Shadow Hunters (1972): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1972, Shadow Hunters is an action, crime and adventure film directed by Toshio Masuda, running about 90 minutes. “Sudden Death Comes in Threes!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Set during the declining years of the Tokugawa shogunate, Shadow Hunters details the questionably noble exploits of three ronin who act as "Shadow Hunters". These three ronin are not your normal ornery ruffians who are looking for a drink, a broad and someone to jab a sword into, but are in fact former samurai who, rather than follow their destroyed fiefs and murdered masters into death via seppuku, have dedicated their combined sword prowess to stopping the government from raping its daimyos for valuable resources.

Who’s in it. Shadow Hunters stars Yūjirō Ishihara as Muroto Jubei, Ruriko Asaoka as Chitose, Ryôhei Uchida as Sunlight and Mikio Narita as Moonlight, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.0/10, Shadow Hunters has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

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

If you liked it. Fans of Shadow Hunters 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.