Peace in 17th century Japan results in thousands of samurai being, well, basically out of work. An honourable end to such fate under the samurai code is ritual suicide, or hara-kiri (self-inflicted disembowelment - ewww!). An elder warrior, Hanshiro Tsugumo (Nakadai) seeks admittance to the house of a feudal lord to commit the act. There, he learns of the fate of his son-in-law, a young samurai who sought work at the house but was instead forced to commit traditional hara-kiri with a dull bamboo blade (double ewww!). In flashbacks the samurai tells the tragic story of how the son-in-law was forced to sell his real sword to support his sick wife and child. This sets in motion a tense showdown of revenge against the house.

The film grabbed me from the opening credits. It offers masterfully choreographed scenes of sword-fights, not plentiful but exquisitely performed and enough to sate the appetite of action lovers, as well as gripping drama and emotion. One of the coolest thing about coming to Film Group - well other than being able to see heaps of stuff for not much money and not being embarrassed when I scream in the scary bits and laugh in the funny bits of movies - is the chance to see movies on the big screen that I would not have otherwise considered seeing. This is one of those films. If you are a fan of samurai movies you'll already have marked this on your must see list, and if not, this is one of those films that's worth taking a chance on to enjoy something different - one of the finest samurai films ever made.