Incident at Blood Pass

1970
7.1| 1h58m| en
Details

In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass. When the Ronin's assignment becomes clear, to help the gang, he's ordered to kill the inn's residents, including a woman he's rescued from an abusive husband. He's reluctant to murder innocent people; then he learns that the gold shipment is a trap and he's part of a double cross. How he sorts through these divided loyalties tests of his samurai honor, and perhaps of his love for a woman.

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.
BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
poe426 Like YOJIMBO and SANJURO, INCIDENT AT BLOOD PASS stars Toshiro Mifune as a ronin out to do good (though that's not really made clear until late in the going, which is okay). While the two aforementioned Kurosawa classics offer enough character and situational twists and turns to keep one guessing, INCIDENT AT BLOOD PASS is more linear and, therefore, much less engaging. It DOES boast a decent cast and some minor turns of its own, but it never quite achieves greatness. Of interest to fans of the genre is Shintaro Katsu as a villain. "Zatoichi," makes an excellent villain (he looks like a bearded Sammo Hung and, like Sammo, displays some surprising versatility). Not a bad entry, but not a world-beater, either.
MartinHafer Hmmm...this is a hard film to review and perhaps the other reviewer who says this stands repeated viewings is correct, as with only one viewing I wasn't all that impressed. The biggest reason is that I had a certain expectation that was too great for even a very good film to match. Toshirô Mifune plays the "Yojimbo" (or, the Body Guard)--the same name given to his character in Akira Kurosawa's SANJURO and YOJIMBO--two of the greatest Japanese films I have ever seen. Supposedly he's the same guy in this film, but I just couldn't see that. While it was the same name and actor, it just didn't seem the same. The cleverness and comic style of this film character is gone--no finesse whatsoever. Instead of the smart and manipulative Yojimbo, Mifune instead plays a guy who mostly just stands back and watches thing happen all around him. He's just too passive and uninvolved to seem like the same guy at all.It's a shame, really, as the film also starred Shintaro Katsu (famous for his Zatoichi character) and the combination of the two exceptional actors could have been great. Instead, the film just seems to be on hold until the last half hour--with very little occurring up until then. And, when the action did occur, the number of twists and turns and odd loyalties made the whole thing a bit confusing...and very detached. I especially had a hard time understanding Mifune's actions and attitude towards the evil Katsu. Interestingly, another film that starred both actors and was not directed by Kurosawa (ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO) was also a disappointment (ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO--while not a bad film, it was actually not as good as the average film in this series--and once again, you expect so much with a film supposedly starring the Yojimbo. I guess the key to both of these films is that neither had anything to do with Kurosawa! Without the famed director, you just can't say it's the same.
Matt This film is sure to appeal to fans of its famous principle actors Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo), Katsu Shintaro (Zatoichi) and Yujiro Ishihara (Baby Cart series). The film was the last film in director Hiroshi Inagaki's long career. It will please the fans of the jidai geki (historical period drama) more than the those looking for chambara (sword fighting flick).The film is considered to be the last of four films featuring the 'yojimbo' (bodyguard) character or nameless samurai created for Mifune by Akira Kurosawa. The first two films, "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro", are classics of the genre and have much more ambitious goals than the film we are considering here. The third film, the weakest offering amongst the the four, was "Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo" directed by Kihatchi Okamoto in which Toshiro Mifune does not really play the same character we are considering here and is a film which fits more comfortably into the chambara category.This film feels much like an extension of the Japanese television 'period drama' of its day which I confess to being somewhat partial to. It is elevated by the star studded cast and their performances however it is limited by a tendency at times toward melodrama, the use of stock genre character types and what appears to be a hastily tacked on ending to provide resolution to one of the major narrative threads. It is the last element which is the most unsatisfactory and the film would probably have been better served without tying up this thread at all rather than handling it in a manner which makes it appear to be a cursory afterthought.Still the film does have much which will satisfy fans of the genre with good performances, an interesting if complex interplay of events and an examination of human behaviour when looking at individuals placed in a high pressure situation. I have heard the film compared to Archie Mayo's "The Petrified Forest" with Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart. This is an apt comparison from the standpoint of the situation which the characters find themselves in.For those solely interesting in the action elements: The film does have two interesting scenes of sword play, the first beautiful and brief, the second longer and exciting if somewhat less beautifully choreographed. It also features a ham handed fist fight near the beginning of the film which would make John Wayne appear a well schooled boxer by comparison.But really for those looking for a blood and guts samurai flick you would be much better served by picking up something like "Sword of Doom" or something from the Zatoichi series. This is a film for fans of genre, looking for a rather standard period drama elevated by good performances by Mifune and Katsu.
gkbazalo Mifune and Katsu made two movies together around 1970, this one and Zatoichi vs Yojimbo, an entry in the "blind swordsman" series. This one has significantly better direction (not surprising since Inagaki is one of the best) and production values and a more interesting ensemble of characters. For fans of the Zatoichi series, its fun seeing Katsu in such a different role. Mifune plays his usual laconic yojimbo character, however, a little more serious-minded than usual. The plot structure reminded me of Petrified Forest as a diverse group of characters assemble at the remote inn run by a miserly old man together with his romantically minded granddaughter. I like this film more each time I watch it due to the eccentric characters and their interactions. Although it's not an A list film on a par with many of Kurosawa, Kobayashi or even others by Inagaki (Samurai trilogy, Chushingura) its well done and fun. Definitely recommended for fans of Mifune and samurai movies.