Yagyû ichizoku no inbô

I do not know if this movie was made from the first three episodes of the "Yagyuu Conspiracy" TV series or the start of the series made out of the movie, or it was all shot with the idea of the film being a feeder for the series.

In any case, the movie has the same dynamic cast and excellent story cohesion the series featured (my all-time favorite chanbara series). Production values are high, characters interesting (especially the antagonist, imperial noble Kurasumaru, who is an equally dedicated and loyal servant, just of an opposing side), and the plot far more coherent than many Asian offerings. The fight choreography is dynamic yet plausible, but this is not just a string of fight scenes. The setting is a civil war between two sons of a just-dead shogun, and the movie does not slight the importance of politics and maneuvering the powerful nobles into one's camp. On top of this, the third side of the imperial nobles is trying to use the shogun wannabes to weaken the power of the shogunate and restore actual power to the Emperor. This, rather than the Streetfighter movies, made me a Sonny Chiba fan. When can we get this on DVD with English subtitles? (Personally, I hate most dubbing on films. I can read fast enough for subtitles and I prefer hearing the original actor's delivery.)