Japan Synopsis
赤穂城断絶
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.
Other Titles From Toei Company
Action + Drama in Japan
444 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Action and Drama genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding The Fall of Ako Castle itself).
The 1977–1979 Japan Window
The Fall of Ako Castle holds position #24 of 52 Japan films in the 1977–1979 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 1970s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1970s in Japan, 197 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when The Fall of Ako Castle premiered alongside 19 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 19 other Japan films in 1978.
The 503rd Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
17 audience reviews — more than 30% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 30th percentile among Japan films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #2,631 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (43rd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #1,040 of 1,714 (top 61%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Toei Company |
| Runtime | 2h 39m |
| Release Date | October 28, 1978 |
| IMDb | tt0077135 |