Jûichinin no samurai

Eleven samurai are sent to avenge the murder of their lord —and guard the future of their small clan— who was murdered by the arrogant and cowardly brother of the Shogun, in this little-known, superbly-directed and acted 1960's Samurai classic. The film features several intriguing plot-twists as well as provide authentic glimpses into both the Samurai ethos and, interestingly, its interplay with hostile political forces which two decades later (following the story's own periodization) would spell the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration (as seen, namely, through one antifeudal and inventively modern character who joins the protagonists in their quest).