I always loved Criterion, but of late their forte, or at least for the discs that I buy are their Japanese films, and this Rebel Samurai box set is bad ass. Kill is a great film, in your face with a great soundtrack that goes to Jazz as well as Japanese music. The film is quite enjoyable, and turns much of the Samurai genre on end by having the best of the samurai become a Yakuza because he has grown so disheartened with the way of life of Samurai, while others will blindly do anything to become a Samurai. And excellent film all the way around.

REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS…

2 drifters end up in run down town, that was ravaged by a peasant revolt, hearing that Ronin’s were needed, both men are starving. One is Hanjiro (Takahashi Etsushi) a farmer who sold his land to get Samurai swords, and will do anything to become a samurai and one is Genta (Nakadai) a former Samurai who has given up the ways of the samurai and become a Yakuza after an awful incident 3 years before. They become friends, but end up on opposite sides. 7 Samurai from the local clan have acted on their own and killed a corrupt official, but been turned on by their own clan, who was using them do their dirty work. Hanjiro joins the clan in hopes of becoming a samurai, and is used because of his strength. Genta decides to help them, when he meets their leaders fiancee. The 7 samurai are betrayed and the clan sends 30 soldiers with swords, bows and guns to surround them, and then sends a group of Ronin led by a former Samurai who only wants to get his wife out of her life as a prostitute, and is joined by Genta so he can help the 7 Samurai. The clan soldiers attack both sides indiscriminately since they want them all dead so their own hand in it can’t be seen. Genta tries to stop the clan, but is captured and ends up with the old leader in jail, but Hanjiro breaks him out and takes him to a hoar house where the meat the ronin’s leader’s wife, and a women that Hanjiro likes because she was a farmer. The old man promises to have the women released, so they can stop the ronin, but the leader has already been killed as have some of the Samurai. Genta then goes to defeat the clan leader, and does, and Hanjiro shows up to save him. At the end Genta is wondering away as a yakuza again, having made up for his acts that he hates so much in the past, when Hanjiro shows up, now a samuari, but not enjoying it, and with all the released women. And Genta goes with the ronin leader’s wife to bring his ashes home.

A very enjoyable film overall!