Red Lion

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Audience Member It drags a bit and has a few plot threads that go nowhere, but wow does it blow you away. This is a powerful political satire with Toshiro Mifune giving another great performance. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member the best samurai comedy ever made. mifune was as clever as he was in seven samurai playing a silly but effective samurai who ascends from farmer to savior. although the end was serious, the film blended drama and comedy well and made this a fun watch. excellent film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Average Samauri fare with (who else?) Toshiro Mifune !!! Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Much as a movie for standing up against corruption and disorder, it's amazing. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A populist epic with many epic scenes full of many, many people. Toshiro san plays against type and intelligence as the dim-witted, stuttering hero. Funny and sad - it's fad! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A criminally underrated film. In terms of acting alone, Red Lion may represent a high water mark in Toshiro Mifune's extraordinary career. Set in a period of political upheaval at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate's 300 year rule, Red Lion tells the tale of Gonzo (Mifune), a dim witted peasant soldier in the army of the Imperial Restoration Force. He manages to convince his commander to let him go to his hometown in advance of the troops to convince the villagers of the benefits of the regime change. Borrowing his captain's red Lion's Mane headpiece, he arrives to a hero's welcome and instantly starts to dismantle the rule of the corrupt officials who have enslaved the people. However, things are not as simple as they appear and the jubilation caused by Gonzo's reforms is to be short lived. The film starts out as a comedy, and ends as a damning indictement of political hypocrisy. It features some fabulous acting by all involved and some wonderful relationships are developed, particularly the grudging comradery that builds between Gonzo and the ronin Hanzo (Etsushi Takahashi), and that between Gonzo and his liberated prostitute girlfriend Tomi (Shima Iwashita). It also features some great chambara action which should please the slash fanatics. Mostly, though, Red Lion stands out as a heart warming and deeply moving character piece about an honest but naive man caught in the maelstrom of politics. Truly magnificent, and quite possiby on a par with the best of Mifune's Kurosawa pieces. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Red Lion

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