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The Ambitious

Name: The Ambitious
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Released: 1970-02-14
Cast: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Toshirō Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, Tatsuya Nakadai, Sayuri Yoshinaga

1970 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Weeknight Watchearly rating

Why it’s a Weeknight Watch

With almost no lasting buzz, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Aimed squarely at action fans and adventure lovers. Popcorn viewing in the best sense. If you loved Rurouni Kenshin: The Final or 13 Assassins, start here.
The mood: Exciting.
The pace: Gives its people room to develop, at 2 hr.
What might put you off: It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
Made in 1970: an older pace and style.
Not for anyone who finds explosions tiring.

The story of Ryoma Sakamoto, considered to be the architect behind the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was considered an outlaw by his own clan, hunted by his government, and was despised by supporters of the Shogun as well as the Loyalists for desiring the opening of Japan to the West in order to learn its technology, in the hopes of one day defeating the West with a modern army and navy.

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 powerSolid
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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Cast & crew

Directed by Daisuke Itō

Kinnosuke NakamuraRyoma Sakamoto
Toshirō MifuneShojiro Goto
Keiju KobayashiYoshinosuke Saigo
Tatsuya NakadaiShintaro Nakaoka
Sayuri YoshinagaOryo
Katsuo NakamuraChojiro Kondo
Noboru NakayaHanheita Takeichi
Eitarō MatsuyamaUmanosuke Shinmiya
Shigeru KōyamaKaishu Katsu
Shinsuke MikimotoKogoro Katsura