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Rating: 9 stars

Seen 1 time

Seen on: 07/08/2011

  • Watched on: TV
  • Format: DVD

View on: IMDb | TMDb

13 Assassins (2010)

Directed by Takashi Miike

Action

Most recently watched by noahphex, jenerator, sensoria

Overview

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

Rated R | Length 141 minutes

Actors

Masachika Ichimura | Ittoku Kishibe | Kōji Yakusho | Tsuyoshi Ihara | Yuma Ishigaki | Kazue Fukiishi | Ikki Sawamura | Yûsuke Iseya | Takayuki Yamada | Sousuke Takaoka | Kôen Kondô | Takumi Saito | Mikijiro Hira | Mitsuki Tanimura | Ken Mitsuishi | Arata Furuta | Meguru Katô | Kazuki Namioka | Gorô Inagaki | Kôshirô Matsumoto | Hiroki Matsukata | Megumi Kagurazaka | Masaaki Uchino | Shinnosuke Abe | Masataka Kubota | Kazutoshi Yokoyama | Seiji Rokkaku

Viewing Notes

Sad I missed this in the theater (was only playing at the Music Box in Chicago and I just couldn’t seem to make it work), but glad to have finally caught it on DVD.

This is probably the strongest film from Miike since Audition, in my book. A really well done period drama that happens to have some epic action in it (rather than an epic action movie with some drama as a plot device), 13 Assassins really hit the mark for me.

I should note that the version I watched was the International version, which excises some of the goofier scenes with the 13th assassin in it, pitching it more as a straight up drama and keeping the tone more solemn. It does also cut some scenes that would have better explained bits of the plot. Overall, I think this version is better for the cuts, but I’d love to see a version that only excises the humorous scenes while leaving the bits of plot intact. I’m not sure what version played in theaters. (The DVD does contain all the cut scenes so you can see what’s missing)

There are a few things worth pointing out that help set 13 Assassins apart. One is the lack of dramatization of the violence. For the most part, violence is done pretty quickly without interjection from Miike. In other words, he doesn’t use music or other types of film conventions in an effort to make us feel one way or another; he’s not manipulating our emotions in that way. (There are a few key scenes where this DOES happen, but I’d agree with those choices)

The other is the lack of music throughout much of the final half of the movie, which is made up almost entirely of one epic battle. The effect of this cannot be understated. The audience gets to hear the clash of steel on steel, the disturbing sounds of swords penetrating and slicing through flesh, and all the other sounds of battle that are usually hidden from us via the score. The lack of music makes the violence real, and keeps it on an even footing for everyone. No matter who the violence is visited upon, it’s raw, unnatural and frank: a death is a death, no matter whether the character is a protagonist or antagonist.

Compare this to Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, where the score is so chock full of chest swelling surges of patriotic jingoism that it overwhelms the action completely, letting you know exactly how the director wants you to feel and when and for whom.

13 Assassins is well worth the watch, and definitely on my list of top movies I’ve seen this year (that list seems to be full of movies NOT made in Hollywood. Go figure.)

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