(Japan 2010) 

Original Title: Jusan Nin No Shikaku 十三人の刺客

 

Directed by Takashi Miike Produced by Minami Ichikawa, Takahiro Ohno, Shigeji Maeda, Koji Yoshida Action by Keiji Tsujii, Mao Asou Starring: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yusuke Iseya, Arata Furuta, Koen Kondo Reviewing: Artificial Eye UK DVD Release Genres: Samurai / Swordplay / Drama

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Rating: 4.5 / 5

DVD Synopsis: In Shogun-era Japan, the powerful and sadistic Lord Naritsugu threatens to shatter the country's fragile peace and plunge it once more into war. Determined to stop him at all costs, an elite group of renegade samurai – each with their own deadly skill – plot his downfall. Massively outnumbered, the thirteen fearless warriors must face Naritsugu's lethal army in a monumental and bloodily violent showdown. Featuring stunning action sequences, this epic adventure by cult director Takashi Miike (Audition) is a bravura assault on the senses that has been compared to the classic samurai films of Akira Kurosawa. (141 Mins)

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Views: Offering a more furious and violent take on the 1963 classic by Eiichi Kudo, Takashi Miike's modern masterpiece is a stunning slice of chanbara cinema that tells the tale of a group of sword-wielding assassins who join forces to take down an evil lord. Each of them know that they are about to take part in a suicide-mission to take down the wicked Naritsugu, as he travels to Edo (now Tokyo) in 1845. What follows is an intense mission of kill-or-be-killed as the blood flows and hundreds of swordsmen are sliced down, as the group try to succeed in their mission. With some stunning cinematography, incredible art direction, and sharp action choreography, 13 Assassins could easily be mistaken as part of the incredible Akira Kurasawa's filmography and for that, I praise the wonderful Takashi Miike for delivering such an amazing film!

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While it may just be shy of perfect, there's a reason 13 Assassins has won and been nominated for over 40 awards. From the gorgeous photography to Miike's own direction, the cast play a major part in what makes this film rock! The performances from all involved are just incredible with a strong cast including the likes of Koji Yakusho – star of the box office smash Memoirs Of A Geisha and the popular Shall We Dance from the mid-90s (later remade by Hollywood with Richard Gere in the same role), with Takayuki Yamada starring as his younger brother Shinrokuro Shimada. Starting life as a popular television star, Takayuki went on to star in the entertaining 252: Signal Of Life, Gantz The Movie, as well as Crows Zero 1 & 2 and Lesson Of The Evil returning to work for Miike. Star of the fantastic sci-fi action hit Casshern, Yusuke Iseya, joins the team along with the handsome Sosuke Takaoka, who made his feature film debut in the classic Battle Royale. And the wonderful Goro Inagaki stars as the evil Lord Naritsugu – the main antagonist of the story. Starting his career around the end of the 1980s, Goro has gone on to become one of Japan's most loved television stars with shows like The Knife & The Sword, Bull Doctor, Triangle, and Dangerous Relationship behind him...

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The stunning cinematography is captured by the wonderful Kita Nouyashi, who also worked as the DOP on Miike's very own Crows Zero 2 and the brilliant Jackie Chan thriller, Shinjuku Incident from director Derek Yee. Since collaborating on 13 Assassins, Kita has went on to work with Takashi on many more of his titles such as Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai, Ninja Kids, For Love's Sake, Lesson Of The Evil, Shield Of Straw, The Lion Standing In The Wind, Blade Of The Immortal, and First Love – as well as capturing the fun Hong Kong caper, The Great Magician, that paired him with director Derek Yee one more time. Stunt co-ordinator Keiji Tsuji joins forces with Takashi once again after handling the action on his films such as One Missed Call and The Great Yokai War (which I just love). Highly impressing with his work on 13 Assassins, Keiji returned soon after to work alongside Miike for a few more films including Hara-Kiri: Death Of A Samurai, Lesson Of The Evil, the insane Yakuza Apocalypse, and the gorgeous Blade Of The Immortal. His build-up of violent swordplay leads to a blistering 45-minute battle that stands strong as one of Japanese cinema's finest – perhaps even beating that of the popular Azumi, respectively.

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Overall: A modern-day classic, 13 Assassins is one of Miike's finest works and a stunningly made piece of cinema!

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DVD Extras: Trailer, Deleted scenes, Interview with Takashi Miike

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Buy your copy HERE