– Director: Masaki Kobayashi

– Stacker score: 90.6

– Metascore: 90

– IMDb user rating: 8.4

– Runtime: 128 minutes

A samurai must choose between the demands of his master and the desires of his offspring in this Japanese drama. Examining codes of honor within a rigid social hierarchy, the story builds toward a series of violent events. Critic Roger Ebert wrote, “As extreme a samurai film as I’ve seen in both senses (the ethics and the violence), and one of the best.”