Yagyu Clan Conspiracy

Kinji Fukasaku was one of Japan's most prolific directors - its ironic that his breakthrough movie in the West was the last one he made before his death at the age of 73 - that being Battle Royale.During the late '60's to the mid '70's he made a series of excellent Yakuza gangster movies then in 1978 turned to the historical epic with fine results.

It is 1624 - Japan after a lengthy civil war which resulted in the Emperor being marginalized and the Shogun running the Government - the current Shogun has died suddenly leaving the succession in doubt - his eldest son Iemestsu should succeed but he is disfigured and stammers - his more handsome younger son Tadanaga has the backing of most of the powerful Lords. Things get complicated very quickly when it becomes apparent that the Shogun was poisoned at the behest of Iemestsu's main supporter Yagyu(Kinnosuka Nakamaru) - Iemestu is as at first appalled by this but as the country get embroiled in the struggle he realises how much he needs Yagyu's support if he is to become Shogun.Meanwhile the Emperor and his courtiers plot behind the scenes to exploit the chaos and return to power.

It is an epic tale with political intrigue,battles,assassination's and some spectacular sword-fights and the question of just how much would you sacrifice to attain power - Yagyu will stop at nothing to install Iemestu and this has appalling consequences for both the country and for him personally but he is willing to commit these - Nakamara is excellent in the role - at first you side with what he is trying to do but at the tragedy unfolds you realize what a monster he is. Sonny Chiba is equally good as his eldest son who bears the brunt of one consequence of his Fathers action and he brings the whole thing to its tragic conclusion with more than a touch of hubris.

It hasn't quite got the epic feel of a Kurosawa but has a much more cynical take on political struggle - highly recommended.

I do not know if this movie was made from the first three episodes of the "Yagyuu Conspiracy" TV series or the start of the series made out of the movie, or it was all shot with the idea of the film being a feeder for the series.

In any case, the movie has the same dynamic cast and excellent story cohesion the series featured (my all-time favorite chanbara series). Production values are high, characters interesting (especially the antagonist, imperial noble Kurasumaru, who is an equally dedicated and loyal servant, just of an opposing side), and the plot far more coherent than many Asian offerings. The fight choreography is dynamic yet plausible, but this is not just a string of fight scenes. The setting is a civil war between two sons of a just-dead shogun, and the movie does not slight the importance of politics and maneuvering the powerful nobles into one's camp. On top of this, the third side of the imperial nobles is trying to use the shogun wannabes to weaken the power of the shogunate and restore actual power to the Emperor. This, rather than the Streetfighter movies, made me a Sonny Chiba fan. When can we get this on DVD with English subtitles? (Personally, I hate most dubbing on films. I can read fast enough for subtitles and I prefer hearing the original actor's delivery.)

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.

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.

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. Unfortunately there just wasn't enough memorable stuff in it. Not because it is not a good production, but because so many things happen involving lots and lots of characters, it becomes a struggle to follow the plot. I mean, you can follow it, but the wide scope causes the characters to bleed together. Only a few of them really stand out, the notable one being Yagyu Jubei -- Sonny Chiba's one-eyed ninja "character". Although he isn't the focus of the movie, he is the protagonist to be identified with and he ties all the social groups together.

Still, I didn't really like Yagyu Jubei. Sure, he's badass and all that, but what an unrealistic character! I just didn't care about him at all. He was like an anime character; he's some overly idealized manifestation of handsome bravado which borders on homo-erotic infatuation. Hahaha! But then again, isn't that why we like Michaelangelo's David so much? Hrmm....

Don't get me wrong, the movie is worth watching. It has some good (albeit fictional) plot twists and a few memorable characters who are rather unique (such as the dainty, foppish castle magistrate or the kids from the ninja village). There are some crucial fight scenes with ninjas, and we even get to see that legendary Japan Action Club fighting babe, Etsuko Shihomi before she dropped off the map! I've never seen the series this was related to (also featuring Sonny Chiba playing Jubei) but an extended TV format would work much better at developing the characters and plot twists. This movie is already pretty long, but it still feels scrunched together. It's like trying to make a crazy Sopranos-type show into a full-length movie. Not gonna work out too smoothly!

6.5