13 Assassins [Blu-ray]

I have been a huge fan of martial art movies of all kinds, but I especially love Samurai movies and I have bought numerous ones in the past. My favorite Samurai movie is the Lone Wolf and Cub entire series, which I have seen most of them. I also liked the Seven Samurai and numerous other Japanese martial art movies. I am happy to have purchased this classic, 13 Assassins, a film by the famous Takashi Miike. Like many of the Japanese Samurai themes, this one has to do with honor and revenge.This DVD is about a ruthless and heartless lord and a group of special Samurai who are willing to do whatever necessary to kill this sadistic lord who would plunge the country into ruin if he ascends to the throne. The beginning was a little slow but the final battle scene is long and bloody. Amazingly, in spite of having tremendous odds against the elite band of Samurai, they fight on until the end. If you love classic Samurai movies, this is one you should check out. This DVD also has an interview with the director Takashi Miike and some great deleted scenes.A very entertaining movie about a group of dedicated Samurai as they follow the "Code of Bushido."Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: The Samurai Soul: An old warrior's poetic tribute).

I've seen the mixed reviews about this movie and let me tell you, if you enjoy movies about the samurai code of honor, or even just a good action flick you will enjoy this. I watched it with the subtitles on because I find they are much more accurate than when a movie is dubbed plus it just feels wrong when you know the voices and words don't match the actors.I was impressed that despite all the action being at the end of the movie I never once felt the movie dragged on and I even laughed during some parts.You get a sense of these handful of true samurai and how they struggle with their role in a time of peace that they are no longer called upon to lay down their lives and die for a cause which they believe they were born to do. For them its the feeling of a useless existence, and this opportunity tests their resolve to be true warriors in a time where so many just acted a role.As a martial artist I was also pleased to see these men really knew and were practiced at what was shown, even if they only trained for what would be on camera they trained it like a warrior would and it looks flawless. I'm pleased that one of my students recommended it to me and I am doing the same to all of you!

When I saw a trailer for this film on Youtube, I just had to get it. It had a great plot, awesome fight scenes/action,directing,and actors. Even if they're not well known in America, anyway Japanese cult film director Takashi Miike. Has introduced to Japan and the world, an amazing piece of cinematic gold. This movie is one of the best Japanese chambara (sword fighting) action films. That you will EVER see, it's about a group of samurai warriors. Who are tasked with the job, of assassinating a despicable feudal lord. During the end of Japan's warring states period. If he is not immediately taken out, before he ascends to the throne. He will plunge the entire country into a war torn future. Even though said feudal lord had 200 samurai backing him up, it still didn't save him from his ultimate comeuppance. If you haven't seen it yet, I suggest that you buy this dvd. Fire up your dvd/blu-ray player, and park your butt on that couch or easy chair. And get ready for some action samurai style!!!!

As movie goers should know, this is a re-making of a classic film -- as well as a classic them. Director Miike does an excellent job to draw the viewer into a world of evil while slowing building our expectations of redemption. Couldn't ask for better acting, editing or action. "Culminates" (for about an hour) with a non-stop release of our avenging expectations. Watch on as big a screen and highest quality audio as possible.

Excelente

I really like old samurai movies like Hara Kiri but I can honestly say that this one improved where the other ones failed. I'm a man of immense patience but some of the older flicks were marathon tests of my patience; the plots developed slowly and the action was sparse and short-lived. That's not entirely the case for this movie. I'll admit that most of the action is towards the end but this movie substantiates it with a good plot. In short, it's worth the wait. Plus, I kind of like how samurai flicks take their time in weaving a plot. This movie is just more rewarding than most.Also--I'm sure that, because this film was meant for entertainment, parts of Japan's feudal/post-feudal culture are embellished for the sake of theatrics. I don't claim to be an expert, but the characters seem humanly imperfect/inconsistent and the evolution of the plot seems a little more natural than most movies (especially action flicks). This makes the story and movie overall more digestible so I feel that the makers of this film took their time in representing the period correctly.Though I only gave it 4 stars because there were a few action movie cliches and some of the stunts were just a little too far fetched. Plus I tried watching it with overdubs and couldn't stomach it. This is the case for just about every foreign film but, in my mind, the perfect 5-star movie would have believable overdubs. You should definitely watch it with subtitles instead. Their natural intonations make the dialogue much more believable.