| The Bushido Blade | |
| Director: | Tom Kotani |
| Producer: | Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Screenplay: | William Overgard |
| Starring: | Richard Boone Sonny Chiba Frank Converse Laura Gemser James Earl Jones Mako Timothy Murphy Michael Starr Tetsurō Tamba Toshiro Mifune |
| Music: | Maury Laws |
| Cinematography: | Shōji Ueda |
| Editing: | Yoshitami Kuroiwa |
| Studio: | Trident Films Rankin/Bass Productions |
| Distributor: | Aquarius Releasing |
| Runtime: | 104 minutes |
| Country: | United Kingdom United States Japan |
| Language: | English Japanese |
| Budget: | $5 million[1] |
The Bushido Blade is a 1981 film directed by Tom Kotani. Sonny Chiba, Toshiro Mifune, Mako, Laura Gemser, James Earl Jones and Richard Boone in his last film appearance[2] appear in this film. It was filmed in 1978, but not released until 1981.
The Bushido Blade is a fictional sideline to the true events surrounding the treaty Commodore Matthew Perry signed with the shogun of feudal Japan. The samurai sword entrusted to Commodore Perry for President Franklin Pierce of the United States by the Emperor of Japan is stolen by factions wishing to maintain Japanese isolationism. The sword is stolen by Baron Zen, who is a servant of Lord Yamato, who opposes the Convention of Kanagawa about to be signed.
Commodore Akira Hayashi is told to recover the sword and, as a matter of honor, not sign the treaty until it is recovered. Prince Ido has received Hayashi's order to regain the sword and goes to the castle of Yamato alone. Similarly, Perry has ordered Captain Lawrence Hawk to retrieve the sword. Hawk brings Midshipman Robin Gurr and Crew Bos'n Cave Johnson. The three get separated and the movie centers on their stories.