From the Arrow Video press release:
On March 31, the true nature of life in feudal Japan takes center stage in
Eiichi Kudo's Samurai Revolution Trilogy, making its Blu-ray debut. Director
Eiichi Kudo revolutionized the jidaigeki genre during the 1960’s with
13 Assassins,
The Great Killing, and
Eleven Samurai, the very films that make up this landmark trilogy. The limited edition boxset features High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all three films, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras.
The Shogun and Samurai warriors were originally presented in cinema as noble men who upheld the morality and ethics of the Bushido code in feudal Japan, an attitude that shifted with director
Eiichi Kudo’s 13 Assassins. Lord Matsudaira has been accused of horrifying crimes, yet nothing can be done to punish him since his brother is the Shogun and he’s about to be promoted to an even higher position. A group of Samurai secretly plots justice, assembling 13 assassins to ambush Lord Matsudaira and his 200 guards.
The Great Killing centers on the Chief Elder’s conspiracy to elevate the Shogun’s easily controllable brother to power, allowing him to truly administer authority without holding the title. A rival official must recruit allies to prevent the scheme from unfolding.
In
Eleven Samurai, a hunting party led by Lord Nariatsu journeys onto the Oshi clan’s fiefdom in pursuit of prey, and this border breach leads the petulant Lord to murder an Oshi official. The head of the Oshi clan demands action from the Shogun’s Council of Elders, but they instead award the Oshi fiefdom to Lord Nariatsu, as he is the Shogun’s son and can do no wrong. This injustice drives members of the Oshi clan to plot an uprising against their new leader.
All three films are loosely based on historical events involving Shogun-connected family members failing to live up to the Bushido code.
Special features include original lossless Japanese mono audio on all three films; optional newly translated English subtitles for all three films; an illustrated collectors’ booklet; brand new audio commentaries on each film; video essays on the score, cinematography and the historical setting;
Samurai Guerilla is a three part archival interview with
Eiichi Kudo’s former assistant director
Misao Arai; theatrical trailers for
13 Assassins; a tribute to director
Eiichi Kudo by his former assistant and brother-in-law
Masaaki Ito; and an archival interview on the films of
Eiichi Kudo.
Watch the trailer for
Eiichi Kudo's Samurai Revolution Trilogy here:
Eiichi Kudo's Samurai Revolution Trilogy is distributed by MVD Entertainment Group.
A good-looking package for fans of Kudo's work.
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