I happened across this on an obscure TV station one afternoon while I was reading James Clavell’s Shogun. Fate. I watched feverishly, loved it, and was left not knowing the title of the movie. I managed to track it down via the web. This is by far one of the greatest samurai movies out there. Beautifully shot, stunning black and white, amazingly slow build to some really intense/short sword fighting. This movies says a lot about the beautifully flawed feudal system of ancient Japan.