The Fall of Ako Castle (1978): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1978, The Fall of Ako Castle is an action and drama film directed by Kinji Fukasaku, running about 159 minutes.

What it’s about. This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into drawing his sword inside the Shogun's palace -- a crime which carried the death penalty. The newly installed Shogun was furious at Asano and ordered all his clan's assets seized, meaning some 20,000 samurai and commoners were unemployed and landless at a stroke. Forty-seven of these ronin (masterless samurai) banded together to take attempt revenge on Lord Kira, who had goaded Asano into drawing his sword.

Who’s in it. The Fall of Ako Castle stars Sonny Chiba as Fuwa Kazuemon, Kinnosuke Nakamura as Oishi Kuranosuke, Masaomi Kondo as Hashimoto Heizaemon and Toshirō Mifune as Tsuchiya Michinao, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.8/10, The Fall of Ako Castle has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Shout! Factory Amazon Channel and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Fall of Ako Castle page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Fall of Ako Castle 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.