The Twilight Samurai

2002 2h 9m JA

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 378

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada
Seibei Iguchi
Rie Miyazawa
Tomoe Iinuma
Nenji Kobayashi
Choubei Kusaka
Mitsuru Fukikoshi
Michinojo Iinuma
Min Tanaka
Zenemon Yogo
Ren Osugi
Toyotaro Koda
Hiroshi Kanbe
Naota
Miki Ito
Kayano Iguchi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yoji Yamada
Writers: Yoshitaka Asama, Yoji Yamada
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Samurai Trilogy (Yoji Yamada) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yoji Yamada, shot by Mutsuo Naganuma. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Isao Tomita. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Iwao Ishii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa and Nenji Kobayashi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0351817 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yoji Yamada directs. Mutsuo Naganuma behind the camera. Isao Tomita scores. Iwao Ishii cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 24 years ago.
2Part of the "Samurai Trilogy (Yoji Yamada) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Yoji Yamada, shot by Mutsuo Naganuma. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Isao Tomita. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Iwao Ishii shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Hiroyuki Sanada and Rie Miyazawa and Nenji Kobayashi carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0351817 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 20 themes, including "daughter", "japan", "samurai", "based on novel or book".