あらすじ

天正十八年。
織田信長亡き後、天下統一は豊臣秀吉によってなされようとしていた。 しかしそれに抗う一人の男が関東に存在した。それは、漆黒の髑髏城に潜む武装集団≪関東髑髏党≫を束ね、自らを"天魔王" (森山未來)と名乗る、かつて信長に仕えた男であった。血を流すことを厭わず、もはや狂人と化した天魔王率いる関東髑髏党に追われていた女を行きがかりから助けた捨之介 (小栗旬) は、女を匿ってくれるという色里で無界屋蘭兵衛 (早乙女太一) に出会う。奇妙な縁に操られ、関東に集まり始める者たち。捨之助と蘭兵衛が共に抱える過去、そして天魔王とのつながりが明らかになる時、天魔王の悪しき野望も明らかになろうとしていた。全てを覚悟した捨之介は天魔王を止めるため、たった七人で二万の兵で囲われた髑髏城を攻め落とすことを決意するのだった。

Distributed by Ytinifni Pictures / © 2013 Village Inc.

Sunday, March 23 @ 4:00 pm

Dokuro Jo No Shichinin (179 min) (2013)
髑髏城の七人
Seven Souls in the Skull Castle

East Coast Premiere, with special guest Takanobu Kanazawa, the film's producer

Shown in Japanese, with English sub-titles

Cast: Shun Oguri, Mirai Moriyama, Taichi Saotome
Director: Hidenori Inoue

http://sevensouls.splashthat.com (English)

STORY

The year is 1590, the 18th year of the Tensho era. After the demise of warlord ODA NOBUNAGA, Japan is about to be unified by TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI. However, one man in the Kanto region defies unification. That man calls himself TENMAOH (Mirai MORIYAMA) and leads the KANTO DOKURO-TO (Skull Clan), an armed group hiding in the pitch-black DOKURO-JO (Skull Castle), though he once worked for NOBUNAGA. SUTENOSUKE (Shun OGURI) happens to rescue SAGIRI, a woman who has been chased by the KANTO DOKURO-TO and their bloodthirsty leader, madman TENMAOH. To hide and shelter the woman, SUTENOSUKE meets MUKAIYA RANBE (Taichi SAOTOME) at a brothel district. Manipulated by magical fate, people congregate in the Kanto region. When the shared past between SUTENOSUKE and RANBE, and their relation to TENMAOH, come to light, the dark ambition of TENMAOH is revealed. Without regrets, SUTENOSUKE and his seven souls head for DOKURO-JO, though it is surrounded by 20,000 soldiers, to destroy it and stop TENMAOH's dark ambition.

Selection Committee Comments

“Of all the films we screened, this was our highest-ranked film -- and our unanimous choice to open the festival.”

“It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen in America. Japan has done it again! The producer calls it ‘geki x cine,’ or ‘“theatre ‘times’ cinema.’ It’s a multiplier effect that creates a whole new genre of film-making and takes both movies and live theater to new levels of possibility.”

“Spectacular. Breathtaking. It will blow your mind!”

“Incredible. They had 18 cameras in the theatre filming simultaneously, and they edited everything perfectly. You see the sweat on the actors’ faces. You hear them panting after the incredibly choreographed sword-fighting scenes, which are filmed in one take. You feel closer to the actors than you ever would in a theater, and it also makes it more alive and real than any movie you have ever seen.”

“It’s part Star Wars, part Seven Samurai, part Kabuki, part anime, part Taiga drama. It’s a great story where you cheer for the underdog – Americans will love it!”

“Toshiro Mifune’s ‘devil may care’ Yojimbo has been reborn as Shun Oguri’s Sutenosuke! Welcome to the 21st century!”

“This will appeal to theatre goers as well as film buffs alike. The sound effects, the lighting, the music, the editing, the story, the energy of the young actors. It’s all amazing. “

“I have watched this three times already, and I can’t get enough!!”