13 Assassins

"Take up your sword."

2010 2h 21m JA

👍

7.3

SOLID

🔥

95%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 1,329🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes●84Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 71,415

AdventureDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

“Take up your sword.”

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Cast

Koji Yakusho
Shinzaemon Shimada
Takayuki Yamada
Shinrokuro Shimada
Yusuke Iseya
Koyata
Goro Inagaki
Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira
Kazue Fukiishi
Tsuya / Upashi
Hiroki Matsukata
Kuranaga
Tsuyoshi Ihara
Kuzuro Hirayama
Ikki Sawamura
Gunziro Mitsuhasi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Kaneo Ikegami, Daisuke Tengan
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan, United Kingdom

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

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Japan, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Nobuyasu Kita. 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 Koji Endo. 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 Kenji Yamashita 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

Koji Yakusho and Takayuki Yamada and Yusuke Iseya carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Take up your sword.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1436045 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Nobuyasu Kita behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Kenji Yamashita cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Japan, United Kingdom. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 16 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Japan, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Nobuyasu Kita. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Kenji Yamashita shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Koji Yakusho and Takayuki Yamada and Yusuke Iseya carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Take up your sword.".
8IMDB entry: tt1436045 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 20 themes, including "suicide", "mission", "japan", "assassin".

The technical file

Cinematography: Nobuyasu Kita
Original score: Koji Endo
Editing: Kenji Yamashita
Production design: Yuji Hayashida
Costume design: Kazuhiro Sawataishi
Stunt coordinator: Keiji Tsujii
Runtime: 141 min · 2h 21m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $17,555,141
Return: 293% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: 13 Assassins (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 84/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 71,415 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

15 wins & 28 nominations total

Also by

Takashi Miike

Stills · wallpapers

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Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2015-01-26
★ 5/10
Much predictable and brutal. Just some action movie in which 13 guys kill by hundreds ...
sakmode2021-04-04
★ 6/10
Takashi Miike excels at creating true horror from the internal darkness of humanity and this is clearly evident in his brutal depiction of the villain of this movie, Lord Naritsugu. Through this characterization he establishes a strong motivation for us to stick around and witness the epic 45 minute battle at the film's climax in our hope to see Naritsugu brought to justice. Period Japan is depicted in a fashion that appears competent and authentic and the climactic battle is satisfyingly crunchy and visceral. The story is simple and direct and Miike's deft hand spends the first half setting up a truly despicable, hate-able villain and the titular assassins and their heroic leader, Shinzaemon, then the second half delivering a very satisfying come-uppance in a relentless fury of action, blood and mud. Well worth watching if you like this sort of thing!
CinemaSerf2025-01-27
★ 7/10
Very much in the spirit of Kurosawa, Takashi Miike has assembled a strong cast to depict some fairly epic struggles for power in the 19th century Japanese shogunate. It's the brother of the Shogun who seems to be the source of the trouble. Having mercilessly murdered a family - against the instructions of his sibling - he has earned the enmity of veteran Samurai "Shinzaemon" (Kôji Yakusho) but with a significant political appointment in Edo looming, it would appear he is untouchable. It's the journey "Naritsugu" (Gorô Inagaki) must make through the densely forested countryside that might offer an opportunity for revenge, but he has the equally lethal Samurai "Hanbei" (Masachika Ichimura) orgainisng his large escort. With but a dozen men and the intrepid under "Koyata" (Yûsuke Iseya) to guide them along less trodden paths, this disparate baker's dozen must try to anticipate the path their nemesis will take and then strive to reduce the odds against them. These men are too honourable to resort to underhand guerrilla tactics so each battle must be fought openly and with the pride of their code. The last hour or so of this offers us as compelling a series of combat scenes, mixed with plenty of lithe action and even a little black humour, as you're ever lively to see. The energy and gymnastics on display is compelling to watch, the filth, mud and grime that coats their bodies add authenticity and the low-key soundtrack all build to an action-packed and by no means predictable conclusion. If you can watch on a big screen then this, like most films of this genre, really does come alive and Miike manages to avoid the repetition trap so easy to fall into with films like this. If you've seen and enjoyed the 1963 Kudô version, then this remake won't disappoint you.