Kill!
1968 · Japan · 115 min
- Director
- Kihachi Okamoto
- Screenplay
- Shūgorō Yamamoto
- Producer
- Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Music
- Masaru Sato
- Editing
- Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Cast
What it is about
Genta, a former samurai disillusioned with the warrior life, now drifts as a member of a wandering yakuza gang. Along the way he meets Hanjirō Tabata, a farmer who dreams of becoming a samurai to escape his powerless existence. The two end up on opposite sides of a clan intrigue after seven members of a local clan assassinate their chancellor.
How it was made
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto, the film is based on a story by Shūgorō Yamamoto, and its screenplay was written by Akira Murao and Okamoto. Tatsuya Nakadai leads the cast, Tomoyuki Tanaka produced, and Masaru Sato composed the score. The tone is parodic and exaggerated, full of references to earlier samurai films, and it portrays its warriors as capable of both honor and considerable meanness.
Reception and legacy
The film opened in Japan on 22 June 1968, distributed by Toho, and reached the United States in August of that year with English subtitles. Together with Human Bullet and Judge and Jeopardy, it won art director Iwao Akune the Best Art Direction award at the Mainichi Film Concours.
Stills
More films by Kihachi Okamoto
Japan's Longest Day
The Sword of Doom
Samurai Assassin
The Battle of Okinawa
Red Lion
Zatoichi Meets YojimboOriginal Cinematopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.