Samurai Banners

{{Infobox film | name = Samurai Banners | image = Samurai-banners-poster.jpg | alt = | caption = | native_name =  | director = Hiroshi Inagaki | producer = {{plainlist|*Toshiro Mifune *Tomoyuki Tanaka *Yoshio Nishikawa *Hiroshi Inagaki{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=255}}}} | writer = | screenplay = {{plainlist|*Shinobu Hashimoto *Takeo Kunihiro{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=255}}}} | story = | based_on = {{Based on|''Furin kazan''|Yasushi Inoue}} | starring = {{plainlist|*Toshiro Mifune *Yoshiko Sakuma *Nakamura Kinnosuke *Yūjirō Ishihara * Kan'emon Nakamura }} | narrator = | music = Masaru Sato{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=255}} | cinematography = Kazuo Yamada{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=255}} | editing = Yoshihiro Araki{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=255}} | studio = Mifune Productions{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}} | distributor = Toho | released = {{Film date|df=yes|1969|2|1|Japan}} | runtime = 165 minutes{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}} | country = Japan | language = | budget = | gross = }}

{{nihongo|'''''Samurai Banners'''''|風林火山|Fūrin Kazan|lead=yes}} is a Japanese samurai drama film released in 1969. It was directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and is based on the novel ''Furin kazan'' by Yasushi Inoue.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=255}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=22570&key_search=%E9%A2%A8%E6%9E%97%E7%81%AB%E5%B1%B1 |title=風林火山 |publisher=Kinema Junpo|access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref>

== Plot ==

Yamamoto Kansuke (Toshiro Mifune) is a general of warlord Takeda Shingen (Nakamura Kinnosuke), whose titular red banners are his trademark.<ref>{{cite book | last = Galloway | first = Patrick | title = Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook | publisher = Stone Bridge Press | date = 2005 | location = Berkeley, California | pages = 134–137 | isbn = 1-880656-93-0 }}</ref> Yamamoto has a ruthless but effective approach to battle and politics, and advises Takeda Shingen on almost everything he does, including the assassination of Suwa Yorishige (Akihiko Hirata). Of Lord Suwa's household, Princess Yu (Yoshiko Sakuma) refuses to commit suicide, and the film comes to center on a love triangle between the lord, his general, and the princess.

The film ends with the fourth Battle of Kawanakajima, in which Yamamoto erroneously believes his battle tactics have failed and commits a pincer attack, but is killed in action before the battle is won.

== Cast == * Toshiro Mifune – Kansuke Yamamoto * Yoshiko Sakuma – Princess Yuu * Nakamura Kinnosuke – Shingen Takeda * Yujiro Ishihara – Kenshin Uesugi * Katsuo Nakamura – Nobusato Itagaki * Nakamura Kankurō V – Katsuyori Takeda * Kan'emon Nakamura – Nobukata Itagaki * Masakazu Tamura – Nobushige Takeda * Mayumi Ozora – Princess Okoto * Masao Shimizu : Yokota Takamatsu * Ryūnosuke Tsukigata: Kasahara Kiyoshige * Akihiko Hirata : Yorishige Suwa * Ryosuke Kagawa : Nagasaka Yorihiro * Yoshiko Kuga : Dame Sanjō * Sachio Sakai : Yamagata Masakage * Akira Kubo : Baba Nobuharu * Yoshio Tsuchiya : Tsuchiya Masatsugu * Takashi Shimura – Toramasa Obu * Ken Ogata : Hatanaka

==Release== ''Samurai Banners'' received a roadshow release in Japan by Toho on 1 February 1969.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}} It received a wide release in Japan on 1 March 1969.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}} The film was Toho's top-grossing film of the year and the top-grossing film among domestic releases in Japan in 1969.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}}

The film was released in the United States by Toho International under the title ''Under the Banner of the Samurai'' on June 24, 1969.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}} It was later released to home video as ''Samurai Banners''.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=256}}

==Reception== "Mosk." of ''Variety'' found that "even Mifune's unique presence fails to give this many new twists and provide dynamic stature or the poetic insights that marked some earlier Japanese films of this genre."<ref name="variety-book">{{cite book|title=Variety's Film Reviews 1968-1970|volume=12|publisher=R. R. Bowker|isbn=0-8352-2792-8|year=1983|at=There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "July 30, 1969"}}</ref> The review concluded that "Mifune is spectacular as usual if the film's surface prettiness and melodramatic flourishes, without the deeper classic flair and rightness to make this more than a florid actioner, limit its art potential."<ref name="variety-book" />

== References == ===Footnotes=== {{reflist}}

===Sources=== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7o8pq6G_dYC |access-date=October 29, 2013 |year=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1461673743}} {{Refend}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|64353}}

Category:1969 films Category:Films directed by Hiroshi Inagaki Category:Jidaigeki films Category:1960s samurai films Category:Films with screenplays by Shinobu Hashimoto Category:Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Category:Films scored by Masaru Sato Category:Films produced by Toshiro Mifune Category:Films set in the 16th century Category:Cultural depictions of Takeda Shingen Category:Cultural depictions of Uesugi Kenshin Category:1969 Japanese films