This is another samurai film that I saw a while ago. This film was directed by Kazuo Kuroki and is a story about a group of masterless samurai (ronin) who defend a small village from abusive Tokugawa government samurai. This film was entertaining but it was not at the same level as a Kurosawa film.
The movie takes place at the time that the Tokugawa Shogunate was nearing collapse and the number of ronin were growing. In the small village, a group of low-life ronin spend their time getting drunk and basically wasting away their lives. The story centers around a brothel where the villagers and ronin hangout getting drunk at the end of each day and enjoying the company of the girls of the brothel.
Eventually, one by one, the girls of the brothel are killed by unknown swordsmen as they conduct their business during the late hours of the night. Soon the villagers and the ronin learn that it is the Tokugawa samurai that are committing the murders. But the villagers fear and desperation increase as no one seems brave enough to confront the Tokugawa samurai or to report it to government authorities.
Finally the group of ronin can take no more of seeing the village and the girls being terrorized by the band of government samurai. The ronin's long-lost notions of honor and valor, the samurai code of bushido, returns and the ronin confront the evil Tokugawa samurai in a final epic sword battle.
The film has a similar storyline as that of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Although not as good, it is still a worthwhile film to see in my opinion.
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