Samurai Banners (1969)
Original title: 風林火山
Samurai Banners is a 1969 Japanese-language action movie directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, with a running time of 2h 50m. It stars Toshirō Mifune, Yoshiko Sakuma and Kinnosuke Nakamura.
Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?
Quick answers
What is Samurai Banners about?
Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?
When was Samurai Banners released?
Samurai Banners was released on 1 March 1969.
How long is Samurai Banners?
Samurai Banners runs 2h 50m.
Who made Samurai Banners?
Samurai Banners was directed by Hiroshi Inagaki.
Cast
- Toshirō Mifune as Kansuke Yamamoto
- Yoshiko Sakuma as Princess Yufu
- Kinnosuke Nakamura as Shingen Takeda
- Yūjirō Ishihara as Kenshin Uesugi
- Katsuo Nakamura as Nobusato Itagaki
- Umenosuke Nakamura as Hagiwara Yaemon
- Masakazu Tamura as Nobushige Takeda
- Nakamura Kanzaburo as Takeda Katsuyori
- Ken Ogata as Hatanaka Buhei
- Mayumi Ozora as Princess Okoto
- Masumi Harukawa as Buhei's wife
- Haruko Tōgō