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if anyone is interested in films about the 47 Ronin because of Stan's upcoming adaption of the story, you might find this interesting.
I just recently watched the film "The Last Ronin" which is a fictional story based upon the story of the 47 Ronin of Ako, and (in my opinion) was a great film well worth watching (in case a substitute film is desired in place of the Hollywood remake to be released).
There is more information here on the Japan Society page.
THE LAST RONIN Saigo no Chushingura – 2011 – 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Sixteen years after abandoning the 47 Ronin on the eve of their crucial mission, Seno Magozaemon (Yakusho Koji) finds his past coming back to haunt him while living deep in a vast forest. Having assumed the identity of an antiques dealer in order to guard his treacherous secret, Seno has a chance meeting with his old ally Terasaka Kichiemon (Sato Koichi), and attempts to safeguard his secret by silencing Terasaka forever. Meanwhile, the secret to Seno's shame resides with an adolescent girl from the forest named Kane.
Cast: YAKUSHO Koji, SATO Koichi, FUBUKI Jun, IBU Masatô, KATAOKA Nizaemon Director: SUGITA Shigemichi
It can be purchased on DVD with sub-titles here and here.
I just watched a couple more episodes of the 1971 taiga drama "Epic Chushingura" - a year long television mini-series consisting of 52 episodes and featuring a who's who of Japanese cinema starting with Mifune Toshiro in the role of Oishi Kuranosuke.....
EPIC CHUSHINGURA
(Daichushingura)
1971 - Color - 564 min. REMASTERED Academy Standard (4:3)
EPIC CHUSHINGURA (Daichushingura) is a television dramatization of the events of the 47 Ronin. The first episode aired on January 5, 1971, and the 52nd and final episode appeared on December 28 of the same year. The NET network broadcast it in the Tuesday evening 9:00–9:56 prime-time slot in Japan.
The series featured an all-star cast. The central actor was MIFUNE Toshiro, who portrayed Oishi Kuranosuke; with TSUKASA Yoko as his wife Riku; ONOE Kikunosuke as Asano Takumi-no-kami.
ICHIKAWA Chusha VIII took the part of Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka, but died after the filming of episode 47; his brother Kodayu replaced him. The co-lead in the production (and Oishi's main adversary) Uesugi clan's chief councilor Chisaka Hyobu was played by the great TANBA Tetsuro.
Among the ronin and their allies were WATARI Tetsuya as Horibe Yasubei, TAMURA Masakazu as teenage Yato Emonshichi, and Frankie SAKAI as Akabane Genzo. WAKABAYASHI Go and SAKAGAMI Jiro also appeared in the series.
Many actors appeared as guest stars in only a few episodes. Among them were many known to audiences outside of Japan. These included: NAKAMURA Kinnosuke as Wakisaka Awaiji-no-kami, SHIMURA Takashi, and superstar KATSU Shintaro.
Music was composed by the brilliant TOMITA Isao, and the swordfighting scenes were handled by KUZE Ryu, who had most notably done the same for KUROSAWA Akira's Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Every moment of this dynamic series is filled with gripping drama, which then explodes into exciting action. The production values in this series are clearly of motion picture level.
Steve Hubbell wrote:
I just recently watched the film "The Last Ronin" which is a fictional story based upon the story of the 47 Ronin of Ako, and (in my opinion) was a great film well worth watching (in case a substitute film is desired in place of the Hollywood remake to be released).
...
It can be purchased on DVD with sub-titles here and here.
I watched this on TV Japan recently. Really liked it. Not your typical Samurai film. I do plan on getting the DVD.
