Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
petsteph1
Having recently worked through a dozen or so samurai films, including Kurosawa's generally brilliant offerings, my taste had become fairly attuned to the genre and although several were very good the style was beginning to wear thin. Until Hidden Blade. This is an exceptional film; original in story, characters and direction. The plot is quite simple: a samurai whose father's disgrace has reduced the family in status, lives with a maid and a servant. He is in love with the maid, and she with him, but the social conventions and their own decency prevent this from becoming anything more than a tender friendship. The samurai's sword school companion gets himself into trouble and finally their sword-brother relationship leads the plot to a climax. There are several fights, a background of western military training being given to the samurai in this area, but above all that is the compassion and decency of the samurai and his maid. There is not a wasted moment in the direction; the scenery is beautiful; the acting is very engaging; the story seems to move at a gentle pace but it's impossible to take your eyes off the screen - one of those truly well- made movies where the technical excellence is so understated that you know only that you're being swept along with the story. Highly, highly recommended.
bob the moo
Munezo is a samurai who serves closely with friends and peers Samon and Yaichiro. When Yaichiro goes far overseas to serve for the clan, Munezo is left with Samon, who becomes closer as he marries Munezo's sister Shino, leaving him at home with his aged mother and maid Kie. The years go by and when his mother dies, Munezo struggles with his studies of new Western weaponry and battle techniques and misses Kie – who has long since married into a merchant family befitting someone of her caste. A man of tradition and respect – Munezo is forced to act against inherited wisdom and practice when he learns of Kie's mistreatment and also of the dishonourable imprisonment of Yaichiro.Some have warned caution of this film to those expecting an action film and they are right to do so, but to me the opposite applied. Screened late at night on BBC4, I recorded this film thinking it sounded interesting but could easily be a very dry film full of its own importance and depth, delivered with long shots for the sake of, stilted dialogue and every single bit of it screaming "restrained!" like the audience is an idiot. Suffice to say, I have been hurt before when it comes to such films! I needn't have worried though because The Hidden Blade manages to be about the restrained traditions of feudal Japan without making the telling or the film be dry and withdrawn into itself. Nor does the film labour the point in the way some similar works have, indeed it does give the audience food for thought in regards the pros/cons of both tradition and progress – neither of which is an entirely good or bad thing but has bits of both. To me this made it more worthy of my respect and interest but what made it so engaging was the amount of ground it covered. I am surprised to read that some found this film "boring" because to me the narrative is surprisingly packed with threads that cover friendship, relationships, loyalty and tradition across many aspects – all of which work really well. OK, I will give you that the final ten minutes could have been done with a bit more certainty but even this was only a minor thing because mostly there is plenty to watch. What surprised me most about it was that it did also have a good vein of humour running through it, my favourite moment of which was the men trying to catch a chicken with a basket – great little throwaway gag.The script is the starting point for it as it builds conflicted characters with as much attention to them as to the world they inhabit. The visual construction of the film matches this as it feels very much in the period and I was quite surprised to find it was made as recently as it was because of how of its time it felt. The cast come good mostly even though I didn't think anyone really nailed it or dominated proceedings. Nagase is a strong actor with almost what the character needs in terms of expression and inner thought processes. He was not quite as distinctive as I would have liked the odd time but mostly he is a firm lead. Matsu overplays the "sweet little maid" role just a tad but the script is strong enough to make it work regardless and she does come over as charming and a character we care deeply for. The supporting cast around these are mostly good with turns from Ozawa (not given enough time though), Ogata, Yoshioka and Tabata among others.The Hidden Blade may not be what you think it is going to be but, whether you assume it is action-packed or dry as a bone, it doesn't matter because the film performs really well at what it sets out to do. The plot builds the world and characters really vividly, providing thoughts on progress and tradition while also laying out both in terms of the relationships, positions and lifestyles of the main characters. It has humour, sadness and intelligence all delivered with professional direction and atmospheric design and cinematography. It is well worth seeing and rewarding with only a little patience required.
liverpool_sajjad
The Hidden Blade! hum... although there was very little sword play until the end, it was still a good first time movie to watch! If you love the Japanese culture, and especially the politeness and scenery, you'd enjoy this movie. Matsu Takako is so gorgeous as shes has always been one of my favorite celebrities.the best thing about this movie is that its made in 2004, this means its pretty recent, the digital image is great, although everyone loves the movie called 7 samurai, i couldn't bare to watch it cause its in black and white, and a lot of good samurai movies are in poor quality. However the great thing about this movie its pretty beautiful to watch! Good movie to watch especially the first time!
Zmajina
Other reviewers said all that needs to be said about the qualities of this wonderful film. I will just cover a plot detail which can easily be overlooked, but which reveals just how intelligent the story really is. That detail is the "hidden blade" itself.When the duel ends, the dying Hazama is pained by two things: that our hero Katagiri did not condescend to use the secret technique of the Hidden Blade against him; and that their master taught the technique to the inferior pupil. In fact, it is confirmed twice during the film - first by Katagiri and then by Hazama - that Hazama would have won their mock duels in the past if they had fought with real blades. Hazama was the better swordsman of the two, but he wasn't allowed to learn the Hidden Blade. Why? We see the Hidden Blade at the end of the film, when Katagiri uses it against his superior, who was a scoundrel. We understand that the Hidden Blade is not a fighting technique, but a murdering technique. It cannot honorably be used against a samurai in a fight. That explains why he didn't use it against Hazama.OK, but why didn't their master teach Hazama the Hidden Blade? The answer is simple: that technique has nothing to do with who is a better swordsman. Since it is so deadly, it can be taught only to a person who will not abuse it, a person of integrity. And Hazama was never such a person.In this way, the ending cleverly ties all the loose ends of this great film.
