The Samurai and the Prisoner

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The Samurai and the Prisoner

Jul 2026

2h 27m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Crime

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97%

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89 Reviews

81%

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50+ Ratings

When Lord Murashige Araki (Masahiro Motoki) rises up against the tyrannical Nobunaga Oda (Bando Shingo), 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 Kuroda (Masaki Suda), a brilliant yet dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon. Helped by his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.

Critics Consensus

Orchestrated with an intelligence as sharp as a katana's edge, The Samurai and the Prisoner is an elegant mystery that offers further proof of director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's mastery in any genre.

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Valerie Complex

The Nerds of Color

Aug 19, 2026

Kurosawa may have made a Samurai murder mystery, but beneath the armor and political intrigue is a warning about what happens when war convinces people that dying honorably matters more than living at all.

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Aug 12, 2026

3.5/4

Kurosawa de-emphasizes battle sequences to concentrate more on substantial conversations about honor, compassion, redemption and strategy, infusing it with a more heady and philosophical bent than the norm, a welcome quality...

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Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

Aug 6, 2026

3.5/5

At the heart of The Samurai and the Prisoner is a deeply moving performance from Motoki (Departures) as a man who cannot deny his fate, even as he puts up a facade that only crumbles around Kanbei.

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Ali Safaverdi

Exclaim!

Sep 17, 2026

8/10

The focus of this movie is not the action or the act of warfare itself. Rather, the film prioritizes the philosophy of warfare and what drives and motivates treachery, loyalty and honour.

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Stephen A. Russell

Orion's Shoulder (Substack)

Sep 7, 2026

With stunning production design, costumes, score, cinematography and more, this is grown-up cinema at its most scintillating.

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Chuck Bowen

Style Weekly (Richmond, VA)

Sep 4, 2026

The ornate and twisting plot, adapted by Kurosawa from a novel by Honobu Yonezawa, eats this movie alive.

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Miguel

Aug 27, 2026

Modern old school basically

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MS

Aug 26, 2026

Great cinematography and good story!

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Kurosawa Kubrick

Aug 20, 2026

AN AMAZINGLY well done film with a great story that was shot very well all the way through ...

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Justin

Aug 17, 2026

Multi layered samurai mystery with a mystic! Preferable in the theater than at home streaming due to the detail.

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lerobinson

Aug 14, 2026

Don’t go thinking your going to see a lot of sword dueling or samurai fighting. It’s an introspective, intrigue filled movie with a big take home message. In the end, it comes together but feels disjointed (at least for non Japanese viewers) the first 75% of the movie.

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Oliver B

Aug 12, 2026

Gripping whodunnit/mystery.

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Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Director

Masahiro Motoki

Murashige Araki

Masaki Suda

Kambee Kuroda

Yuriko Yoshitaka

Chiyoho

Munetaka Aoki

Kyuzaemon Araki

Shingo Bando

Nobunaga Oda

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Synopsis

When Lord Murashige Araki (Masahiro Motoki) rises up against the tyrannical Nobunaga Oda (Bando Shingo), 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 Kuroda (Masaki Suda), a brilliant yet dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon. Helped by his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Producer: Satoko Ishida
Screenwriter: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Distributor: Janus Films
Production Co: Shochiku, Tokyo Broadcasting System
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Crime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 31, 2026, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $826.7K
Runtime: 2h 27m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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