Grand samurai drama based upon one of the main advisers to famous Daimyo Lord Takeda
Samurai Banners features Toshiro Mifune as an adviser to the famous Japanese Daimyo (warlord) Takeda Shingen in an epic historical drama. Before the rise of the Shogunate run by the Tokugawa clan, Lord Takeda was one of the most powerful military figures in central Japan. The film was made by Mifune’s own production company.<br /><br />The movie begins with Mifune as a lowly ronin (masterless samurai) Yamamoto Kansuke, but one with a keen strategic mind. The film traces his rise from his poor beginning to a key vassal to Lord Takeda. Yamamoto’s ruthlessness to attain power and position is shown right at the beginning as he cuts down his own friend to gain an opening with the Takedas. Then his intellect is shown when he becomes an adviser to Takeda. His first act is to propose an invasion of neighboring Suwa, then call it off to carry out negotiations with its lord, which is just a plot to lure him into Takeda’s territory to kill him. Into this mix they decided to throw a love triangle as Yamamoto and Lord Takeda both want the same woman, Princess Yu.<br /><br />The movie is a beautiful period piece with a large budget. That’s shown with all the extras they hired to play Takeda’s army. Unfortunately they only seemed to have enough money for two set battles, the Battle of Uedahara, that featured Itagaki Nobukata’s famous red armored troops, and the Battle of Kawanakajima. The later is one of the most famous confrontations in ancient Japan between Takeda and Lord Uesugi and has one of its most epic scenes when Uesugi personally broke through the Takeda's defenses and attacked Takeda himself who fought off several attacks by Uesugi with his war fan. The actor playing Uesugi has an amazing facial expression during this incident that gives it added drama. All the soldiers running around with the flags attached to their backs is where the title of the film comes from.<br /><br />For grand samurai dramas you couldn’t do better than Samurai Banners.<br />C
The movie title "Samurai Banners [DVD]," available on Movies & TV, has received an average rating of 3.9 from 50 reviewers. 
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The additional details include the following in key-value format :
 {"Brand": "E1 ENTERTAINMENT", "Special Feature": "Foldable", "Product Care Instructions": "Hand Wash Only", "Aspect Ratio": "2.35:1", "Is Discontinued By Manufacturer": "No", "MPAA rating": "Unrated (Not Rated)", "Package Dimensions": "7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 Ounces", "Director": "Hiroshi Inagaki", "Media Format": "Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC", "Run time": "2 hours and 45 minutes", "Release date": "July 12, 2005", "Actors": "Toshir Mifune, Yoshiko Sakuma, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Yjir Ishihara, Katsuo Nakamura", "Subtitles": "English", "Language": "Unqualified (DTS ES 6.1)", "Studio": "ANIMEIGO", "Writers": "Shinobu Hashimoto, Takeo Kunihiro, Yasushi Inoue", "Number of discs": "1"}

Here is a brief synopsis of the title : The landmark film that ushered in Japan's "golden age" of filmmaking!.