13 Assassins Takashi Miike’s samurai remake: where to watch
13 Assassins, Takashi Miike’s remake of a 1963 samurai film, is drawing fresh attention for its 45-minute final battle. A new review calls the violence relentless, and the film streams or sells in Australia, the UK and the US.
13 Assassins, Takashi Miike’s violent remake of a 1963 samurai film, is back in the conversation after a new review praised its final battle as one of the most impressive action scenes in history. The film streams or sells in Australia, the UK and the US.
The review describes the Japanese director’s version as full-throttle samurai mayhem set in Edo period Japan. It says the film holds up even after 16 years.
Brutal from the opening
Within the first 20 minutes, the film delivers a brutal murder, a ritual suicide and political corruption, according to the review.
The villain is Lord Naritsugu, the Shogun’s half-brother, played by Gorô Inagaki. He slaughters the family of a local lord with sadistic cruelty. That pushes the justice minister, Sir Doi (Mikijirô Hira), to enlist the samurai Shinzaemon Shimada (Kōji Yakusho) to kill him.
Shinzaemon accepts gratefully. “I will accomplish your wish with magnificence,” he tells Sir Doi.
Traps, then carnage
Shinzaemon recruits a team of skilled samurai for the secret mission. Hanbei (Masachika Ichimura), an old rival of Shinzaemon, gathers 200 warriors to protect Naritsugu.
The review calls the film a movie of two halves. In the buildup, the characters get room to breathe and, like an 1840s A-Team, build a series of ingenious traps.
The final 45 minutes are where the film comes into its own. The samurai create what Shinzaemon calls “a town of death”, and the larger force blunders into booby trap after booby trap with deadly results.
The reviewer concedes it is hard to keep track of all 13 assassins in the chaos. It adds that this does not matter.
Villain and hero
The review says Naritsugu is so evil that viewers want his comeuppance. It lists amputated limbs, chopped-off tongues and arrows shot into children at point-blank range among his pastimes.
Yakusho, the review says, brings a stoic yet seething intensity to Shinzaemon, who is driven by outrage at Naritsugu. At one point he scornfully calls the lord “a decorative man”. The mission is also a chance for a samurai, after years of peace, to show his skill.
Miike and Tengan
13 Assassins is one of four collaborations between Miike and the writer Daisuke Tengan. The others include the 1999 horror classic Audition and the new film Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo.
Next to the pair’s usually demented style, the review finds 13 Assassins unexpectedly straightforward. It calls it a classic tale of right versus wrong.
Where to watch
In Australia, 13 Assassins streams on SBS On Demand. It is available to buy through Apple TV and Prime Video in Australia and the UK.
In the US, it streams on Prime Video and Kanopy.
