13 Assassins (1963): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1963, 13 Assassins is an action and adventure film directed by Eiichi Kudo, running about 125 minutes. “A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.

Who’s in it. 13 Assassins stars Chiezō Kataoka as Shinzaemon Shimada, Kotaro Satomi as Shinrokuro Shimada, Kō Nishimura as Kujuro Hirayama and Ryôhei Uchida as Hanbei Onigashira, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.4/10, 13 Assassins has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store and Google Play Movies. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch 13 Assassins page.

If you liked it. Fans of 13 Assassins 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.