Cinema
Chushingura: The True Story
忠魂義烈 実録忠臣蔵
Shōzō Makino · 1928
Synopsis
According to the Trinity College collection, the film tells the story of the forty-seven rōnin who avenge their lord, forced to take his own life, and Kotobank lists it among the adaptations of this legend. The story runs as follows: in 1701, at Edo Castle, the lord of Akō wounds in a corridor the high official who had been humiliating him; condemned to disembowel himself, he loses his domain, and his vassals become masterless men. Their steward surrenders the castle without a fight and leads a dissolute life to deceive the enemy.
Context
The film was released on 14 March 1928, according to Silent Era, from a screenplay by Yamagami Itarō and Saijō Shōtarō. Makino considered it the work of his life, according to Kotobank: a fire damaged the finished film, and the surviving parts were screened and were praised; he then withdrew from the front line. The restored version runs sixty-four minutes (eighty-two according to a 2026 seminar programme) and is shown with a narrator.
Who it is for
A silent film of between one hour and one hour twenty depending on the version, best seen with a live narrator. No release in France.
Prizes and reception
Acclaimed on its release despite the fire, according to Kotobank, it was restored and then issued on DVD with the accompaniment of a narrator.
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