The Samurai and the Prisoner (147 Minutes / Period Drama / Japanese w/English subtitles) When Lord Murashige rises up against the tyrannical Oda, he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With Oda’s army closing in and a traitor hiding among his ranks, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kanbei, a brilliant and dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon, as he must outwit his enemies and uncover the truth before time runs out.
This multifaceted film… has the intrigue of an Agatha Christie story and the gravitas of an Akira Kurosawa epic. – Inverse
The film’s central puzzle thus becomes something more profound than the sum of its smaller mysteries: the question of how to achieve freedom in a world that seems to have no place for it. – Vulture
The Samurai and the Prisoner may be set centuries earlier, but it’s a Kurosawa movie through and through. The talk is grave, the editing unhurried; the camera holds multiple characters in the frame and watches them from a sedate remove. – The New Yorker
Mr. Kurosawa, among our most contemporary-minded auteurs, has never been one to venture so far into the past, but here he brings it to vivid and complicated life. – Wall Street Journal
An epic sweep and a beautiful sense of balance define this brutal, brainy, war-and-intrigue thriller set in the 16th century. – AARP Movies for Grown-Ups
Intricate, enthralling, and as psychologically rich as his best work, it’s another feather in the illustrious artist’s cap. – The Daily Beast
Kurosawa has made one of his best films, a work that feels a bit like Agatha Christie, a bit like Shakespeare, and even a bit like Samurai Columbo. – RogerEbert.com