Sword for Hire
Seen it?1952 | 135 min | Drama, Action, Adventure
Monday Morning Maybeearly ratingWhy it’s a Monday Morning Maybe
With almost no lasting buzz and soft box office, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for people who like their stories at full throttle and anyone with a bit of wanderlust. Best on a quiet night when you're in the mood to feel something. A good follow-up to The Hidden Fortress or Seven Samurai.
- The mood
- Exciting.
- The pace
- Lets scenes breathe, at 2 hr 15 min.
- What might put you off
- It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Made in 1952: an older pace and style.
- Skip it if you need something light and fast tonight.
Soldiers Hayate and Yaheiji secretly escape from their besieged castle. Hayate has left behind his lover, Kano. On his way, Hayate is wounded and cared for by O’Ryo, who falls in love with him. But when Hayate accidentally kills her caretaker, he flees, with O’Ryo in pursuit. Subsequently, Hayate's comrade Yaheiji falls in love with Oryo. Kano, the lover left behind by Hayate, believes him dead, and becomes involved with another soldier, Jurota. When Jurota defects to the opposing army, he takes Kano with him. A double set of love triangles has developed, wherein each man and each woman loves one and is loved by another. Finally only combat and self-sacrifice can untangle the weave.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 2K people sought it out in the past year
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The Hidden Fortress
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Seven Samurai Friday Night FlickAlso stars Toshirō Mifune, in another critically acclaimed action film.
13 Assassins Friday Night FlickAnother critically acclaimed adventure that fewer people know today.
Zatoichi
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Cast & crew
Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
- Rentaro MikuniTachibana Jurata
- Toshirō MifuneSasa Hayatenosuke
- Danshirō IchikawaKagami Yakeiji
- Yoshiko YamaguchiOryo
- Takashi Shimura
- Shinobu AsajiKano
- Yoshio Kosugi
- Sugisaku Aoyama
- Eijirō Tōno
- Ryōsuke Kagawa