The Trail of Blood
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65% Critic Match

The Trail of Blood

6.5 / 10 1972 1h 27mNR Japanese
Action

Storyline

Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved his wife find the family and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge. To parry his terrible swift sword, rival gangs join forces, hiring a prostitute to pose as a woman needing help and breaking the code of honor to double cross the drifter. He finds unlikely allies: a thief who aids him for fun and a one-eyed swordsman who may be Jokichi's equal in skill and honor.

Cast & Crew

Yoshio Harada

Yoshio Harada

Jokichi

Lead
KN

Katsuo Nakamura

Toru Minegishi

Toru Minegishi

Etsuko Ichihara

Etsuko Ichihara

Kōji Nanbara

Kōji Nanbara

Kayo Matsuo

Kayo Matsuo

Sanae Kitabayashi

Sanae Kitabayashi

MM

Maki Mizuhara

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Kazuo Ikehiro's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
3.0
Every frame feels alive. The Trail of Blood is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker