Saw the 1963 version of 13 Assassins. It followed this band of 13 samurais who are supposed to kill this guy who is the son of one shogun and is the brother of another. He's untouchable but an utterly evil man. This was basically a heist movie. After establishing the rightness of their cause, we get a rallying-the-troops sequence, the stake-out, and the final, glorious, clockwork climax. It's a riot.
The film was shot in black and white but the film-quality is really good. I suspect they went black and white because this is a period piece or perhaps because it's a "serious" film but it has that smeary film quality that makes it look like television.
This film feels very a-typical of samurai films. The plot revolves around the justified killing of a nobleman. What is this, France? Also of note is that there's many hard deaths in this film. Normally in a samurai flick people die by theatrically stiffening up and falling over, quickly disappearing so that they can lie still until the shot is over. This movie has quite a few protracted deaths, with full on grimacing and stumbling and even one pointless death that happens in a cramped alleyway. The attacker in that case is frenzied and horrible. Very unlike the cool, extended-sword poses of other films.
I liked this movie. It's basically a heist but the heist formula works. There's always something to follow and be curious about, always some little personal tension to keep track of (although, with 13 main characters, some get completely lost in the shuffle.) A solid film.
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