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2004·Drama·2h 12m
7.1
★
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
Directed by Yoji Yamada
samurai
based on novel or book
sword fight
revenge
honor
period drama
historical
caste system
jidaigeki
edo period
social class
feudal japan
bushi
bakumatsu
YouTube
Trailer
IMDB
IMDB
N/A

Cast

Masatoshi Nagase
Masatoshi Nagase
Munezô Katagiri
Takako Matsu
Takako Matsu
Kie
Hidetaka Yoshioka
Hidetaka Yoshioka
Samon Shimada
Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Yaichirô Hazama
Tomoko Tabata
Tomoko Tabata
Shino Katagiri
Chieko Baisho
Chieko Baisho
Mrs. Katagiri
Kunie Tanaka
Kunie Tanaka
Kanbê Katagiri
Sachiko Mitsumoto
Sachiko Mitsumoto
Mrs. Iseya
Reiko Takashima
Reiko Takashima
Hazama's Wife
Nana Saito
Nana Saito
Bun
Nenji Kobayashi
Nenji Kobayashi
Kôda
Ken Ogata
Ken Ogata
Chief Retainer Hori

Crew

Yoji Yamada
Yoji Yamada
Director
Yoji Yamada
Yoji Yamada
Screenplay
Junichi Sakomoto
Junichi Sakomoto
Executive Producer
Yoshinobu Nishioka
Yoshinobu Nishioka
Art Direction
Yukitomo Tochino
Yukitomo Tochino
Gun Wrangler

Popular Reviews

9 reviews
Clayton200167
Clayton200167
8.0★ · 06/16/26
The Hidden Blade
Gets overshadowed by The Twilight Samurai in just about every way but this is still a super decent entry in what has become one of my favourite film trilogies.
Gets overshadowed by The Twilight Samurai in just about every way but this is still a super decent entry in what has become one of my favourite film trilogies.
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tuerce6
tuerce6
8.0★ · 05/02/25
The Hidden Blade
El director realmente dijo: “The first time was so nice I had to do it twice”.
El director realmente dijo: “The first time was so nice I had to do it twice”.
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mikeyj2
mikeyj2
7.0★ · 04/15/15
The Hidden Blade

Yamada's Samurai Trilogy should be called the "Lonely Samurai Has A Hard Time Finding Love And Is Forced Into Fighting A Fight He Does Not Wish To Fight" trilogy or, more simply, the "lyf suxx" trilogy. That last execution scene was more ninja than samurai tho I appreciated that a whole lot.

Yamada's Samurai Trilogy should be called the "Lonely Samurai Has A Hard Time Finding Love And Is Forced Into Fighting A Fight He Does Not Wish To Fight" trilogy or, more simply, the "lyf suxx" trilogy. That last execution scene was more ninja than samurai tho I appreciated that a whole lot.
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Eria Weeks
Eria Weeks
10.0★ · 05/16/26
The Hidden Blade
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Alexa_Argento
Alexa_Argento
7.0★ · 04/27/26
The Hidden Blade
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