The Princess Sen (1954)
During the Warring States era of early 17th century Japan, teenage princess Sen is besieged with other members of her family in Osaka Castle, by a rival force led by her grandfather.
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Highly Overrated But Still Good
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
This historical romance includes gorgeous period costumes (the women wear hip-length braided hair over their multi-layered brocade gowns), samurai swordplay, a sequence in which real ninja scale the walls of Osaka Castle, and a tragic love story. Machiko Kyo is utterly beautiful as Princess Senhime, a real historical person who was tragically caught up in one of the many dynastic wars that make up Japanese history. Even if you can't find a version with English subtitles, the film is worth watching for the photography alone, and the melodramatic acting typical of Japanese films about this period make it easy to follow the plot. When I visited the castle after seeing the film, we discovered that it boasts an Otis elevator; a Japanese high school boy who was with us observed that it would have made the film's graphic external assault on the castle unnecessary.