Shinsengumi Chronicles: I Want To Die A Samurai

Whereas not a top-ranking masterpiece of the samurai canon, this is a very good genre piece from Daiei, led by stars Raizo Ichikawa and Tomisaburo Wakayama alongside a solid cast of character actors from the studio's payroll, including ex-Shintoho's leading man Shigeru Amachi in an excellent performance as a scheming murderous third-in-command. Chambara maestro Kenji Misumi directs with a keen eye for composition a script by Seiji Hoshikawa, who also penned several Zatoichi and Sleepy Eyes of Death titles, and Tokuzo Tanaka's 'The Betrayal'.The plot revolves around Susumu Yamasaki (played by Ichikawa) an idealistic ronin without a cause who joins the shinsengumi, a ruthless militia of Tokugawa loyalists who roamed the streets of Kyoto in the bloody 1860s, not because he is especially pro-bakufu, but out of admiration for the group's second-in-command Isami Kondo (Wakayama), who, despite being born a peasant, follows the way of the samurai more honorably than their higher-born leader, a corrupt drunkard whose behavior some members see as a hindrance to the Shinsengumi's mission. Well, and to their faction's own power ambitions, too. A group of pro-emperor conspirators, with legendary Ryoma Sakamoto among its members, arrives on the scene ready to cause trouble, providing the movie with its third plot thread. How faithful the movie is to the real historical characters, i have no idea.AnimEigo's fine DVD presents the movie in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16/9 televisions. In Japanese with optional English subtitles. As special features we have the usual screen-text fare: image gallery, bios, and translation notes, plus trailers of this and other samurai movies from AnimEigo. Image quality is good, sound is decent, except for a bit of background noise quite noticeable in moments of silence. The cover art design sucks.

A so-so samurai movie. Really cheesy organ music. Based on real events with some well known actors (~ok acting the the usual lot of actors you've seen before) but a really clunky story leading to the big fight (the majority of the fighting) at the end where they save the day (I wasn't that crazy about the fighting either) - quantity not quality. Some TV stuff is actaully way better than this (e.g. some of the Zatoichi episodes). Do to the praise I thought I'd check it out. I'm kind of the opinion that only a completist would really want to go out of their way for this one (save yourself the $ unless you can get it really really cheap). It really isn't that interesting and kinda boring in general. I just had to grin & bear it to get to the end - forcing myself really. I love samurai movies but not this one. OKish C samurai movie. Trying to save you a wasted hour and a half plus $... don't say I didn't warn you. Bit hard on it but it's just not that good on any level....so I can't recommend it.

This is reasonably well acted,directed and paced. While it is no great masterpiece it does have a place in a well-rounded Japanese film and history libraries as it deals with,in no small detail,several of the intrigues of the Shinsengumi affair in a manner not well done elsewhere,such as the overthrowing of the original leadership and the treachery of the ruling clans. In the "Extras", there is a detailed history of the events and the people involved. Recommended both as entertainment and historical studies.

Excelent movie and shipping was really fast i like samurai movies and also its a good reason to seat w/ my kid and share some snacks watchin movies

A little confusing, no great sword fights, historically interesting.