Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Another superb collaboration between Kobayashi and Hashimoto (other being Harakiri) , attacking the samurai tradition, the contradictions behind the meaning of "honor", and hypocrisy of justice to high ranking feudal lords and stewards surrounding them. This movie takes place 1725 , during the Peace Era of Tokugawa after the disbandment of samurai clans. Samurai now resort to surveying the quiet landscape and testing their latest swords on straw dummies. Of course , the feudal lords also have a fetish for young women, and snatch them from villagers as they please .Ichi, one of the lord's finest mistress, and also the only to bear his child, has been banned from the empire for attacking the lord and his newest mistress (too proud to take the seat of unglory). The only reason Ichi put up with the abuse in the first place is she believed she'd be the last to pleasure the lord and protect all the little girls still growing in the village. She's been ordered to marry Isaburo Sasahara son, Yogoro. Isaburo was also forced to marry his wife, and wishes his son not to travel his path. He at first resist the lord's commands, but the son complies. Isaburo grows fond of his son's decision, fore the two fall in love with each other , much to the head-wife Suga spite. Isaburo retires from the clan, and makes Yogoro the new head master of the family (all according to a plan).Two years past and the lord orders Ichi to return back to the empire, and they son she beared passes away. Of course Yogoro resists, with Isaburo supporting his decision, vowing for bloodshed if he must part with his wife. Suga calls forth a Sasahara family gathering to sway Yogoro, but he only puts a target on his back for his "disobedience". Suga schemes a plan to get the youngest son Bunzo to trick Ichi on a chamberlain summoning. Upon summon, the council threatens if Ichi returns home to her husband, both he and the father will be ordered to commit seppuku.Ichi reluctantly returns to the empire. Enraged for the scheming of officials, Yogoro and Isaburo blackmail the officials to return Ichi at once or they'll take their case to the Supreme Shogunate Court of Edo (a scheme conjured up by Tatewaki, Isaburo's elder swordsman). Expecting the lord to retaliate, they spend the rest of their days in exile preparing for battle.After many failed attempts to reconciliate the tension, Steward Takahashi decides it'll be wise to show at the Sasahara family's home using Ichi as bait. If her and Yogoro disengage their wedding vows and divorce, and lord will let them live. Ichi, refusing to be a pawn in the lord's trickery, kills herself with one of the steward's bodyguard spear. All out war breaks loose, resulting in Yogoro, the steward, and 20 henchmen death. Isaburo, now a wanted man, takes his granddaugther and escapes to Edo. But first he must past his old sparring pal Tatewaki, the guard of the border. A long awaited duel to see who's the best ensues, and Isaburo wins ,, but the lord's army has caught up to the chase. A shootout happens in the high grass, resulting in Isaburo's death and another case of injustice quietly swept under the rug

good movie, recommendedthe story is that of a concubine of a Japanese lord who after giving this an heir is denied and given in marriage to repair a young samurai from a small family.despite the reluctance of the mother and the initial suspicion of her father, the couple create a strong union and conceive a daughter. throughout the union and the feelings of the couple, however, were described to me better, because despite being one of the most important points of the film is analyzed shortly . the father (played by a consistently great Toshiro Mifune) is struck by the love that binds the two young and decides to commit to defend the union from the lord of the manor that after a few years back the claims .I must say that the film develops slowly, the story is well told. actors have a very formal acting and theatrical mold, as usual in Japanese cinema .are mentioned some thoughts on Japanese society of the time, such as the position of women, but more than a critique would call a gash on Japan at the time of the shogunate.in short, good movie, good actors 7/10

Many people familiar with Japanese culture know how important it is to respect your elders and superiors. Thus, it's not surprising how Sasahara lived most of his live. The impressive part of this movie is that it goes beyond those traditional Japanese values and shows that respect for family and the ones you love should be considered more important than the respect demanded by those outside of your family. While this type of behavior may not have been typical, this is what makes it such a compelling story. It should be noted that the chamberlain commented on Sasahara's change in behavior and even showed respect for it. The movie contained good action scenes but was actually dominated by dialog... and still riveting.

With a title like Samurai Rebellion and a disc cover featuring a bloody, threatening Toshiro Mifune, I was expecting an old-fashioned, meat-and-potatoes samurai yarn with clearly-defined good guys and bad guys. Instead, I experienced the near opposite: a movie awash in shades of gray and in a world where honor, loyalty and sword mastery are not always enough. I'm an avid defender of genre entertainment, placing the samurai genre near the top of ones that reliably please. Samurai Rebellion, however, offers an experience that is much more interesting, as well as with a much more long-term satisfaction.Set in a time of peace and entirely on the grounds of the Sasahara clan, the movie begins with veteran swordsman Isaburo (Mifune) and his friend Tatewaki involved in a required yet ultimately pointless - and for these soldiers, elementary - training exercise under the direction of the clan lord. It becomes immediately clear that the soldiers know that the exercise is beneath them yet have no power to object to their leader's wishes, a moment which in turn establishes - in addition to the stark, imposing opening shots of the Sasahara fortress - the clan rule's imposition and obstinacy. With no opportunity to put his skills to meaningful use and with a tradition-loyal wife at home in whom he cannot confide, Isaburo starts to feel very empty and useless. This changes, though, when Isaburo learns that his son, Yogoro, is to marry Ichi, a former mistress of the clan lord. Ichi, who had a son with the ruler, quickly turned into a pariah for lashing out at him for immediately taking up with another woman as if their affair never happened. Despite her reputation, Yogoro and Ichi's marriage is a strong and loving one, producing a daughter as well as a revitalization of sorts for Isaburo, who feels more alive now than he ever did as a servant of the clan's cause. Unfortunately, his elation is short-lived, as an untimely death makes the clan lord's illegitimate son his sole heir, which by tradition requires Ichi to return to the ruler's side. Unwilling to watch his family fall apart, Isaburo opposes the entire clan and seeks to expose its wrongdoings all by himself, an act resulting in bloodshed, the revelation of true colors and ultimately, the pitting of friend against friend.As I mentioned earlier, this is a samurai movie where the villain is not bandits or warriors from another kingdom, but instead the kind of establishment that samurai were trained to uphold. In doing this, the movie takes apart the ugly side of fealty, especially in how the happiness of the subjected can vanish at the signing of an order or even at a whim. Japan being a country that takes its history and traditions very seriously, it's a wonder Kobayashi was able to get away with telling a story like this, his transition from working in the studio system to freelance being the likely explanation. Samurai Rebellion also defies convention in style and technique: instead of interspersing scenes of action with scenes of dialogue as seen in the typical samurai movie, Kobayashi gives us a slow burn of tension, saving all of the action to the best possible point to release it. Isaburo's struggle reminded me very much of Terry Malloy's in On The Waterfront in both purpose and in quality of performance. Mifune's transition from subservient veteran to vigilante is expertly gradual, and while his violent outbursts in his other performances tend to go over the top, here, he is true to character from Isaburo's highest point to his lowest. All of the supporting performances are equally solid, especially Yoko Tsukasa's, who demonstrates Ichi's powerlessness and desire for freedom with great pathos. The movie does not succeed on all points, however: the vast majority of Samurai Rebellion is dialogue-driven, and there are many scenes that could have been more interesting had Kobayashi showed more instead of told, especially since most of these scenes take place in formal settings where everyone must remain stock still. Formality or not, a little camera movement in these scenes could have gone a long way. Still, it has to be said that when Kobayashi does "show," such as in the aforementioned scene during the training exercise, he does it with great poignancy and efficiency. Also, there are some moments where characters mention that a great deal of time has passed, but since they exhibit little to no corresponding changes in age, behavior, and with the possible exception of Ichi and Yogoro's daughter, appearance, these passages are hard to take seriously. Regardless, Samurai Rebellion stands as one of the best samurai movies I've seen, not to mention proof that Kobayashi is as deserving of praise of Japanese directors like Ichikawa and Kurosawa.