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Poster for The Fall of Ako Castle

The Fall of Ako Castle

1978 · 159 min

A somber, patient chronicle of loyalty and ruin, building slowly toward a tense night raid and a bitter, honorable end.

Overview
This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into drawing his sword inside the Shogun's palace -- a crime which carried the death penalty. The newly installed Shogun was furious at Asano and ordered all his clan's assets seized, meaning some 20,000 samurai and commoners were unemployed and landless at a stroke. Forty-seven of these ronin (masterless samurai) banded together to take attempt revenge on Lord Kira, who had goaded Asano into drawing his sword.
In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • revenge
    • loyalty
    • betrayal
    • guilt
    • justice
    Places
    • single country house
    • countryside
    Era
    period
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    • true story
    • ensemble
    Content intensity
    • Gore mild
    • Language none
    • Violence strong
    • Sex mild
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action6
    Horror2
    Humour1
    Realism8
    Romance1
    Tension6
    Darkness7
    Complexity7
    Emotional weight8

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    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Genres
    action, drama, history
    Directed by
    Kinji Fukasaku
    Written by
    Kōji Takada
    Starring
    Kinnosuke Nakamura, Sonny Chiba, Tsunehiko Watase, Teruhiko Saigō, Kyōko Enami, Masaomi Kondo, Shinsuke Mikimoto, Hiroki Matsukata
    Music
    Toshiaki Tsushima
    Cinematography
    Yoshio Miyajima, Hanjirō Nakazawa
    Runtime
    159 min
    Country
    Japan
    Languages
    Japanese

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