Ansatsu

[Tosh]

I have to say, I'm use to fairly complicated story lines in Samurai movies, but this movie jumped around so much I had a hard time keeping up, and I was sober watching this, was it just me, or was it that complicated. Maybe I need to give it another watch.

[Yakuza954]

I also think it's complicated. Probably because it's based off of historical events that the movie assumes most Japanese viewers already know about, but that a lot of us don't know about. The most complicated Samurai movie I've ever seen is Samurai Spy. That movie felt like it had a dozen different supporting characters and sub-plots going on at once. Even worse than any Chu Yuan movie.

[Tosh]

I don't remember having that hard of a time following Samurai Spy, I thought that was one kick-ass movie Sometimes when I get lost in these movies I just try to follow and hope it all make sense at the end, but I know what your saying about the historical events, It's actually made me interested in learning more about Japanese and Chinese history, just something as simple as learning the timelines can help (like the Menji Period).

[Yakuza954]

I remember getting lost in all the clan intrigue of Samurai Spy and having a hard time differentiating all the clan members. Thats why I mentioned Chu Yuan, as his movies are usually similar, though the characters often have different color costumes so they're easier to tell apart. :lol It was the only film I didn't like out of the Criterion Rebel Samurai boxset, and I wondered why it was included, as it was more about ninjas than samurai and seemed a notch below the other movies. I love the director's movies though, so I should give it another chance.

And I had a pretty decent knowledge of Japanese history prior to watching samurai movies. I had learned a lot in a couple history classes I had taken and from watching a few anime series. The movies still find a way to confuse me though. For example, it wasn't until the movies were over that I found out both Gohatto and The Last Samurai (Kenji Misumi film) were mainly about the Shinsengumi. And the Shinsengumi were something I thought I had a good grasp of.. But I couldn't even identify them in those cases. Back to the drawing board.

[Yakuza954]

I was able to watch Ansatsu completely today, and I actually understood it all. I guess I was paying more attention and knew what to keep an eye out for, and the whole thing just made sense. Tosh, which version of Ansatsu did you see? The Cannibal King version from kurotokagi or the Masters of Cinema UK release? The first one I saw was the CK version and the second time I decided to watch the Masters of Cinema release instead. The Masters of Cinema release has a different sub translation, and I think it may have been better, the dvd also has a very informative introduction with filmmaker Alex Cox that explains some of the history and details of the movie. Now I'm motivated enough to give Samurai Spy another go..

[Tosh]

Hmm, I'll have to take a look as I rented it at my local video store, it was on dvd though (they still have vhs in there, but at $2 a rent, it's good enough to see a movie I've never seen), it's one of those movies that I'm sure merits another watch.

Just watched 3 Outlaw Samurai the other day, I will be buying this one8)