is a 1968 Japanese comedy-

chambara , also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of '' ...

film directed by

Kihachi Okamoto was a Japanese film director who worked in several different genres. Career Born in Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an experience that had a profound effect on his l ...

. The film had a screenplay written by Akira Murao and Okamoto, and is based on the story ''Torideyama no jushichinichi'' () in '' Yamamoto Shugoro zenshu'' (1964) by

Shūgorō Yamamoto , better known by the pen name of , was a Japanese novelist and short-story writer active during the Shōwa period of Japan. He was noted for his popular literature, and is known to have published works under at least fourteen different pen names ...

Plot

Tatsuya Nakadai stars as Genta, a former samurai who became disillusioned with the samurai lifestyle and left it behind to become a wandering

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

gang member. He meets Hanjirō Tabata (Etsushi Takahashi) a farmer who wants to become a samurai to escape his powerless existence. Genta and Tabata wind up on opposite sides of clan intrigue when seven members of a local clan assassinate their chancellor. Although the seven, led by Tetsutarō Oikawa (Naoko Kubo) rebelled with the support of their superior, Ayuzawa (Shigeru Kōyama), he turns on them and sends members of the clan to kill them as outlaws.

Style

The film is a comically exaggerated exploration of what it is to be a samurai. The characters either give up samurai status or fight to attain it, and samurai are seen behaving both honorably and very badly. The film has a parodic tone, with numerous references to earlier samurai films.

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai is a Japanese film actor. He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki Kobayashi, including ''The Human Condition'' trilogy, wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus ''Harakiri'', ''Samurai Rebellion'' and ''Kwaidan''. Nakadai wor ...

as Genta (Hyōdō Yagenta) *

Etsushi Takahashi was a Japanese actor from Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture. Takahashi often worked with Kihachi Okamoto and Satsuo Yamamoto. After graduating Rikkyo University, Takahashi joined NHK acting school. In 1964, he joined Bungakuza Theatre Company's act ...

as Hanji (Hanjirō Tabata) *

Yuriko Hoshi , real name , was a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 90 films beginning in 1959. Career Born in Tokyo but raised in Kobe, Hoshi made her film debut in 1958 at Toho. Hoshi died in Kyoto, Japan, at age 74. Selected filmography Film ...

as Chino Kajii * Naoko Kubo as Tetsutarō Oikawa *

Shigeru Kōyama was a Japanese actor. Career Born in Kure, Hiroshima, Kōyama joined the Bungakuza theatre troupe in 1952, first as a directorial assistant and then as an actor. He made his film debut in 1953 in Tadashi Imai's ''An Inlet of Muddy Water''. He ...

as Ayuzawa *

Akira Kubo is a Japanese actor who has appeared in over 70 films since 1952. He starred in the film ''Arashi'', which was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmography * ''Arashi'' (1956) as Saburo Mizusawa * ''Snow Coun ...

as Monnosuke Takei * Seishirō Kuno as Daijirō Masataka * Tadao Nakamaru as Shōda Magobei *

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as ''Seven Samu ...

as Moriuchi Hyōgo *

Shin Kishida Shin Kishida (17 October 1939 – 28 December 1982) was a Japanese television, film, and stage actor. Biography Shin Kishida was born at Kawakita General Hospital in Asagaya, Suginami, Tokyo. His uncle was playwright Kunio Kishida, and actres ...

as Jurota Arao *

Atsuo Nakamura is a Japanese actor and politician. He has appeared in more than 50 films since 1964. His younger brother Katsuyuki Nakamura is a writer. Career Nakamura first joined the Haiyuza theatre troupe in 1962, and became famous for his starring role i ...

as Tetsutaro *

Ryosuke Kagawa was a Japanese actor. His son was child actor Sō Shuntarō. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1928 and 1986. His final film role was in the 1986 film ''Dixieland Daimyō'' directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Selected filmography * '' Sto ...

as Mizoguchi *

Takeo Chii was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1968 and 2012. Biography Chii was the youngest of eight brothers. He made his acting debut in 1968. He made his film debut with Kihachi Okamoto's '' Kill!''. Chii married actress ...

as Yoshida Yaheiji *

Susumu Kurobe (born ; 22 October 1939) is a television, film and stage actor from Kurobe, Toyama, Japan, widely known for his portrayal of Shin Hayata, the first Ultraman in the '' titular character series'', a role he has played since the original series in ...

as Ayusawa Kinzaburo * Isao Hashimoto as Konosuke Fujii *

Yoshio Tsuchiya was a Japanese actor who appeared in such films as Toshio Matsumoto's surreal ''Bara No Soretsu'' (a.k.a. ''Funeral Parade of Roses'') and Akira Kurosawa's '' Seven Samurai'' (as the firebrand farmer Rikichi) and ''Red Beard'', and Kihachi Okam ...

as Matsuo Shiroku *

Hideyo Amamoto was a prolific Japanese actor from the Wakamatsu ward of Kitakyūshū best known for portraying Dr. Shinigami in the original '' Kamen Rider'' series as well as many other characters in tokusatsu films and the ''Godzilla'' series. Amamoto als ...

as Shimada Gendaiu

Release

''Kill!'' was released theatrically in Japan on 22 June 1968 where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

. It was released in the United States by Frank lee International with English subtitles in August 1968.

Reception

Along with '' Human Bullet'' and '' Judge and Jeopardy'', ''Kill!'' gave art director

Iwao Akune Iwao (written: 巖, 巌, 岩夫, 岩尾, 岩生, 岩男 or 岩雄) is both a masculine Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Emma Haruka Iwao, Japanese computer scientist and cloud developer adv ...

the award for Best Art Direction at the

Mainichi Film Concours The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

References

Sources

External links

* *
''Kill!: Pardon My Dust''
an essay by Howard Hampton at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

''Kill!: Rebel Samurai Cinema''
an essay by Chris D. at the

1968 films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Kihachi Okamoto 1960s Japanese-language films Samurai films Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Films scored by Masaru Sato Toho films 1960s Japanese films {{1960s-Japan-film-stub