Rebellion

Rivalling any of Akira Kurosawa's more famous samurai dramas, Rebellion stars the great Toshiro Mifune as a dishonoured samurai searching for revenge. In fact, it's the usual samurai stuff, given hardly any new twists, and seemingly influenced by Sergio Leone Dollars films. But what is remarkable is Masaki Kobayashi's magnificent evocation of a vanished era in Japanese history and his stunning images, shot in the traditional black-and-white scope format. And Mifune's intensity is, as always, something to marvel at.