There is almost nothing more exciting to me than sitting down to a samurai movie that I have never seen before and that I know will be good. Especially one with Toshiro Mifune or directed by Akira Kurosawa (and lately Yoji Yamada). There is a limited supply of these movies and it was nice to feel the excitement again with Chushingura. Mifune only plays a small part in this 207 minute film, but it is a great movie based on the famous Japanese historic tale of the loyal 47 samurai. If you want to truly understand the samurai spirit, especially its emphasis on loyalty - watch this movie.
I had also seen the earlier 1941 version of the same story (241 minutes), which is very similar and just as good if not better. Supposedly, this movie was more or less forced on the director (Mizoguchi) and his studios by a "government that was taking increasing control of film production and mandating a cinema that would inspire loyalty among the people as the country sank deeper into World War II."