274:. Ryunosuke is first seen when he kills an elderly Buddhist pilgrim who he finds praying for death. He appears to have no feeling. Later, he kills an opponent in self-defense in a fencing competition that was intended to be non-lethal, but became a duel after he raped his opponent's wife in exchange for throwing the match and allowing her husband to win. His opponent finds out about the rape prior to the match, and is shown giving his wife a notice of divorce. His rage at Ryunosuke during the match causes him to take an illegal lunging attack after the judge proclaims a draw, and Ryunosuke, the better swordsman, parries and kills him with one stroke of his
314:. There, in a quiet (and he is told, haunted) room, he starts seeing the ghosts of all the people he has killed. Further, he is haunted by the words of Shimada: "The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword." The final blow comes when he realizes that the apprentice oiran sent to entertain him is the granddaughter of the pilgrim he murdered at the film's beginning.
302:), in action, and for the first time he doubts that his own skill is truly unbeatable. That same night, Ryunosuke's mistress, horrified by his unremitting evil, tries to kill him in his sleep. He kills her in the gardens, to the ominous cries of their sleeping child inside the house, and flees without keeping his appointment to duel with his pursuer. Later he rejoins the gang of assassins at an
552:, âthe ruler who oversaw Japan's transition from hermetically sealed feudal state to modern nation.â The novel originated from a newspaper serial, which appeared for three more decades; forty-one volumes were published before it was left uncompleted at the death of its author, Kaizan Nakazato. The film had previously been adapted in two part film by
317:
With this realization, Ryunosuke appears to descend into complete insanity. He starts slashing at the shadows of the ghosts that surround him, and then begins attacking his fellow assassins, who seem to number in the hundreds. Ryunosuke kills dozens of gang members in the burning courtesan house as
297:
Eventually
Ryunosuke learns that the younger brother of the man he killed in the fencing match is looking for him, intent on revenge. He plans to meet this young man and kill him, but before the duel can take place, two events occur that shake his confidence. In a botched assassination attempt, he
318:
they gradually wear him down with what few wounds they can inflict. Finally it appears that
Ryunosuke will surely be killed; bleeding, his face contorted in rage, he lurches forward, raises his sword one last time, and the film ends with a freeze-frame catching Ryunosuke in mid sword-slash.
29:
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through murder and assassinations. Through all his interactions, whether killing a man or at home with his mistress and their baby son, Ryunosuke rarely shows any emotion. His expression is fixed in a glassy stare that suggests a quiet insanity.
278:. Ryunosuke flees town after killing the man, and cuts down many of the dead opponent's clansmen who attack him as he is leaving. His opponent's ex-wife asks to go along with him.
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and was released on
February 25, 1966. The film was released with English subtitles in the United States by Toho International on February 25, 1966.
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found the film to have an "overlong unfolding story" that "rarely stops for a rest" and ultimately declared the film a "programmer".
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746:. Vol. 11. R. R. Bowker. 1983. There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "April 12, 1967".
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Two years pass, and in order to make a living, Ryunosuke joins the
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in 1935. After the war, it was remade again, in three parts by
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The Toho
Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography
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sees another master swordsman, Shimada
Toranosuke (
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618:In a contemporary review, "Robe" of
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306:house (courtesan brothel) in the
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772:Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008).
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33:Theatrical release poster
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722:The Criterion Collection
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1088:Films set in Bakumatsu
970:Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
543:Great Bodhisattva Pass
528:was an adaptation of
452:Omatsu's grandfather
244:, is a 1966 Japanese
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938:The Age of Assassins
849:Criterion Collection
589:The Age of Assassins
225:, known in Japan as
1063:1960s samurai films
1043:Japanese epic films
930:Japan's Longest Day
776:. Scarecrow Press.
715:OâBrien, Geoffrey.
603:was distributed by
510:Kinnosuke Takamatsu
374:Toranosuke Shimada
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379:Yoko Naito
350:YÅ«zÅ Kayama
283:Shinsengumi
240:Bodhisattva
206:119 minutes
136:Masaru Sato
105:YÅ«zÅ Kayama
71:Produced by
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1033:1966 films
1027:Categories
831:2007-07-17
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521:Production
189:1966-02-25
143:Production
728:March 16,
614:Reception
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247:jidaigeki
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816:AllMovie
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388:Kei SatÅ
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59:Based on
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596:Release
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1013:(2001)
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981:(1971)
973:(1970)
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331:Actor
276:bokken
242:Pass")
214:Japan
946:Kill!
334:Role
312:Kyoto
304:oiran
287:rÅnin
272:style
805:IMDb
778:ISBN
748:ISBN
730:2018
605:Toho
584:Toho
568:and
534:lit.
322:Cast
262:Plot
235:倧è©è©å³
172:Toho
159:Toho
814:at
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