Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I love samurai movies. Really. I love history movies. I love adventure movies. And I found this movie... 'Shogun's Samurai' I though it was going to be great. There are great actors here. Etsushi Takahashi, for example. He was amazing in 'Kill!' and 'Akage'. Hiroyuki Sanada is also great. So is Sonny Chiba. I don't mention Toshiro Mifune because his role here is just a cameo.Well... The movie was barely watchable. There were lots of problems with it. First, there is the story. It is ridiculously complicated but not compelling enough. Many characters appear but they are not developed at all. Hence I didn't care about their deaths at all. You know, it is quite sad, actually. You see somebody dying violently. You know you are supposed to feel sorry about him. But you don't feel anything because this character is a total stranger to you. I felt sorry for not feeling sorry about the characters.And here is the second problem with this movie - it is filled with pointless death. Many people die. Men get killed. Women get killed. Kids get killed. Why? Nobody knows. I am not afraid of a little violence but this was just pointless. The story would be absolutely the same without so many killings. And since you don't know the characters at all their deaths have absolutely no emotional impact on you. The character's deaths can only disgust you.The next problem with this movie is the fights. You know, that's what many people are watching samurai films for - sword fighting and action. But... Some of the fights are really nicely choreographed, there are some incredible moves and so on. But... Most of the fights are actually quite messy due to the bad camera work. The camera is shaking constantly and you can't see anything. It is not like Paul Greengrass directed the movie but still it isn't what one would expect from a samurai movie.The camera work is a bit strange in my opinion. Sometimes you may see amazing landscapes. There are some very nice shots. Yet when it comes to fighting or some dynamic scene you can barely see anything. Yes, it is a problem. A big problem.On the other hand there is the acting. It is excellent. Really. A few of the characters are actually well developed and you can care about them. It is mostly because of the actors. They did a really good job with what they are given.But that's not enough because they are not given much. 5/10. And I really wanted to like the movie.

"Yagyu ichizoku no inbo" (let's just say "The Shogun's Samurai") is somewhere between horrifically boring and mind-bogglingly painful to watch. As an historical epic, it could have had so many more chances to be a rich saga... but it's really no more than just another cheap '70s action flick with a based-on-real-events story and an eyepatch-sporting Sonny Chiba. Before this movie's halfway point, I was even tempted to commit seppuku! The music is like a thousand dogs in heat wailing in your ears to a tune composed by Ennio Morricone (that's not an insult towards Morricone). The use of zoom lens cinematography is more nauseating than fascinating. And in terms of action, it's really nothing more than a series of brutal attacks and oh-no-they-didn't shocks. What a terrible movie.

This movie is centered around two brothers who, unbeknownst to them, are about to go to war with each other over the title of Shogun (Leader of the Samurai).The older brother, Prince Iemitsu, should be heir to the throne by law and tradition, but he was born ugly (a large mark on his face) as well as his problem with stuttering.The younger brother, Prince Tadanaga, seems more fit for the role as shogun he was even backed by his mother and father, before his untimely death, as well as government officials.Soon a war will rage between these two brothers both recruiting not only government officials but master less samurai anybody who is looking for one last fight.While the government could have put a stop to it they choose to let the brother's decide.This movie has great action, music, as well as a more "serious" martial art movie there isn't so much of the crazy ninja flipping and such, but don't worry their is still some! Sonny Chiba plays the role of Jubei, a great swordsmen and samurai and he really gives it his all not just in the fighting, but the acting aspect as well.I give this movie a 9/10 I have to admit they kind of made it hard to follow but it's nothing you can't solve by taking a moment to remember the faces.

Kinji Fukusaku's conspiracy thriller is a rousing entertainment, but its entire premise is a piece of fiction. The second Tokugawa Shogun, Hidetada, retired in 1623 in favor of his second son Iemitsu. Hidetada lived 9 more years in peaceful retirement, following a precedent set centuries earlier by Emporers (back in the days when Emperors, not Generals, ruled the country). Iemitsu's brother Tadanaga was briefly a rival for the position of Shogun, during 1633, but Iemitsu was very far from being a transient, inconsequential placeholder. He ruled until 1651, and took three steps which largely defined public policy for the rest of the Tokugawa era. He violently suppressed Catholicism, using mass crucifixions in his suppression of the Shimabara Rebelion. He closed the country in 1641 to all foreign influence and trade except for a small Dutch trading station in Nagasaki. Finally, he required each of his major vassals (the daimyo)to spend alternate periods of six months in Edo and six months in their home provinces. Beyond the opportunity for surveillance, this system forced the daimyo into ruinous conspicuous consumption and prevented effective challenges to the Shogun for 200 years. This film comes from an age when female warriors had become a commonplace, but well before spurting blood was acceptable. From his tame cameo appearance, you would hardly guess that Toshiro Mifune had more than 50 films ahead of him. The juicy action roles go to Sonny Chiba and Tetsuro Tamba as rival champions of closely related schools of swordsmanship.