The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
The film's escalation of tension is almost unbearable, and Mifune erupts with a ferocity that's as righteous as it is ultimately tragic, for Kobayashi refuses to soften the film's devastating imbalance of power.
– Jeff Shannon,
Seattle Times,
16 Jun 2006
fresh:
Austerely anti-authoritarian.
– Chuck Stephens,
Village Voice,
16 Aug 2005
fresh:
As extreme a samurai film as I've seen in both senses (the ethics and the violence), and one of the best.