Kill!

aka: Kiru
Japan 1968, 110 minutes
Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
In Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: [M]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Action/Adventure, Comedy / Martial Arts

Topics: Period - 1700s.

Feat. Tatsuya Nakadai

Aroview: A sharp and blackly comic tale set in 1830s Japan around two bedraggled swordsman - one a former samurai (Nakadai), the other a farmer aspiring to be a samurai - who get drawn by fate and ambition into a tussle between a gangland boss, the Shogunate, and a band of mercenaries.

Based on the novel by Shugoro Yamamoto that also inspired Kurosawa's SANJURO, this easily justifies its own existence with its irreverant and subversive take on the samurai genre, some stunning battles, and a standout comic role for Tatsuya Nakadai.