trixster
loyalfromlondon
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:31 pm Posts: 19697 Location: ville-marie
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Jûsan-nin no shikaku [13 Assassins]
13 AssassinsQuote: 13 Assassins (十三人の刺客 Jūsannin no Shikaku?) is a 2010 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Takashi Miike.
A samurai epic based on a true incident, the film was produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa, who also produced the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Departures. Jeremy Thomas, the film's executive producer, has a reputation for successfully bringing Asian titles into the international market, most notably Bernardo Bertolucci's nine-time Oscar winner The Last Emperor, Nagisa Ôshima's Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence and Takeshi Kitano's Brother.
The film is a remake of Eiichi Kudo’s 1963 black-and-white Japanese film of the same name, Jûsan-nin no shikaku. The screenplay was written by Daisuke Tengan.
It stars Koji Yakusho, whose credits include Memoirs of a Geisha and Shall We Dance, along with Takayuki Yamada, Hiroki Matsukata, and Kazuki Namioka.
It's nominated for Best Film at the 34th Japan Academy Prize.
_________________Magic Mike wrote: zwackerm wrote: If John Wick 2 even makes 30 million I will eat 1,000 shoes. Same. Algren wrote: I don't think. I predict.
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David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Jûsan-nin no shikaku [13 Assassins]
With 13 Assassins, it is clear ever-controversial Japanese director Takashi Miike set out to create an iconic, for-the-ages samurai epic. To call him a prolific director might seem an understatement. Between films, television series, and video projects, he has almost 100 directorial credits on the Internet Movie Database. I've seen but a handful of his better known (more notorious) films, such as the fairly repulsive Ichi the Killer and the terrifying, slow-burning Audition. 13 Assassins is the most streamlined and accessible Miike film I've seen. While certainly not for the faint of heart, most of the violence here is of the war variety, with only a few flashes of more perverse bloodletting. There's also humor and maybe even a bit of a history lesson to be had.
The antagonist is truly unpleasant: Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira (Goro Inagaki), a young and deeply sadistic shogun heir. He travels the land, committing atrocity after atrocity. His eyes suggest a slightly bemused ambivalence. He must be stopped, and the dangerous job falls to a Shinzaemon Shimada (Koji Yakusho), a respected elder samurai spending his twilight years fishing. Shinzaemon assembles the titular team and plots when, where, and how to strike Lord Naritsugu.
This film isn't perfect--too many of the thirteen are interchangeable, the first hour could have been tightened--but it definitely comes close enough to perfection to applaud. The key cast members, notably the steely Yakusho, the creepy Inagaki, and the charismatic Yusuke Iseya as a romantic vagabond who joins the heroes halfway through their quest, are compelling. The production values are incredibly high, including convincing period sets and sharp, clean cinematography by Nobuyasu Kita. The second hour is almost entirely action. Buildings burn, bombs explode, and lots and lots of swords cut through a lot of flesh. At times the amount of motion and carnage filling the frame flirts with being overwhelming, but it's also always exhilarating, and it comes to a poignant and satisfying close. This is a very good film indeed, one even those not already inclined to love Miike's oeuvre and/or samurai fare should dedicate two hours to.
B+
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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