The Hidden Blade

The Hidden Blade

  • Director: Yôji Yamada
  • Writer: Yôji Yamada,Yoshitaka Asama,Shûhei Fujisawa
  • Countries of origin: Japan
  • Language: Japanese
  • Release date: October 30, 2004
  • Sound mix: DTS, Dolby Digital
  • Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1
  • Also known as: 隱劍鬼爪
  • "The Hidden Blade" is a costume film produced by Shochiku, directed by Yoji Yamada and starring Nagase Jungmin , Matsu Takako , Hidetaka Yoshioka , and Ozawa Yukiyoshi . The film was released in Japan on October 30, 2004   .
    The film is adapted from a short story by Shuhei Fujisawa . It takes the weak local feudal clan in the last years of the Shogunate as the stage and tells the story of the little people in the bottom of Tokyo   .
    The film was the opening ceremony of the 2004 Tokyo Film Festival and was exhibited at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival and the 2005 Shanghai International Film Festival   .

    Details

    • Release date October 30, 2004
    • Filming locations Japan
    • Production companies Eisei Gekijo, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai (Nippan) K.K.

    Box office

    Gross US & Canada

    $38,147

    Opening weekend US & Canada

    $4,466

    Gross worldwide

    $8,043,781

    Movie reviews

     ( 31 ) Add reviews

    • By Marcel 2022-07-26 20:25:16

      Hidden Sword and Ghost Claw: A Heroic Movie for Justice

      A heroic film for justice. "Hidden Sword and Ghost Claw" tells the story of Zong Zang, a lower-level samurai on the verge of extinction, who was forced to kill his fellow warriors in an era when the samurai gradually declined. Yamada Yoji's films are always in the category of characters, but the story is somewhat of service to the characters. Whether it's the element of love or the spirit of the samurai, it's hard to say which line is the heaviest in the whole story. Judging from...

    • By Vinnie 2022-04-20 09:02:25

      "To use ghost claw, you must have the consciousness of death"

      "Are you happy?"
      The samurai, who was shining with humanity, saw that his maid was bullied and fell ill after getting married, and said, "If necessary, I will draw a sword to protect her."
      A man who loves fragrance and jade.
      Loli came to visit her sister.
      The male protagonists have the looks of Ren Xianqi and Chen Daoming.
      "Samurai will not betray his friends"
      "Swords are not drawn casually"
      "Father's face is like a crab, and his mouth is full of saliva when...

    • By Rozella 2022-04-20 09:02:25

      The Dao is free in the heart

      After coming into contact with "Qingbingwei of Dusk", I was moved by the ancient Japanese samurai described by Yamada Yoji, and dragged N Jiufang with an electric mule to download this "隠し剣國の隠". After reading it, I am full of emotion. I personally think it is the best part of Yamada Yoji's "Samurai Trilogy".
          The film unfolds from the perspective of the lower-level samurai Katagiri, and describes in detail what happened in a small domain in the turbulent era at the end of the shogunate....

    • By Bridie 2022-04-20 09:02:25

      No matter what kind of waves you face, protect the people you love

      The Samurai trilogy is over. First look at the Twilight Kiyobei, then the samurai's part, and finally the hidden sword ghost claw.
             The protagonists are all powerful samurai, and the two have the strength of the first swordsman in the domain. They are also low-level warriors with meager salaries. They all have a close lover, they both adhere to the duty and dignity of a samurai, they all face the changing times, and they all choose their own path. Although it seems hard, it is the...

    • By Justina 2022-04-20 09:02:25

      Only true love stays forever

      In the calm and slow rhythm, what can be seen is the end of the shogunate, samurai culture is declining, capitalism is rising, and the proud samurai sword is slowly being replaced by foreign guns.

      The observant Mongzo, because of the class difference, had to hide his love for Nozomi, and had to carry out the order given by the feudal lord to kill his friend Haza. It's just that this new culture, born without tolerance, did not let Haza die by the samurai sword, but ended his life in a...

    User comments

      ( 88 ) Add comments

    • By Shana 2023-09-10 17:03:10

      I really can't resist the setting of the ghost...

    • By Robin 2023-08-23 08:15:35

      You don't want to die under a foreign gun. . . An elegy for the samurai spirit. The subtitles are not translated...

    • By Noelia 2023-08-17 05:37:13

      The story is touching, but the script for the character's oral story is too low-level. The harlequins in Kurosawa's period dramas have the same sense of ritual as the movie itself, and they do not act ugly in exchange for the audience's sympathy; the film itself is too routine, and acting ugly is always accompanied by the audience's sympathy hair time. Ugly plays are alienated, and natural and emotional emotions are...

    • By Dominic 2023-06-06 17:03:49

      It turned out to be an assassination method, the weaker part of the trilogy, but the behavior is still very legal, and there is a dance rhythm...

    • By Winona 2023-06-01 10:21:50

      Vague emotions can be used as the object of expression, but when it comes to the play, the film does seem to be a bit careless. Compared with "The Qingbing Guard of Dusk", it has a little less wide-angle perspective, and it is not as romantic and pure as "Samurai's Point". There are many thoughts in different fragments, but unfortunately there is no clue that runs through it. Connect these elements into a complete...

    Movie plot

    The story takes place in a period of great change in Japanese modern history-on the eve of the Meiji Restoration, and the dark reign of the Tokugawa Shogunate is about to come to an end. At this time, in the Tohoku region of Japan, the remote small clan far from the capital of Edo, the Kaisaka clan, finally had some vaguely recognizable breath of the new era. Three years ago, he was hiding with his mother Katagiri Yin ( Baishou Chieko...
    more about The Hidden Blade Movie plot

    Behind the scenes gags

    The lead actor Nagase Jungmin practiced swordsmanship diligently in order to perform well in the movie, and went to the park to practice alone in the middle of the night and was checked by police officers. 
    In order to film the scene where Zongzang and Xihui reunited in 3 years, the staff tried to use various sizes of foam particles to repeatedly experiment many times, and someone was responsible for giving Zongzang an umbrella to blow...
    more about The Hidden Blade Behind the scenes gags

    Background creation

    "The Hidden Blade" is director Yoji Yamada's filming of the period drama again after "Twilight Seihei". The production is basically the original crew, and the material is also the novel of Fujisawa Shuhei. This is also the second costume drama that he and Shuhei Fujisawa once again co-created on the stage of the weak local feudal clan in the last years of the Shogunate   .
    In June 2003, director Yoji Yamada began to write a script based...
    more about The Hidden Blade Background creation

    Evaluation action

    At first glance, the film is quite similar to the predecessor "Twilight Seihei", but it further criticizes the samurai society at the end of the shogunate, and the portrayal of small characters is more in-depth. The protagonist in the play always retains the spirit and sentiment as a samurai, but eventually abandons his samurai status. Certain entertainment elements have also been added to the film, and the final duel scene that has...
    more about The Hidden Blade Evaluation action

    Movie quotes

    • [repeated line]

      Kie: Is that what you command... sir?

      Munezo Katagiri: Yes. That is my command.

      Kie: If it's your command, then I have no choice but to obey.