Samurai Spy (1965)
Original title: 異聞猿飛佐助
Samurai Spy is a 1965 Japanese-language action movie directed by Masahiro Shinoda, with a running time of 1h 40m. It stars Kōji Takahashi, Shintarō Ishihara and Eitarō Ozawa.
Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of conflict, longs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Tatewaki Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rival clan, however, the world of swordsmen is thrown into turmoil. After Sasuke is unwittingly drawn into the conflict, he tracks Tatewaki, while a mysterious, white-hooded figure seems to hunt them both. By tale’s end, no one is who they seemed to be, and the truth is far more personal than anyone suspected. Director Masahiro Shinoda’s Samurai Spy, filled with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multiple double crosses, marks a bold stylistic departure from swordplay film convention.
Where to watch Samurai Spy
Stream: Criterion Channel
Cast
- Kōji Takahashi as Sarutobi Sasuke
- Shintarō Ishihara as Saizo Kirigakure
- Eitarō Ozawa as Shigeyuki Koremura
- Kei Satō as Takanosuke Nojiri
- Rokkō Toura as Mitsuaki Inamura
- Tetsuro Tamba as Sakon Takatani
- Eiji Okada as Tatewaki Koriyama
- Seiji Miyaguchi as Jinnai-Kazutaka Horikawa
- Minoru Hodaka as Genba Kuni
- Misako Watanabe as Okiwa
- Yasunori Irikawa as Yashiro Kobayashi
- Jitsuko Yoshimura as Omiyo
