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Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, Samurai Banners leans on a strong ensemble — Toshirō Mifune, Yoshiko Sakuma, Kinnosuke Nakamura — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about action titles of 1969.
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The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
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