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The Hidden Blade

The Hidden Blade

Drama · Romance · 2004

Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.

Movie details

The Hidden Blade

2004 Drama · Romance 2h 12m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Hidden Blade?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Love and Honor

Love and Honor

Drama · 2006

A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.

The Twilight Samurai

The Twilight Samurai

Drama · 2002

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

It Feels So Good

It Feels So Good

Drama · 2019

When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.

An Actor's Revenge

An Actor's Revenge

Drama · 1963

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

Samurai Rebellion

Samurai Rebellion

Drama · 1967

The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

Drama · 2011

A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

Taboo

Taboo

Drama · 1999

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

Harakiri

Harakiri

Action · 1962

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Samurai Marathon

Samurai Marathon

Action · 2019

When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final

Action · 2021

In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Yoji Yamada

Written by

Yoji Yamada · Yoshitaka Asama

Masatoshi Nagase

Masatoshi Nagase

Munezô Katagiri

Takako Matsu

Takako Matsu

Kie

Hidetaka Yoshioka

Hidetaka Yoshioka

Samon Shimada

Yukiyoshi Ozawa

Yukiyoshi Ozawa

Yaichirô Hazama

Tomoko Tabata

Tomoko Tabata

Shino Katagiri

Chieko Baisho

Chieko Baisho

Mrs. Katagiri

Kunie Tanaka

Kunie Tanaka

Kanbê Katagiri

Court is in session

Put The Hidden Blade on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.