Kinji Fukasaku was a committed film maker, and was awarded several times with for his dedication to making films. The quality of his films, however, vary from shallow to important social statements. It’s unfortunate then that Crest of Betrayal falls in the the former category.

If you understand the tale of the 47 Ronin, then this will feel immediately familiar. It is an interpretation of that very tale, but Fukasaku takes us up to the point of Asano’s death and then takes a trip down Schlock Lane, just near Generic Avenue and Pretty Poor Road. Knowing the tale, and comparing to films that have very much interpreted well enough already. I think this is more a fan’s dream of recreating his version of one of his favourite tale, as it really offers little to the viewer in terms of any new insight, or anything that is comprehensible as a film.

The story of Lord Asano is pretty much skipped, but the tale, in short is that Asano was a noble and good natured Lord. Uncorrupted, unlike his Government, he never offered bribes, nor took them regardless of the person in charge who offered it to him. However, a member of the government, in his greed to reach the top wanted everyone to be loyal to him and thus bribed and wanted to be bribed in return. He sets up Asano, knowing that if he was to attack someone higher up in ranks, it would entertain certain death.

So, provoked after years of bullying, Asano attacks the Lord and is sentenced to death. He leaves behind him his ronin (masterless samurai) led by his subordinate who vows to take revenge on the Lord for the dishonour he has brought upon the clan and his own master. The tale itself, is incredibly moving, deep and has many relevant factors to today and as well as the past. All of this, however, is negated for scenes of sex, and a contrived story about one man’s ego; a fictional ronin called Iemon Tamiya, brought into to stir up the party. At the same time Fukasaku tries to interweave the original tale, but it is very much a mishandled, inappropriate mess of the one of the oldest tales of Japanese history.

There’s little to recommend this film as not much of it makes sense, and it pretty much focuses on action, sex and a poor plot

I like the fact that Fukasaku tried something different, and attempted to give a different interpretation of a well known story. However, it’s just badly directed, poorly scripted and the acting leaves a lot to be desired. It’s this obsession with creating yet another moralistically corrupt monster, who has his conflict about duty and that of outright revenge. He himself is not to incensed about the death of Asano, but more about the death his own father suffered due to the tyranny and abuse of those that are impoverished and lacking wealth; sidelined by the government to die. It doesn’t fit in with the story.

Direction takes a diabolical turn when Fukasaku introduces elements of the supernatural and magic into the fray. Partly methaphorical in their appearance, they also interfere with the story, and the battles between the samurai, taking away from any enjoyable action that could have developed. The action itself is animated with exaggeration, with characters dancing in the air when hit with a sword. It’s more than cumbersome, and echoes to the action sequences that he directed in his earlir films, such as The Yagyu Conspiracy and Samurai Ressurrection. It’s 80s direction in the mid 90s, and more than disappointing.

There’s little to recommend this film as not much of it makes sense, and it pretty much focuses on action, sex and a poor plot than a character driven epic. If you take any of the earlier examples of the story of the 47 ronin, you will find a much more satsifying and rewarding experience. As it is, this should remain on the shelf to collect dust – it would be an improvement over what it is now.

Verdict: A childish and inept vision of the tale of the 47 ronin. Poor.