The plot of the drama "13 Assassins" is based on real events that happened in 1844 in Japan. The film's director Takashi Miike is considered one of the most prolific directors of modern cinema. At the same time, he is able to create films of different genres - musicals, thrillers, action films, historical films.
"13 Assassins" was filmed in 2010 and is a remake of the Japanese film, which at that time was already 47 years old. The remake was shot with great respect for the old film and boasts many interesting finds and high artistic merit.
The film is set in the Edo period. During this period, Japan experienced a cultural and economic upsurge. The country was moving from feudal fragmentation to a civilized state. Along with the feudal system, the era of the samurai also went into the past. But the leaders of the clans were still strong. They considered themselves sovereign masters in their territories and could commit acts of violence there at their discretion.
Naritsugu Matsudaira was the leader of the powerful Agashi clan. From his terrible atrocities - murders, rapes and terrible fanaticism, the officials of the shogun were horrified. But no one could do anything against Naritsugu, since the shogun was his older brother and had already appointed the assassin as his successor. Although the shogun did not like that his brother had such a bad reputation. Many vassals were also dissatisfied. One of them, out of desperation, decided on ritual suicide - seppuku. He committed this terrible act on September 5, 1844, in the early morning at the front gate of the estate owned by Doi, the shogun's adviser for justice. Vassal took this desperate step to draw the attention of the authorities to the excesses of the younger brother of the shogun.
But the shogun did not want to punish his brother, although everyone already understood that the excesses of the authorities were bringing chaos and ruin to the country, and even threatening the existence of the shogunate system itself.
The shogun's adviser has to make a difficult choice - he cannot object to the ruler, but he also does not want a cruel maniac to come to power. Then the adviser decided to hire one of the few samurai who still remained - Shinzaemon Shimada. The official asked the samurai to gather a small detachment and kill Naritsugu.
The murderer was given a secret death sentence, which was to be carried out by thirteen assassins specially trained for such missions. Each of these samurai had their own reasons for carrying out this sentence. Although it was almost impossible, Naritsugu was accompanied everywhere by a whole army of vassals loyal to him, ready to fight for their master to the death, moreover, armed to the teeth. The battle of a small detachment with such an army was tantamount to suicide.
But Shimada devised and designed a trap for Naritsugu when he returned to his homestead from Edo Castle. The samurai decided at all costs to punish a high-ranking criminal for all the atrocities committed.
And if the first half of the film turned out to be relatively calm, then the second turned into a solid action. Noble and steadfast samurai, led by the cunning Shimada, among whom a crazy cripple peasant wormed his way, boldly fight with opponents. They choose a distant village where the villain with his army should appear, and literally at every step they build all sorts of traps, turning the settlement into a "village of death". Now 13 samurai are able to stand against an entire army.
The first viewers saw the film "13 Assassins" on September 9, 2010 at the Venice International Film Festival, where it was considered one of the contenders for the main prize - the Golden Lion. The film has also represented Japan at numerous other international film festivals.
The Japanese Film Academy nominated the film for ten nominations. In four of them - "Best Artist", "Best Cameraman", "Best Light" and "Best Sound" the picture was awarded the victory. The film's artist, Yuji Hayashida, won the Asian Film Awards in the Best Artist category. This award is the Asian equivalent of the Oscars.
See also
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Shogun's Samurai
Shogun's Samurai, is a 1978 Japanese historical martial arts film directed and co-written by Kinji Fukasaku. This film is the first of two unrelated Fukasaku films starring Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba as Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu, with the other being Samurai Reincarnation.
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Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
"Musashi Miyamoto" is a 1954 Japanese film directed and co-written by Hiroshi Inagaki, starring Toshiro Mifune. It is the first film in Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy of historical adventures. The film is adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel "Musashi," originally serialized in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun from 1935 to 1939, and is loosely based on the life of the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.
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Samurai Champloo
"Samurai Champloo" is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series and the debut production of studio Manglobe. Spanning 26 episodes, it aired from May 2004 to March 2005, initially on Fuji TV and later across the Fuji Network System. In North America, it was broadcast on Adult Swim and released commercially by Geneon Entertainment and later Crunchyroll. MVM Films handled the English release in the United Kingdom, while Madman Entertainment managed distribution in Australia and New Zealand. A manga adaptation was serialized in Monthly Shonen Ace in 2004 and subsequently released in North America by Tokyopop the following year.
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Samurai Jack
"Samurai Jack" follows the journey of a young prince (voiced by Phil LaMarr) from a feudal Japanese kingdom. His father, the emperor of Japan (voiced by Sab Shimono as an elder and Keone Young as a younger man), received a magical katana from three gods—Ra, Rama, and Odin—which he used to defeat and imprison the demon Aku (voiced by Mako, and later by Greg Baldwin in Season 5). Eight years later, Aku escaped, conquered the land, and imprisoned the emperor. The prince's mother sent him away to train and return with the magic sword to defeat Aku. Upon his return, the now-samurai prince nearly defeats Aku, but the demon casts him into the distant future.
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Samurai Cat
What happens when you combine the internet’s favorite animal with sword-wielding Japanese warriors? You get the 2014 Japanese comedy-drama "Neko Samurai," or "Cat Samurai" (or "Samurai Cat").
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Samurai Assassin 1965
Based on a famous incident in Japanese history, Samurai Assassin presumes some historical knowledge from its audience, but don’t let that deter you. Most of the movie is fictional.
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Blue Eye Samurai
Set in 1600s Japan, the series stars Maya Erskine as a mixed-race samurai named Mizu, driven by a quest for bloody revenge. The show, titled Blue Eye Samurai, features breathtaking fight scenes and an all-star cast. One memorable sequence sees Mizu backed to the edge of a seaside cliff, surrounded by the Four Fangs, master swordsmen intent on her demise. Over an intense eight minutes, she transforms the precarious terrain into a battleground, defying physics as she dismantles her enemies. The scene culminates in a stunning visual with a death blow delivered against the backdrop of a crashing wave bathed in the red glow of sunset, resembling combat on the lip of a volcano.
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Red lion
The film by the Japanese director Kihachi Okamoto "Red Lion" was first seen by the audience in 1969. The plot of the picture takes place during a period of turbulent events in the history of Japan in 1866-67, which ended the Edo era and preceded the imperial restoration. Kihachi Okamoto's favorite features are the introduction of sudden plot twists and an unexpected ending. The film "Red Lion" was no exception in this sense. It begins as a set of comedic situations that take place with comical characters. But gradually the plot becomes more and more serious coloring and eventually ends in tragedy.
