Samurai Banners (1969): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1969, Samurai Banners is an action, war and history film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, running about 165 minutes.

What it’s about. Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?

Who’s in it. Samurai Banners stars Toshirō Mifune as Kansuke Yamamoto, Yoshiko Sakuma as Princess Yufu, Kinnosuke Nakamura as Shingen Takeda and Yūjirō Ishihara as Kenshin Uesugi, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.5/10, Samurai Banners has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Samurai Banners page.

If you liked it. Fans of Samurai Banners tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.