Azumi [DVD]

This 2003 fantasy adventure drama is set in the aftermath of the historical battle of Sekigahara [1600CE] when  master Jiji discovers the child Azumi and brings her up as an assassin along with 9 others to carry out a special mission. But having reached maturity, the assassins still have no idea of what the mission actually is and as they set off they soon learn things are not what they thought.This is a live action version of the Manga Tv series, and the special effects and atmosphere reflect this remarkably well. The surround sound works well in the battle scenes while the special effects are far better than I had expected. Although there is little real plot here, the story is gripping while the numerous set piece fights help keep it all moving along quickly and if you can get past the action sequences, there are some moralistic dilemmas that Azumi -and the others, have to confront.The single disc offers play, scenes, extras [making of, battle on the wildside, trailers & Tv spots] and optimum asia [a very short compilation trailer for other films]. Rated 18 on the adventure style martial arts violence, this has no nudity, although there are some inexplicit attempted rape scenes and some mild cussing, but the film is more a grown up version of 80s series such as ‘Monkey’ and ‘The Water Margin’. Don’t treat this as a ‘Flying Daggers’ or ‘Crouching Tiger’ and you may just like this if you want good and gory fight scenes, but above all it questions what's good and right.

I've only recently found an interest in Eastern action films. Keep in mind that this review is written by someone who might have missed out on some of the "finer points" appreciated by those with a greater knowledge of the genre.I thought that the film lacked a little of the detail of both Zatoichi and House of Flying Daggers. The fight scenes aren't quite as intricate or well choreographed. The camera work is often used to mask this slight lack of detail, in certain scenes the crucial action is cut to avoid direct footage of the characters (picture a sword being drawn to an adversary then a cut to the sword being put away with the adversary lying injured on the ground).This slight lack of detail was most apparent in the first half of the movie. The plot was a little slow to start and lacked a little drama (though there's enough interest to keep a person ticking over in the knowledge that the film will improve during the second half).As the plot evolves however, the film picks up speed. Perhaps the budget for the film was a little restricted and the production crew decided to spend most of it on some ideas that they had on which the end of the film is based? The final few dramatic scenes are well worth watching and justify the reasonable asking price. The night time fight close to the end of the film is stylistically brilliant.All in all, I think that the plot suffers a little from the slow start and lacks a little consistancy. It doesn't contain the same tensioned feel of either of the other two movies that I mentioned. So for the time being I'll stick with Zatoichi as my favourite but to anyone who's a fan or is keen to further investigate this inspiring genre, it's worth the humble price tag and will provide a relatively interesting evenings viewing.The fantastic final few scenes pull the film back together.

While this obviously isn't in the same class as the Samurai masterpieces of the 40's & 50's golden era, this is still an enjoyable action film & the tone/style reminded me a bit of the Lone Wolf & Cub type films. While it can be a bit cheesy/goofy in places it's obvious from the 'making of' documentary included on the disc that this was a labour of love for both cast and crew to make - Aya Ueto, as the title character, especially gives her all in a defining role and really shines on screen, one minute she can be cute & innocent, joking around with her friends and in the next cutting down foes like a true Samurai/Assassin. If you're looking for an undemanding Samurai film with balls to the walls action you'll probably enjoy this film a lot.

Was what I was thinking for the first half an hour or so of this movie- so far,so generic - seen all this before, and better done.And then ..things started to get a bit Tarantino-esque, and rather more interesting. Many Japanese films can be a bit po-faced, with the notable exception of Takeshi Kitano perhaps, and in the middle of all the usual 'dedication to duty, years of training, knights of bushido' blah blah, suddenly the three ninjas, fearing nothing on earth except their mother, and looking like medieaval refugees from Motley Crue showed up... and then the goth vamp swordsman with the red eyeshadow and the rose...and a few other odd touches that make it all quite endearing. All of which is amusing enough, as long as you don't take it or the whole genre too seriously. So not a classic, but passes the time OK

I'm normally a Kurasawa fan and am very selective in the asian films I buy for my collection. I saw this and thought I would give it a try based on previous reviews. I found it totally enthralling and definitely a 5 star buy. The production and cinematics are beautiful. Cut and slash, can be a bit monotonous but on not this film. Everything is just so well put together. Azumi is just a great film and I love it. Lara Croft eat your heart out! My only gripe is that the audio is in Dolby Prologic only, which is a shame.

Lots of good ideas here and some quite impressive fight scenes. Acting is good. However, at the end of the movie I was left feeling that it hadn't quite managed to achieve what it had set out to do - which is to bring a comic book story to life. On the plus side (as another reveiwer has noted) the girl who plays Azumi is gorgeous.

KonnichiwaIf you follow Japanese history and in particular the Sanada family in medieval Japanyou will enjoy this, If you follow manga - I guess you will probably like it too.Fair action, but if your a MA practitioner - forget it.Sayonara

This film has lots of action and is good fun. The sets and costumes are good and it kept me glued to the screen. It is better than Azumi 2 which I can't even remember.