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  Average Rating for Azumi [2003] - 4 out of 5

  
  (based on 1 user reviews)
• Azumi [2003]

  Chris Morse 24 November 2005

  

  If your interested in this film make sure you get the right version, as there are 2. I went for the uncut version that clocks in at 142mins, the other version is 120mins.
  Also, I must mention the sound. This is one of those rare films that actually makes use of a 5.1 soundtrack, and it even has an excellent Dolby Digital trailer at the start with droplets of water coming from all around you....to be replaced with arrows and sword weilding warriors once the film is underway.
  The story without giving too much away is this:
  Gessai, a highly skilled warrior and the only survivor of a huge battle between warring clans is comissioned by a priest to do what he can to prevent another war like the one he has just survived, they talk over the body of Gessai's dead son.
  The priest's idea is simple. Gessai is to take and train assasins to kill off all those who would oppose the victorious warlords reign.
  Gessai walks the land picking up 10 waifs and strays, of which the young Azumi is one. He then trains them up in the mountains to the point where there skills surpass those of normal warriors.
  They are then comissioned as assasins to complete the mission of killing 3 rival warlords.
  That's all I'm telling you, though some of the DVD sites will give you more information that I think could easily spoil some of the more shocking moments of this film.
  Clocking in at 2 and a half hours, this is one of those films that you could have watched for another hour or so. I enjoyed the pace so much. There are moments of laughter and friendship, but these never detract from the mission that the young warriors have to complete.
  As for the fight scenes, this is no "Dances With Samurai", sorry, I mean "The Last Samurai" :), this is more in keeping with films like Zatoichi and to me Fist Of The North Star and Ninja Scroll, mainly due to some of the baddies that they have to deal with, 1 in particular who has a real Anime look to him, dressed in white holding a red rose.
  There are bucketfulls of blood thrown everywhere, but it's more in the style of John Woo than a realistic view.
  There is never any doubt as to the outcome of the film, but with Ninja's a plenty and battle scenes where 1 or 2 take on a whole town the ride is nothing but spectacular.
  A superb film that is worthy of top marks.

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play.  Cult director Ryuhei Kitamura directs this computer-graphic enhanced big-screen adaptation of Yu Koyama's samurai manga. Aya Ueto stars as Azumi, a beautiful young femme fatale who, along with nine other orphans, has been trained as an assassin by martial arts master Gessai (Yoshio Harada). To test the fearlessness of his trainees, Gessai orders them to pair off and fight until death - a mission that provokes Azumi to start questioning her role. But, caught in Gessai's lethal trap, and under orders to kill the evil warlords that are tearing the country apart, she must forge ahead despite the immorality and bloodshed.