Louis Proyect rec.arts.movies.reviews Sep 7, 2008

Second installment in Yamada's samurai trilogy. Once again the hero is unlike the super-warriors of the genre, but far more interesting.

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Kam Williams Upstage Magazine Jul 7, 2007 2/4

A character-driven, martial arts adventure more concerned with motivations than karate moves.

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David Noh Film Journal International Mar 1, 2007

Hidden Blade works, then, as that rare, intellectually stirring historical pageant, but also as a deeply emotional, satisfying samurai movie, one of the crown jewels of the genre.

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Don Willmott Filmcritic.com Sep 28, 2006 4/5

a totally immersive experience

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Jeff Shannon Seattle Times Jul 14, 2006 3/4

A tenacious survival tale in which passionate lovers are held apart by outmoded traditions. How they overcome obstacles to happiness is what makes the film so dramatically engaging.

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Wesley Morris Boston Globe Jul 14, 2006 3.5/4

Yamada's enormously enjoyable The Hidden Blade is a movie that deftly balances the obligations of samurai history with love story.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Jul 13, 2006 2.5/4

It's a pretty simple tale, but -- true to his Western influences -- Yamada slows down the action and stretches it out to a prize-winning length.

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Sean Axmaker Seattle Post-Intelligencer Jul 13, 2006 B+

... the restrained drama both punctures the mythic ideal of the samurai culture and spins a romantic portrait of one man who values principle over protocol...

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Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Jul 8, 2006 A-

This is a film buff's movie but also has strong appeal to those who just want to be told a darn good story.

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Ruthe Stein San Francisco Chronicle Jul 7, 2006 3/4

Reminders of feudal Japan are mixed in with a prescient glimpse into the country's future. The samurai will not be part of it, and The Hidden Blade poignantly shows what is lost in the name of progress.

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Laura Clifford Reeling Reviews Jul 3, 2006 A-

Yamada's film is old-fashioned in the very best sense. He is a great story teller and director of actors.

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Jeannette Catsoulis New York Times Jul 1, 2006 3/5

An affecting portrait of the impact of profound change on people with limited options.

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Eric Lurio Greenwich Village Gazette Jun 24, 2006 2.5/5

Good, but a bit of a snorer.

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Maitland McDonagh TV Guide Jun 23, 2006 3.5/4

Casually paced and filled with telling detail, Yamada's delicate drama with swordplay (there's not much, but what there is packs an emotional wallop) transcends its specific setting in its depiction of Katagiri's internal struggle.

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V.A. Musetto New York Post Jun 23, 2006 2.5/4

The Hidden Blade bears more than a passing resemblance in story and form to The Twilight Samurai, but stands on its own as a pleasant, if unremarkable, romance.

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Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News Jun 23, 2006 3/4

Both epic and intimate, this impassioned samurai drama is for anyone who's ever watched a movie and muttered, 'They just don't make 'em like they used to.'

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Edward Douglas ComingSoon.net Jun 23, 2006 10/10

Yoji Yamada redefines the words 'cinematic perfection' with a film that looks and feels like a true classic.

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Devin Faraci CHUD Jun 22, 2006 8.5/10

[R]eminded me of one of [John] Ford's more elegiac Westerns

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Noel Murray AV Club Jun 22, 2006 B

While Yamada essentially repeats himself structurally, he finds fresh ironies in the story of how a culture built on tradition gets corrupted by technology and years of inaction.

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