Product Description

{NOMINATED FOR 2004 ACADEMY AWARD FOR BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM}

{12 Wins in the Japanese Film Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress.}

Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is a low-ranking samurai living in the fading days of the Shogun period in Japan. His wife has died of tuberculosis, and with two daughters and an elderly mother to support, he and his family must survive in austerity. The divorce of his childhood friend Tomoe (Rie Miyazawa) leads him into a confrontation with her violent ex-husband, a high ranking samurai, and Seibei triumph against all odds. Just Seibei as begins to dream that despite his impoverishment he might win the hand of the long loved Tomoe, he is caught in the shifting turmoil of the times. His superiors, having heard of his sword-fighting prowess, order him on a dangerous mission: kill a renowned warrior who is on the wrong side of a clan power struggle.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26433 in DVD
• Brand: Empire
• Released on: 2004-12-28
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 129 minutes

Amazon.com
Slow-paced and subtle in presentation, The Twilight Samurai captures a side of the famed samurai that is rarely seen. Set in a northeastern province (Shonai) of late nineteenth century Japan, the film tells the story of Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada)--a low-ranking, debt-ridden samurai who, after losing his wife to consumption, struggles to care for his two young daughters and senile mother. Emphasizing the conflicts between duty and family, and love and class rank, director Yoji Yamada has created a film that is deeply engaging on several levels: a classic tale of honor, love, and courage.

Winner of 12 Japanese Film Academy Awards, as well as an Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, The Twilight Samurailives up to its billing. But don’t expect an action-packed, samurai-fighting film, or you will be sadly disappointed (there are only two modest fight scenes). --Joel Berman

Review
Aside from two nicely shot fights, Yamada's film is a romantic drama and character study. Fortunately, it works on every level. The superior production competency is obvious from the get-go. This is an impressively directed and photographed project, with excellent editing, production design, art work, and musical scoring. I can't really complain about anything in the movie. Yes, it is that good. --Cultcuts Magazine

It is a timeless and moving tale of humanity.... This film touched a chord in my heart. Hiroyuki Sanada's performance is perfect. As a father, a lover, a warrior and a worker, Mr. Sanada fills the role and engrosses the viewer in his struggles. --Entertainment Insider

Trust us on this: it's one of the most touching, exciting and moving stories you'll ever see; you'll be telling your friends about it tomorrow. Filmmaking at its absolute finest. --The Video TapeWorm