Sure Death

"Assassins vs assassins! New samurai action! The inner struggle of underground killers!"

1984 2h 3m JA

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 11

DramaCrimeAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of seemingly ordinary merchants is really a band of assassins for hire. When they discover that all the assassins in Edo are being killed they must act quickly to find the culprit.

“Assassins vs assassins! New samurai action! The inner struggle of underground killers!”

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Cast

Makoto Fujita
Nakamura Mondo
Kunihiko Mitamura
Kazarishoku no Hide
Izumi Ayukawa
Nandemoya no Kayo
Kin Sugai
Sen
Mari Shiraki
Ritsu
Ippei Hikaru
Nishi Junnosuke
Toshio Yamauchi
Kiyoshi Nakajo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Masahisa Sadanaga
Writers: Tatsuo Nogami, Takeshi Yoshida
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 / 8

ERA

Did you know

42 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Sure Death! Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Masahisa Sadanaga, shot by Shigeru Ishihara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Makoto Fujita and Kunihiko Mitamura and Izumi Ayukawa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Assassins vs assassins! New samurai action! The inner struggle of underground killers!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0194940 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Masahisa Sadanaga directs. Shigeru Ishihara behind the camera. Masaaki Hirao scores. Koichi Sonoi cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

142 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Sure Death! Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Masahisa Sadanaga, shot by Shigeru Ishihara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Masaaki Hirao. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Koichi Sonoi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Makoto Fujita and Kunihiko Mitamura and Izumi Ayukawa carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Assassins vs assassins! New samurai action! The inner struggle of underground killers!".
8IMDB entry: tt0194940 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 11 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "assassin", "anti hero", "moral ambiguity", "hidden identity".