Heaven and Earth (1990) | Samurai Film Review 

Unfortunately the free version of this film here on RU-vid has been since blocked.

I was an extra in this movie! The battle scenes were filmed near my home of Calgary Alberta Canada 🇨🇦. I was in high school when it was shot and a call for extras went out to high schools so I applied and that summer between doing courses with the army reserves, I was a Takeda pikeman and Uesugi musketeer, I was on the log raft . All of those were army reservists, as we had firearms training and producers wanted kids with martial arts, horse and or military experience (cadets or in my case army reserves) most of the extras were given mempo because we were whiteys! Calgary was chosen because we have a rich horse culture here as we are Ranch and farm country and have a lot of people who ride horses as well as Alberta having a robust film industry and having a history of big films being produced here, mainly westerns. I was also in Legends of the Fall as my army unit got called out for the WW1 scenes. A lot of the cavalry came from the RCMP Musical Ride and the Lord Strathconas Horse regiments mounted troop who are skilled at doing coordinated riding in complex patterns. It was hot dusty gruelling work but fun and I can say I was in two cool movies!

I was in this movie, I played a samurai with mempo (I am Caucasian). I also put together some fights for some of the extras. It was filmed just outside of Calgary. Fun times.

Mostly disliked the film, but there was this duel between Kenshin and Usami and I think it's just one of the best movie fights ever made.

I completely agree with you. I found this movie when I searching movies about Kenshin and Shingen. It is an okay movie, some parts are boring but battle scenes are astonishing. Another movie "Kagemusha" is the real beast, I adore it too much.

THis is my favourite sengoku jidai film tysm for doing this video!

I definitely agree with your criticisms of the plot and believe that it could have been executed somewhat better. However, there is one important element of the plot which I don't think you covered very much which may have served as a sort of explanation for the decisions of the director. The name "Heaven and Earth" does not only reference the clash between Kenshin and Shingen, but also Kenshin's own larger story arch and a much larger overall theme that is seen throughout the film. Throughout the film, Kenshin, this extremely religious man, is constantly struggling with the reality that being a warlord requires him to do commit acts that he considers ungodly and horrible. In the film, Kenshin abandons his clan and attempts to become a monk after the siege of Shoda castle, where his generals forced him to slaughter a mother and child to punish his enemy. The love interest serves as another form of conflict between heaven and earth, as his religious vow is challenged by his own emotions and human instinct. We continue to see Kenshin's struggle between Heaven and Earth throughout the film, from him challenging his rebelling retainer in a fair duel rather than crushing his army outright, to brutally shooting Lady Yae when she challenges him. At the end of the film, the 4th Battle of Kawanakajima serves as a sort of ending balance between Heaven's purity and Earth's dirtiness. While both warriors still engage in conflict and shed blood, they gain a certain sense of respect for each other and deal with each other honorably, such as when Shingen allows Kenshin's men to go through the Takeda formation and escape at the end of the film (which I don't believe is historically accurate at all). To conclude, the title of the film has a lot of meaning for the plot. This should be seen less as a film recounting the conflict between Shingen and Kenshin and more a statement regarding the conflict between the idealness of Heaven and the impurity of Earth.

This is one of my favorite Samurai film - thank you so much for your review. I wish there was an extended cut available on DVD or Blu-Ray!

Saw this on Cable TV back in the 90s. I loved it, especially the massive Samurai armies.

This was always a sleeper type movie. You saw it, you enjoyed it, then forgot about it.

I purchased this movie on DVD around 2008 and have watched it several times since. The visuals are what have stuck with, truly stunning for the time in which it was produced. There was a scene with Kenshin standing on a mountain top surrounded by cherry blossom trees that they simply could not have shot any better.

I'm about to watch this movie because of you!

Caught this film late at night on TNT waaay back in the day. Really impressive.

This movie has a special place in my heart. My best friend when we're kids scored a vhs copy at Suncoast video at the mall. We were excited because he recognized the characters. From there we were hooked on old samurai movies.

This is one of my favourite samurai films! I don't mind the narration and I really love the music (Tetsuya Komuro was big in those days).

Love the scenery, so many Beautiful Nature shots.

I watched the movie in a theater with my father when I was an elementary school student. I loved to watch Japanese historical dramas/movies in my childhood.

I have loose memories of this film, but thanks to your video I remmenbered most of them. Thanks!

Would of been better if it was like a Netflix series because the battle and action scenes were really good for their times (also love the yari and spear walls for realism and not a bunch of katana clash). However making it a series would of been impossible when it was being made

6:28 I really like that they show us uesugi kenshins nambando here, because it was his real armor he actually wore. It looks eaxcatky the same. You can even look the picture up on wikipedia.

Which version of this movie did you reviewed? There are at least three different versions available: international release (abridged version; 104 minutes), japanese movie theater (full version 118 minutes) and japanese director cut (full version with extras; 156 minutes). Mostly the international version was available outside of Japan - even on RU-vid.

I love this film ! I love the epic battle scenes and the largest amount of cavalry for its time.

You have to see it as Uesugi Kenshin Gundam .VS. Takeda Jaku. THhen you'll notice what was the director realy want to say.

my favorite sengoku jidai movie

Great review, although I have other thoughts on this movie. It's true that most samurai movies stick to a shorter and more focused plot, but the bio/ storytelling aspect of this movie is very interesting to people such as myself because life is long and ever changing and it doesn't make sense to define a character through a single event. You get the opportunity to see where he came from, what struggles he goes through to get to the end. The romance in this film is not common among other samurai movies and I think that is one of its charm. It happens at key moments in his life too: when he learned of Shingen's advance, and right after he killed her father, his mentor. It doesn't feel like an afterthought, unlike the jester in RAN.

great review. and great channel

Well. I have to say a few things. Hope you don't take it wrong. The movie has a lot of wrongs. Starting with Kenshin's name. Most of that time he already took the name of "Kenshin", hell, could be on the start of the movie with the vow to Bishamonten. Which they even used a Indian statue for godssake! But the plot... Well, movies aren't made for us, who knows about history. It's made for a general public that won't even research it. We are a small percentage. This one was more accurate (without stupid fight scenes most have. With a very accurate battlefield set) because it is Japanese, about people very known in Japan's history. But I think you've might missed some things. They tried (well or badly) to construct a character. Works like this: - The siege scene was too much for him, where he was forced to kill the hostages and for nothing (the father of the year even laughs) - He runs away. His most loyal friends, who stood with him since the beginning dies when he tried to help Lady Yae with the horse. With Shingen adding insult do injury by giving him a bag of coins for the man's life. - Later we see a character changed, who understood how life is cheap in feudal Japan and in a kind of revenge gun down Lady Yae with no second though. So, these are not random things happening as it seems you understood. As I said before, don't take it personal, it really isn't.

Greatest romance ever, I love it

Ahh this was the movie that big 40 min battle sequence was from.

cool video, you have a voice, easy to listen! I suggest to cut the background sound back more, it gets quite annoying and distracting though.

Thank you for the video. Loved this film. Shows the inner conflicts of uesugi kenshin, the true warrior monk, the war god of echigo. One thing we can realise is how much his men loved to fight for him.i think Kenshin was a ruler on par with tokigawa ieasu. Rulers like him are very rare in history. A philosopher king on plato's line.

Heaven and Earth is a great movie

Just watched this on youtube, thanks to your link.anyway, I too have a little bit trouble with romance element of the movie, in addition to lacking in overall score and sound design. The character development of Kenshin is also a bit confusing. Nevertheless, the battle scene of this movie left me in awe. pure awesomeness

I think the battle scences were made better when you realize no cgi was used. Every person on a horse was an actual person on a horse.

Seems just about every comment here has been written by a male/boy/man. I am a woman who loves samurai films, as long as they are not too bloody. I like the fact the lead character is not a well-known actor which Shogunate thought would be a better match for the part. As a woman, I am looking for other things that draw attention than what a man would prefer. For example, the lead, Takaaki Enoki, is delightfully "pretty-boy" handsome with an underlying fierce determination, which altogether makes him outright irresistable. And listen closely to his voice, it is magical, with its penetrating reed-like resonance, that the other actors lacked - I think you've all overlooked that. And let me remind everyone who is disenchanted with the film because it didn't reflect historical truth; this is a movie, not a documentary. It's based on true events with the license to make art not reality. The criticism of the love angle also doesn't make sense because how are we to comprehend the character's depth of commitment to his vow of celibacy if it is not challenged by a serious love interest. Some women adore meeting up against a dedicated man with the inner strength to master his animal nature. It is one of the sexiest concepts, but most men don't understand that. Toshido Mifune played a desirable but unattainable character in the Samurai Trilogy. Drives women mad! And the music must have been created for women, like the light and melodic sounds in the love scenes with cherry blossoms falling all around. All meant to put a woman in the mood - did you guys miss that? Such delightful sounds were meant to contrast the bold drumbeats and other battle sounds. And of course, the battle scenes and scenery are spectacular. I have a few complaints, but I will tackle them later. I agree with stevendefender about the conflict between heaven and earth and how it is reflected throughout the film.

It does convey some of the frustrations of 2 great daimyos, however, as they tried to control their destinies in a crowded field of generals. There are many movies from this time period but not many that I am aware of that even attempt to portray the historical strategic situations.

I saw this on Superchannel back in the day and really liked it. I thought it was 3 hours though. I just like the Samurai stuff. I'm a big Kurosawa guy so thins is right down my street.

i really liked the retro synth music in the movie

I saw this as a kid, but I barely remembered what happens XD

One thing that struck me was the sort of mantra that we hear when the Uesugi army marches at the 4th Kawanakajima battle. I don't know if it was the soundtrack or if it was the actual samurai that chanted these words (used in the beginning of the movie by Kenshin). It was awesome though

Oh man, I was just talking with my brother about this movie. He mentioned how we had watched it and then he quoted the line by Shingen about the rolling/turning wheel formation. As soon as he said that, I was like "It was about Uesugi Kenshin and Takada Shingen!" and I knew I had to watch it sooner rather than later since it was long enough ago I didn't remember if it was historically based or complete fiction. Overall, I enjoyed it as we see Kenshin's character development from a hesitant but religious man to realizing he has to fill a certain role to protect Echigo. As it is historical fiction, I was fine with things being 'close enough for government work' since they really did go all out for the battle scenes. So many horses and that Canadian geese cameo made me laugh. I enjoyed the non-romance romance of the relationship between Kenshin and Nami; it is clear that they loved and respected each other while not following a typical relationship path. Nami was also an excellent female character, strong enough to ask her father why he chose to delay, backing himself into a corner which Kenshin dealt with even though he knew it hurt both of them, they respected each other. The delicate sakura petals, the flower falling into the water basin, the fact it frequently rains when Kenshin and Nami interact. I'd guess they really wanted to highlight the difference between Kenshin and Shingen through their relationships with women. Kenshin's celibacy and the love for a single woman as opposed to Shingen having relationships with many women; it definitely makes Kenshin more appealing to a present day viewer. Of course many of the ladies would swoon over his act of cutting his beautiful hair at the loss of the only woman he loved. It is a fine enough movie about the sengoku.

Can't wait until you eventually cover the Samurai Trilogy of Miyamoto Musashi

I love the movie, especially for the use of the lands and sets, along with how they filmed the battles and so on, But I do believe they could have done a much better job with the love story. It just seemed like, okay, here it is, and then no, let's not do it, and okay, put it back in, and now she dies. But that and the betrail could have all been worked better. But The rest I really liked, and just those battle shots just make the movie great.

Thank you! I loved this review of one of my favorite Samurai movies. You tied it together with the actual characters and historical events portrayed (or not) in the movie. I was surprised that you didn’t even mention the central plot theme that I walked away with, knowing nothing of the historical facts of the people and events it depicts. The movie is called Heaven and Earth, which is a reference to the I Ching symbols of stasis, or balance. It’s the symbol of the Yin/Yang, where Heaven (Yin) has a dot of Earth (Yang), and vice versa. The character of Heaven is spiritual, chaste, non-aggressive, emotional. The character of Earth is sartorial, aggressive and detached, even when his family is slaughtered before him. And yet each shows a bit of the other. Heaven rejects love for purity, but he is jealous of Earth’s mistress. While she emasculates him by calling him out he cowardly shoots her from a distance, proving he had some Earth element attributes after all. Earth’s love for his Samurai warrior woman, his pain at her death by cowardly means, and breaking off the battle to properly honor her shows he’s the personification of Yang, with a touch of Yin. The final scene was perfect, the two are battling in the stream, but both are equally effective/ineffective. It’s Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, stasis, balance, neither one prevails. I’ve never seen a movie that so delightfully highlighted this central philosophical concept! The author must have seen this dynamic in the historical settings they set it in...And the flute music was haunting...

Can’t agree with your criticism about the lack of depth in the plot and character portrayal enough. Save for the epic battle scenes and lovely period costumes, I find this movie rather shallow and rather tedious. Off the tangent, there are some theories that claim Kenshin was actually a woman! It was recorded that he had severe stomach cramps on a monthly basis around the 10th of the month (PMS) and actually planned his military campaigns around these cramps. Kenshin was also the only man was the only one allowed to freely to enter the women's quarters in the Kyoto Imperial Palace. Would love to know your view.

I agree with you. Unhistorical events, the confusing plot, the romantic elements all add up to not being viewed as "classic". However, the palette the director chose, the costumes, the cinematic photography, and The Battles. In '92 I watched it many times, as the project I was working on was 15mm Samurai wargaming miniature armies. Yes. Epic Battles are fabulous and I soaked in it. Good film if you are interested in these things. If you are not interested, I would recommend "Ran" as the better endeavour.

IMO a fair review of a film that was quite messy.

Great movie

Thx for this film. And your channel in general. I got a Mortal Kombat ad during a duel younwere showing from the film which was funny.

Pretty good film with a great military rivalry, weird that it never came to bluray

It was a film that had so much potential. I agree that many of the actual events would be far better than what was depicted. The whole Usami/Nami arc seemed to either be rushed and mostly pointless or confused. Why would Usami abandon Kenshin after one event. Was Kenshin hesitant because of mercy or indecision? As you said, the visuals were stunning which is why the film had such potential. A few of the battle scenes seemed theatrical, but I liked the attention to formations, costumes and fight choreography. One thing I like so far about samurai films is that they seem to pay more attention to period accuracy of costumes and equipment than films about knights and European themes. I've seen several recently where the armor and clothing would be more than a century outdated such as mostly chainmail armor in the Wars of the Roses.

this used to be the best movie in our local public library (because it was filmed in Canada)

I think the music is awesome

15:33 Nobuyuki and Kakubei in Sanada Taiheiki

I'm surprised with all the inaccuracies you mentioned Shingen's armor wasn't mentioned. I always thought his helmet had white hair and not red.

Loving this channel! Please can you review the Shogun tv mini series and the movie Silence in the future

Can't wait for you to do 13 assassins

I admit, i wasn't sure how to open this comment to a 4 year old video. But TheShoguate asked why we liked Heaven Earth (1990), and yes, we gotta specify that because otherwise, a search will lead to the Tommy Lee Jones movie 😆 Anyway, i was 14 when i watxhed this movie, my teacher showed it in school, and for me, it served the most important purpose for a young man that struggled in school. It, along with the league of extraordinarily gentlemen, an objectively worse movie, incentivised me to learn to read. And in the following years of increased illiteracy, i am thankful for this film to push my desire for learning to read. And, while this comment may not mean much, I just want to say cherish the things that impact you, and shape you into a positive person, even if it involves something others do not view to the same standards

I just watched this film last before watching your video. I agree, this film is very incoherent and focused mainly on the battle scenes.

I think this film got how lancers or long spear is used in combat, other films tend to exaggerate stuff like charging straight into those spears, in reality it's actually more on advance in slow pace stop and thrust

Excellent movie. Conflicted on the review. Always baffles me how a reviewer says a movie has stunning cinematography, costume, editing and battle scenes then gives it a 3.75 out of 10? I mean those qualities are essentially 60% of a film. And in this instanace nothing in the film is 'bad'. The comment re Ken Wantabe is bewildering given the critisim essentially related to the complex plot, historial inaccuraces and music!?!? But 3.5/10. Bizarre.

To this day I have never heard of a film that was historically accurate. Braveheart was a brilliant movie, but it's history was crap. I saw this movie, can't remember too much about the characters but I liked it especially the ending. I heard it was filmed in Canada of all places which helps with the landscape and probably explains where they got all the horses.

Maybe because I have alot of nostalgia for this movie or maybe because I just like Samurai movies all I'm going to say about your review is...“I disagree it's at least a 7 outta ten".

I essentially have the same take on the film as you do, especially as a fan of Kenshin. Meh but it's kinda cool still.

got to learn something important from this movie, 'Thought Police' (Shiso Keisatsu) is failing its duties.

I saw this once a few years ago and enjoyed it at the time. I can agree with most of your criticisms, however I don’t remember a whole lot of the details. I do remember the kenshin/shingen duel and definitely would’ve enjoyed the accurate version of what happened between the two. I don’t entirely agree with the narration entirely though. While I don’t remember the details about the narration in the movie, I don’t really mind having it in to fill in the gaps between the scenes

This is my favorite movie one of them

I love this movie!.......The best all out war or total war

Was any part of filmed in Japan???

Bad music? No way.

Hello, would the movie titled in English “The Floating Castle” be deserving of review? It is loosely based in history?

I have to disagree with you, if they were to accurately depict this history, it would need to have been done in a long episodic Taiga drama. For the running time of the movie, it does well.

you're pretty good at nitpicking movies, I'll give you that

could you pleas share another link for movie? this one is not available.

Film is no longer on RU-vid. Fair I guess. I’m new to samurai films set during this era, which are the best/most accurate/ones with the most guns?

I remember seeing half of this movie on TV as a kid. I didn't follow the plot, but I liked it because of the battles. My mother also kept insisting it must've been a Kurosawa film, even though I saw a different director at the end credits. Some time later, an ad was run on TV announcing another screening of the movie. I got excited to finally see it from the beginning. And instead they showed the 1993 Heaven & Earth (TV programming was really chaotic in Mexico). While that bumbed me out, I did start to actively look up Kurosawa movies. So this movie really got me into watching samurai movies in the end.

I do not agree at all with your criticism. What you suggest would have lead to a boring story, while the one that was produced is loaded with mystic that somewhat eludes you. Elements like Name's flute and its spell on Uesugi are not coherent biographical facts, they are symbolic evocations.

And Nick, talking about music... You have a gift for storytelling. I'd say you don't even need a background sound for it! This music you use, no offense, is not helping. How can I say it? Over time, it makes people nervous. I believe you are hindering your own gift with this choice.

Es mi segunda película de samurai favorita, pero no es por la historia real. Hay dos tipos de público para esta película, aquellos que la vieron sin saber de historia japonesa y aquellos que la vieron sabiendo de historia japonesa. Yo estoy en el segundo grupo, y he visto series y otras películas que se tratan de la rivalidad de Takeda y Shingen y personalmente creo que "Ten to Chi to" es la mejor pero no por aspectos históricos sino por el drama en sí mismo.

The film moves too quickly at some points and the film is too short lengthwise to cover the events depicted. At a running time of under two hours, the film looks a bit truncated. The battle scenes are spectacular, but if you did not know the history between the two leaders, it just looks like any other samurai battle. The film isn’t bad, but it’s not the best. Samurai Banners gives a more complete story, but runs around 21/2 hours.

You aware that there are two versions of this movie? An "Earth" edition, and a "Heaven" edition? The main difference is that the "Heaven" edition is about 10 minutes longer, and makes some scene transitions smoother and more natural.

Uesugi Gundam .VS. Takeda Zaku

I think "Earth and Sky" is a better translation

esse filme realmente precisa de um blu ray

Does anyone know where I can find a hard or digital copy of this film with English subtitles? I can’t find one anyway.

Can you please help me!!! I’m looking for a film where a woman/empress is being transported on a kago or koga that comes under attack. She gets out and pulls out a knife. They’re walking on snow. I watched this movie with my father in the early 90s. My father passed away in 2011. Id do anything to find this samurai/shogun movie. Do you at all know a film with a scene like this?

So your contempt for the film is that it’s not more Hollywood-like.

I'm not sure how accurate it is to show the armies is such uniform colors. Sure, the ashigaru armor was provided by their respective daimyos, so theirs should match, but also the samurai? Every samurai armor was unique and there are no samurai shown that are lacking in armor. Not all samurai could affor armor. Or shoes for that matter. And there seem to be no women.

Other problems with various media portrayals of Nobuharu and Kagetora: 1. There's a tendency to just make Nobuharu look evil. In this film Kagetora didn't look evil for sniping Lady Yae, because there's a backstory for why he did it (not to mention this is post-Harris Ford making guns over swords the smart choice). It's all about Nobuharu's expansion...which, well, in the context of the Sengoku, you don't have to be a power hungry dick to want to expand when everybody around you is trying to take advantage of the power vacuum and being more proactive - geographically in the military sense and geopolitically. It's normal for Kagetora to speak of Nobuharu that way to retainers and families he's trying to rally, BUT without the context of the Shinano clans invading Kai and getting beaten back, it looks skewed against Shingen; add it but make Kagetora this way in all situations, and he looks like a naive guy as opposed to "smart enough to support this guy bringing some more men and can be controlled later." 2. A very skewed portrayal of Nobuharu forgets how people relying more on actual history tend to see it: that they're both very similar and ended up in a regrettable situation where they have to go up against each other, but even then, didn't hate nor mistrust the other beyond "no, I won't submit, I gotta be top dog." I mean if Kagetora was just totally idealistic and never about realist power, then he might as well reject helping the defeated Shinano lords who invaded Kai in the first place. It's not like he can't have known that - despite geographic features and CNN not being a thing yet, it's not like he wouldn't have heard of samurai and ashigaru mustering and then there's a siege happening around 200km away. You don't need a highway nor internet to know that, you just get the news late. ------- It's like how modern Left Wing academia makes the Romans look bad, especially in the context of the Gauls, which includes frequent Gallic raids and invasions, Rome getting sacked, and how the Gauls were not only disparate tribes, but a bunch of tribes being dicks to each other. Caesar didn't invade Gaul, he was there to protect allied tribes from Germans and other Gauls. Hell, the first army that confronted Hannibal wasn't even a Roman army, it was a Gallic army that refused to let him get to Italy, and as far as we know, weren't even specifically ordered by Rome to go out there and fight Hannibal by themselves (instead of the more likely order, which is "muster everybody, especially everyone with money ie a horse, and meet Legio xx and yx over there") - it was very likely they didn't receive orders and moved out as a matter of expediency and because the Romans helped them before.

Can't seem to find this film anywhere, DVD blu-ray. Any suggestions?

definitely an unforgettable film, but the younger generation, want blood and gore and fast action. not, historically accurate history. myself, i couldn't help wondering, how many of the injured horses, ended up as pet food ?

It may be a truism...the less you know the actual history, the more you can enjoy the film. In any case, I did kind of like this one. Although I could tell many of the riders, were tall lanky Canadian Cowboys under the masks.

this review was wayyy to harsh. this is a great movie. watched it today.

I want to see this film, but I'm very saddened that so much history has been corrupted by populist/commercial concerns - ones which have often backfired anyway. This is because, despite their claims to dramatic importance, most filmakers are culturally vacuous; capable only of melodrama and pseudo sentiment. If they really loved their industry, they would make better and more truthful films. Of course the rot set in long before film making. Shakespeare himself set the stage (pun intended) by excelling in lying about history. At least, however, he was a good poet.

I was sincerely looking forward to a review of this film (Heaven and Earth) by the person who runs this RU-vid channel, but not anymore. This dude has the sensibility of a rock, that is near to zero. This reveals -also demonstrated by the awful review he did on Kurosawa's Throne of Blood- that this individual has no understanding of another way of film making than the Western style of making movies. Never again will I lose my time seeing a film review by this guy. The videos about Japan's history are cool if you like a parrot repeating information and details about events, all chronologically organized without almost no real or methodologically serious historical interpretation.

Some critic! 😒

"The Music is Bad" says the man who uses a constant recording of a wet finger on a wine glass as his background music