. The filmmaker takes advantage of natural beauty as well and some of the scenes filmed during the winter snows are particularly stunning. The action scenes are well filmed and exciting but the modern martial arts film aficionado might find them a bit tame. Martial arts choreography and effects of the last ten years are light years beyond the state of the art in 1962.

This film exhibits and attention to detail that is fascinating. The costumes, nuances of facial and vocal expression, and technology of the 1700's all worked together to create another world. Highly recommended.

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Summary of Chushingura [VHS]

For two hundred years, no other story has captured the hearts and imagination of the Japanese people more than "Chushingura." When Lord Asano is forced by a corrupt lord to commit hara kiri, forty-seven loyal samurai seek vengeance. Often referred to as the "Gone with the Wind" of the Japanese cinema, "Chushingura" is an unparalleled example of the true samurai spirit.

Chushingura means "loyalty," and that potent Japanese theme runs like hot blood throughout this stately samurai epic. It's often called the Gone with the Wind of Japanese cinema, and while that may be a fitting cultural parallel, it gives an inaccurate impression of the film, based on one of Japan's most enduring and oft-interpreted historical events. A simmering, deliberately paced drama set during the Tokugawa shogunate in 1701, it centers on 47 loyal samurai who seek vengeance against the arrogant elder statesman who caused their master's ritual suicide. The now masterless ronin let seasons pass (and the movie occasionally seems just as long) before executing a climactic raid that is both expertly fierce and lethally efficient. Featuring a who's-who of fine Japanese actors, including Kurosawa regulars Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, Chushingura bears little resemblance to Kurosawa's action-packed samurai classics. This is a thematically dense, politically complex drama, presented here at its fullest length (207 minutes) and best appreciated after multiple viewings. Masterfully composed with painterly precision, Chushingura weaves its intricate tapestry from time-honored tenets of Japanese culture, offering a challenging but grandly rewarding experience. --Jeff Shannon

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