Sure Death: Revenge

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, low-key 80s samurai movie
Review: This movie, the fourth part in a samurai series by Kinji Fukasaku, seems to be a surprising choice to put on DVD. It's not especially well-known, without the earlier films there's little backstory for American audiences as to the characters, and aside from Sonny Chiba's presence as a unique assassin (are there really any other kind in samurai films?) there aren't many names that would be recognizeable here. That being said, the movie is quite entertaining, and worth adding to a library of low-budget Japanese movies.
Mondo Nakamura is a small-time samurai who suffers from a conniving wife and mother-in-law at home, and an unfortunate accident at work that costs his boss his life, and leaves Nakamura with half-pay. When a run-in with some of the Shogun's retainers leaves a village elder dead and the community screaming for vengeance, Nakamura stumbles upon a plot to stir up trouble in the village, but for what purpose? Adding to his investigation is the fact that Nakamura is secretly an avenger, an assassin hired to kill off the samurai involved in the old man's death. The result is an entertaining detective story (though the characters may be pretty recognizeable if you watch a lot of these movies) with some well-choreographed duels. Nakamura is a more sympathetic hero than in most chambara films as well, since he comes across more as a noble but tired and put-upon guy than an "Itto Oogami". The humor that ensues (the scenes with his wife are great) is most welcome.
Tokyo Shock put together a decent disk, with both Japanese and English language tracks and English subtitles. The movie was made for TV, so the picture quality is not pristine, but is much sharper than most discs for this kind of movie. While it may not rival Kurosawa's pictures for foreign film buffs, any avid samurai film fan should find plenty to like.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, low-key 80s samurai movie
Review: This movie, the fourth part in a samurai series by Kinji Fukasaku, seems to be a surprising choice to put on DVD. It's not especially well-known, without the earlier films there's little backstory for American audiences as to the characters, and aside from Sonny Chiba's presence as a unique assassin (are there really any other kind in samurai films?) there aren't many names that would be recognizeable here. That being said, the movie is quite entertaining, and worth adding to a library of low-budget Japanese movies.
Mondo Nakamura is a small-time samurai who suffers from a conniving wife and mother-in-law at home, and an unfortunate accident at work that costs his boss his life, and leaves Nakamura with half-pay. When a run-in with some of the Shogun's retainers leaves a village elder dead and the community screaming for vengeance, Nakamura stumbles upon a plot to stir up trouble in the village, but for what purpose? Adding to his investigation is the fact that Nakamura is secretly an avenger, an assassin hired to kill off the samurai involved in the old man's death. The result is an entertaining detective story (though the characters may be pretty recognizeable if you watch a lot of these movies) with some well-choreographed duels. Nakamura is a more sympathetic hero than in most chambara films as well, since he comes across more as a noble but tired and put-upon guy than an "Itto Oogami". The humor that ensues (the scenes with his wife are great) is most welcome.
Tokyo Shock put together a decent disk, with both Japanese and English language tracks and English subtitles. The movie was made for TV, so the picture quality is not pristine, but is much sharper than most discs for this kind of movie. While it may not rival Kurosawa's pictures for foreign film buffs, any avid samurai film fan should find plenty to like.