On July 31, 2026, Janus Films will bring Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s (Before We Vanish) latest feature, The Samurai and the Prisoner, to U.S. theaters. This period samurai noir thriller stars Masahiro Motoki (Gemini), Masaki Suda (We Made a Beautiful Bouquet), Yuriko Yoshitaka (Gantz) and Munetaka Aoki (Rurouni Kenshin).
When Lord Murashige Araki rises up against the tyrannical Nobunaga Oda, he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With Oda’s army closing in and a traitor hiding among his ranks, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kanbei Kuroda, a brilliant yet dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon. Helped by his wife Chiyoho and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.
🔥 Footnote: Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira Kurosawa) is one of Japan’s most interesting modern directors. Before becoming known for J-Horror classics like Cure and Pulse, he worked in pink films (Japanese adult cinema) and V-Cinema (straight-to-video Japanese titles), slowly developing his unique style. What makes Kurosawa stand out is how he can turn normal places like apartments, offices, and quiet city streets into something deeply unsettling. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with the samurai genre!
Watch the Trailer below:
