A sadistic daimyo rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the daimyo.
Having seen Takashi Miike's amazing remake from 2010, I was very excited to jump into the original. It did not disappoint one bit. It has a very accessible, straightforward plot with 13 men wanting vengeance, and the first half of the film builds up the story while the second delivers the blow against the evildoers. In lack of better words, the film felt very modern and I could definitely see this being made today. It struck me how faithfully Miike adapted the film, nothing needed to be changed. He added a lot of gore, but the original excels in beautiful cinematography.
Genre: Adventure/Action. 2h5min
