Movielogr

Rating: 8.5 stars

Tags

Japan samurai assassination plot ritual suicide decapitation feuding states 1800s blood bath alamo drafthouse - sloan's lake

All movies seen on 08/18/2025

View on: IMDb | TMDb

13 Assassins (2010)

Directed by Takashi Miike

Action | Eastern | Adventure

Most recently watched by sleestakk, sensoria, schofizzy, noahphex, jenerator, seanCduregger

Overview

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

Rated R | Length 141 minutes

Actors

Koji Yakusho | Takayuki Yamada | Yusuke Iseya | Gorô Inagaki | Kazue Fukiishi | Hiroki Matsukata | Tsuyoshi Ihara | Ikki Sawamura | Arata Furuta | Sousuke Takaoka | Seiji Rokkaku | Kazuki Namioka | Kôen Kondô | Yuma Ishigaki | Masataka Kubota | Masachika Ichimura | Kôshirô Matsumoto | Masaaki Uchino | Ken Mitsuishi | Ittoku Kishibe | Mikijiro Hira | Mitsuki Tanimura | Takumi Saito | Shinnosuke Abe | Meguru Katô | Kazutoshi Yokoyama | Megumi Kagurazaka | Hajime Inoue

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Viewing Notes

Great seeing this on a big screen; it looks really good. I saw this once before about 15 years ago, but it was on a DVD, so I don’t think I fully appreciated it. The big screen makes a difference.

A really well made film. It has a similar structure to SEVEN SAMURAI: recruitment, planning, preparation, then an epic battle. And, OMG, that battle. It takes up nearly the entire second half of the film and is relentless, chaotic, bloody, muddy, and gory. The camera is placed close to the action, which puts the audience smack in the middle of the battle.

The final images of the destroyed village with bodies strewn everywhere is devastating, as is the shocking early scene of the young girl who’s been horrifically maimed (hard to get that image out of my mind).

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