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.
In Japan, the period of two centuries of rule of the Tokugawa shoguns ends. The protagonist Gonzo serves in the army of supporters of the monarch. They are fighting to preserve the full power of the emperor, for this they promise the people to reduce the number of taxes by half. Gonzo begs his commander to send him to the old city for negotiations. Gonzo has lived in this area before, so everything is familiar to him there. To add solidity, a man chooses a commander's headdress, which is a red lion's mane.
Everyone in the city thinks that Gonzo has become a military officer, and they praise him for his heroism and courage. The locals consider their fellow countryman to have specially come to them to protect them from corrupt government officials. Therefore, they do not listen to his speech about the next tax cut, but talk about their problems. Gonzo learns that the townspeople have been deceived by an evil judge for many years. The man has to come to terms with the fact that he will not be able to read his own appeals to the inhabitants, and start fighting the fanatics of the Shogunate in order to help his fellow countrymen.
The film "Red Lion" also introduced a romantic story. Gonzo's old love, Tommy's girlfriend, remained in the city. She hopes that the newly flared feelings between them are sincere. But Tomie fears that if she believes her fiancé and stops agreeing with the policies of powerful and corrupt officials, then her life will never change for the better.
The main role in the film "Red Lion" was played by the famous Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who played in many cult Japanese films. Therefore, he is considered the most famous Japanese actor outside the country.
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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Love and Honor
The Japanese film "Love and Honor" was released on October 20, 2006. It is part of a trilogy directed by Yoji Yamada set in the Edo period. The first films of this saga were "Twilight Samurai", released in 2002 and "Hidden Blade" in 2004.
