The Hidden Blade
  • Studio: Tartan
  • Release Date: Jun 23, 2006
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Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.5 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 4 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu
  • Summary: Munezo Katagiri (Nagase), an honest and low ranking samurai is trapped in a state of personal and professional imbalance. Secretly in love with his family’s maid, Kie (Tabata), Munezo begins an uneasy courtship with her, knowing that a relationship is impossible. Raised to respect traditionsns from the past and the demanding moral code of the samurai, circumstances have now forced Munezo to look to the future. Required to master western military strategies, particularly the art of artillery, Munezo is ordered to find and kill Yaichiro, a former friend, samurai, and brilliant swordsman. Munezo knows that he cannot beat Yaichiro with fire power alone, so he enlists the help of his old teacher, Kansai Toda, a master swordsman who entrusts Munezo with the secret and power of The Hidden Blade. (Tartan Films)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    88
    Casually paced and filled with telling detail, Yamada's delicate drama with swordplay (there's not much, but what there is packs an emotional wallop) transcends its specific setting in its depiction of Katagiri's internal struggle.
  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    80
    Yamada's decidedly undazzling yet expressive filmmaking approaches classicism, from a sensei training session captured in one lengthy shot to the final showdown, seen with shifting points of view that suggest a relativist unease with the cut-and-dried judgments of war culture.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Ruthe Stein
    75
    Deeply affecting, "Blade'' portrays an oddly elegant way of life that will soon be like the era in that other movie, "Gone With the Wind."
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    75
    Both epic and intimate, this impassioned samurai drama is for anyone who's ever watched a movie and muttered, "They just don't make 'em like they used to."

See all 11 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Ashogo
    9
    The movie moves at a slow pace and allows the viewer to get to know the characters more intimately. The Scenery in this Movie is amazing! The setting and atmosphere of the time period is also conveyed really nicely, and that's my favorite thing about it. The story is not action-packed, but in my opinion that's what gives the movie it's feel. And a movie dosent have to have chase scenes and battles every 15 minutes to be interesting.… Expand
  2. MartinD.
    9
    Highly engrossing and sympathetic characters and story.
  3. MarcK.
    8
    Very entertaining, as well as a surprisingly sweet love story.

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