The 47 Ronin

The 47 Ronin (original title Genroku Chūshingura), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, was commissioned by Japan's wartime military government to Shochiku Studios, meant to use the story's themes of loyalty and sacrifice as a wartime morale booster. Mizoguchi, despite being an advocate of equality and democracy, accepted the assignment, but drew on a more intellectual play by Mayama Seika rather than the popular version, giving the material an aesthetic rather than directly propagandistic treatment. Released in two parts, the first on December 1, 1941, and the second on February 11, 1942, the first part's release unfortunately fell just a week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the film was a commercial failure, found too solemn by both military and civilian audiences. The film went unshown internationally for decades, only reaching US audiences in the 1970s. Who it's for: anyone curious about a classic Japanese story adaptation, commissioned as wartime propaganda, where the director chose an aesthetic approach over a directly agitational one. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a short, fast paced film, since this runs over three and a half hours across its two parts.