Director Takeshi Miike’s film “13 Assassins” is about to break into US Theaters. The film is a remake of Eichi Kudo’s 1963 black-and-white movie of the same name. Here’s a synopsis:

Cult director Takeshi Miike delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan’s feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

It’s kinda like the Japanese version of 300. Principal photography for 13 ASSASSINS was done in summer 2009 on a large open-air set in Tsuruoka in the Yamagata Prefecture in northern Japan. The movie is slated to hit theaters starting April 29, 2011.

13 Assassins Trailer

More about director Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike has become synonymous with the promise of a unique onscreen experience, regardless of the genre. Highly prolific, Miike is credited with over 80 films since making his directorial debut in the early 90s.

Landmark films in Miike’s illustrious career include: AUDITION, ICHI THE KILLER, ONE MISSED CALL, THE GREAT YOKAI WAR, THE CITY OF LOST SOULS, VISITOR Q, GRAVEYARD OF HONOR, SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, YATTERMAN, the CROWS ZERO films and the DEAD OR ALIVE yakuza trilogy.

Although his films are often associated with black humor, inventive violence and audacious style, Miike has shown his versatility in other genres: children’s films (ZEBRAMAN), sensitive dramas (THE BIRD PEOPLE IN CHINA), period pieces (SABU) and even a horror musical (THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS).

Born in 1960 near Osaka, Miike harbored a passion for motorbike racing and a disdain for academics growing up. He attended the Yokohama Vocational School of Broadcast and Film and then worked for nearly a decade in television. Miike became an assistant director in film to directors like Shohei Imamura and Hideo Onchi, and Japan’s “V-Cinema” (direct to video) boom of the early 90s helped his break into directing his own films. For years, he alternated between V-Cinema and higher-budget productions.

In 2005, Miike directed “Demon Pond,” a Kabuki-style play. Miike has also occasionally appeared as an actor in his films as well as others’, notably Eli Roth’s HOSTEL.