Samurai Spy
7.0
Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of conflict, longs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Tatewaki Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rival clan, however, the world of swordsmen is thrown into turmoil. After Sasuke is unwittingly drawn into the conflict, he tracks Tatewaki, while a mysterious, white-hooded figure seems to hunt them both. By tale’s end, no one is who they seemed to be, and the truth is far more personal than anyone suspected. Director Masahiro Shinoda’s Samurai Spy, filled with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multiple double crosses, marks a bold stylistic departure from swordplay film convention.
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Cast
27 people
Kōji Takahashi
Sarutobi Sasuke
Known for
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Shintarō Ishihara
Saizo Kirigakure
Known for
Crazed Fruit
Eitarō Ozawa
Shigeyuki Koremura
Known for
Ugetsu
The Return of Godzilla
Kei Satō
Takanosuke Nojiri
Known for
Onibaba
Harakiri
Rokkō Toura
Mitsuaki Inamura
Known for
Kuroneko
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Tetsuro Tamba
Sakon Takatani
Known for
You Only Live Twice
Harakiri
Eiji Okada
Tatewaki Koriyama
Known for
Woman in the Dunes
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Seiji Miyaguchi
Jinnai-Kazutaka Horikawa
Known for
Seven Samurai
Shōgun
Minoru Hodaka
Genba Kuni
Also in
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Sazen Tange and The Secret of the Urn
Misako Watanabe
Okiwa
Known for
Kwaidan
Youth of the Beast
Yasunori Irikawa
Yashiro Kobayashi
Also in
A Story Written with Water
Living Skeleton
Jitsuko Yoshimura
Omiyo
Known for
Onibaba
The Insect Woman
Masahiro Shinoda Director · Yoshiyuki Fukuda Screenplay Koji Nakada Author
First release July 10, 1965 · Produced in Japan · Original title 異聞猿飛佐助
Production
Shochiku
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
異聞猿飛佐助
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Japan · July 10, 1965
Theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
Czechia
January 25, 2014 · Premiere · Eiga-Sai Film Festival
Russia
July 28, 2013 · Limited theatrical · "Ninja Secrets" Retrospective (Moscow)
February 28, 2016 · Limited theatrical · Retrospective of Masahiro Shinoda (Saint Petersburg)
March 20, 2016 · Limited theatrical · Retrospective of Masahiro Shinoda (Moscow)
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Some details come from TheTVDB.